More than 20 years ago I opened The Shooting Edge — a small business that serves the shooting community in Alberta..To someone not familiar with our industry, I think it’s important to explain how expansive the firearm community is and how great an impact the federal government’s attack on legal gun owners will have on so many Albertans.. James Robert (JR) Cox Shooting EdgeJR Cox .I also wholeheartedly believe the Alberta government needs to step in on behalf of legal, responsible and legitimate gun owners to create policies to ensure all Albertans can continue to use and own firearms in a responsible manner..We describe our community as being made up of hunters, farmers and sport shooters, but it’s important to know just how many Albertans own or use firearms regularly. There are more than 300,000 firearms owners in Alberta. These are people my business serves every day..These are people who hunt to put meat in their freezers to feed their families. They are farmer’s who protect themselves and their livestock from predators. And there are men and women who compete in shooting sports around the world. My customers are not criminals. Yet the federal government treats them as if they are.. Tyler ShandroAlberta Justice Minister and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro speaks about not enforcing the Canadian government's firearms restrictions at a press conference at the McDougall Centre on September 26, 2022. .Not only do we sell our customers firearms, but we also teach them firearm safety and we train them how to safely use all styles of guns. In 20 years, we have put more than 30,000 people through our firearm’s safety course and have had more than 150,000 new shooters introduced to the sport in our facility — and we're just one of 650 firearms-related businesses in the province supporting this endeavour.. Naomi Knoch at the Shooting EdgeNaomi Knoch shoots targets at Calgary's Shooting Edge... Albertans enjoy both shooting sports and a provincial government content to leave them to their enjoyment. It's Trudeau's Liberals they have to worry about. .My staff, customers and I steadfastly respect firearms and understand the massive responsibility that comes with firearms ownership. We're educated in their safe use and we diligently follow gun laws. Legal firearms owners are not criminals, and our firearms are not the same firearms being used in gun crimes..The federal government is vilifying legal firearms owners in the eyes of Canadians who do not use or own firearms by spreading misinformation, using fear tactics and blatantly lying about the dangers of legally acquired guns. This is distracting Canadians from the real issues of illegal gun smuggling and a host of other issues which genuinely put public safety at risk..I am happy to see the Alberta government stepping in and standing up for our community. I applaud Alberta’s Minister of Justice, Tyler Shandro for vocalizing his opposition to the Federal governments overreach and I believe an Alberta Firearms Act is a sorely needed piece of legislation..By setting out a legislative mandate for the chief firearms officer and ensuring firearms laws remain consistent across the province, I believe Alberta can continue to be a province filled with safe, legal and responsible firearms owners.
