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An exciting month to say the least. During the COVID crisis, the CUSF has been running flat out to take our organization to the next level come this Fall. Then we all got smacked with the OIC put into effect on May 1st. Which made me think: shooting is probably the most misunderstood sport in Canada, even though more people have their PAL's than play golf (In 2010, 1.5 million played golf vs 1.85 million PAL holders)! Due to a variety of factors, including perceptions in the media, bleed-through of issues from the US, and ignorance in the general public about our past time, guns get a bad rap. Well if you are tired of sport shooters getting dragged through the mud, there are a few things you can do:
1. Educate, educate, educate. Have reasonable and intelligent conversations around guns. Be proud to be a responsible gun owner.
2. Take new people out shooting. Once people have some trigger time they understand the sport, and the popularity of shooting has been growing for years. Let's keep it that way.
3. Become a member. Just like other non-profits, the CUSF is membership based. By becoming a member, you are directly supporting competitive sport shooting, firearms education, and hunting opportunities for students nationwide!
4. Lastly, and most important: volunteer. Whether for a local gun club, or a national organization like ourselves, grassroots involvement is the most effective way to strengthen our community. The CUSF has two programs: national and field officer. If you are interested in the either, please get in touch at dfahlman@cusf.ca.
- Dave Fahlman, President
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A Collaborative Response to a Comprehensive Attack
The Canadian University Shooting Federation stands with our fellow sport shooters, hunters, hobbyists and collectors across the country in condemning the arbitrary and undemocratic nature of the May 1st OIC gun ban. In a show of unity, over 50 Canadian organizations spanning every province ask for our 3 main concerns to be heard:
1. The use of an Order in Council circumvents democracy, avoids the deliberation of evidence, delivery of expert witness testimony, and a full study of the issue. There is no vote amongst legislators therefore no voice for Canadians.
2. This measure targets the wrong demographic entirely, focusing solely on licensed firearms owners who safely and lawfully owned this property without issue previous to this OIC. The government’s primary duty is to uphold the safety of the citizens of Canada. This measure fails to address the criminal acquisition of, or illicit use of firearms.
3. The expense of this ban is immeasurable and prohibitive, from the implementation of a buy-back program, the destruction en masse of confiscated firearms, the framework and administrative costs to implementing the program, to the devastating impact on a multi-billion dollar industry, their employees and families.
See the full statement and signatories at cusf.ca/collaborative-response
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Help a student with his PhD research on firearms!
Noah Schwartz, a Carleton University PhD student, is working on his thesis on Canadian firearms owners. In his own words:
I am launching a survey of Canadian gun owners. The purpose of this questionnaire is to better understand what guns mean to the people who own and use them, and how this motivates political action. I am interested in hearing about gun owners’ personal involvement in hunting and the shooting sports, and what they think about the role that firearms have played in Canadian history. The survey also asks participants about their involvement with the gun-rights movement.
As we’ve discussed in the past, most research done on gun ownership comes from the United States. There is little information in the academic literature on Canada’s over two-million licensed gun owners, creating a blind spot for researchers and leading to a misinformed public debate.
Click this link to access the survey
This project was reviewed and cleared by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board A (Project #112735). If you have any ethical concerns with the study, please contact the Chair of the Carleton University Research Ethics Board (by phone at 613-520-2600 ext. 2517 or by email at ethics@carleton.ca).
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Partnership Highlights
Each month we recognize organizations and individuals who have been working with us to further sport shooting and firearms education across Canada. For May, we would like to say a big thank you to Alison de Groot from the CSAAA and Denean Tomlin from LadyGuns! Both of these gals are helping out with exciting projects behind the scenes, and the knowledge, experience, and passion that they bring is invaluable to our organization.
It's the leaders and supporters from our amazing community which drives the CUSF to new heights day after day, especially in these wild times. If you would like to nominate an individual to be recognized in our monthly newsletter please reply directly to this newsletter!
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Club Spotlight: UVic Shooting Sports
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Starting from June 2019 it was an upward battle to ratify our club at the university, but alas we were fully ratified by August 2019, and planned to make good use of it. We hosted about 30 events, including going to the North Saanich gun range to learn about and practice competitive shooting in hopes of later competing with other universities across the country.
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We also hosted minor fun events where we took 2-3 people out to the outdoor Malahat Range, teaching them how to operate the firearm correctly under supervision. And we also had a few major events where about 10-12 people signed up to come to the gun range, and we let them try all type of shooting! There were a variety of types, calibres, and we shot skeet, metal plates, Texas Star's and three point shooting. These events help spread out our message in a positive manner, giving the first time users a blast and help fund the club for future events.
Our members shot a collection of firearms, from the .22lr MPX, Ruger 10/22, old Kar rifles chambered in .22lr, 870's, Stevens 555 Over/Under, 9mm Glock 19 Gen 2, 1911 9mm, Beretta 92S, Type 97, an AR 15 (before it was banned), and the infamous SKS. We didn’t own most of the guns, so it was a mix of members in the club who owned it, and people at the gun range arranging for us kindly to use their very nice and expensive firearms to give the first timers a great time, and leaving a good long-lasting impression.
Running the first shooting sports club at the University of Victoria wasn’t easy, but all of the members and team leaders learned more about themselves and how to improve the for next year. We know we will pull through, and succeed in our mission of education and sport. And of course the UVic Shooting Sports Clubs wishes all students, gun clubs, and firearms owners in Canada the best.
- Ahmed, President of UVic Shooting Sports
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