Oh, Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s recent classification of a Mossberg rifle as prohibited has gun enthusiasts up in arms. The RCMP declared Mossberg’s Blaze .22-caliber rifle as legal, yet its counterpart, the Blaze-47, was deemed prohibited. The difference between the two: The Blaze-47 has a wood stock vs. the Blaze’s black plastic stock.
Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, says the classification was made because the Blaze-47 resembles an AK-47 rifle. Judgments based on cosmetic appearance are all too familiar to American gun owners. As Bernardo notes, “They’re not remotely the same. Racing stripes on a Mustang doesn’t make an Indy 500 car.”
The uproar over the rifle classification has led to the federal public safety minister’s office requesting the RCMP review its decision, and that review is now underway. Here’s hoping that common sense rules the day.
