Article content continuedA notice of application for one of the challenges, a lawsuit on behalf of nine individuals, argues that governments cannot use an order in council to outlaw firearms that are used for sporting or hunting purposes, which would include the vast majority of firearms listed in the May 1 directive. “The [government] does not have unfettered discretion to prohibit firearms by Order-In-Council,” the court document says. “This language is confusing and deliberately misleading, as all assault firearms have been prohibited since 1977,” the court document says. Ottawa used the term “assault-style weapons” to outlaw much of the AR-15 and AR-10 rifles that were prohibited as of May 1. The AR-15 has never been used in a mass shooting in Canada, but has gained widespread recognition for its usage in several U.S. massacres.

Source: National Post August 11, 2020 11:03 UTC