The flood may be old news, but the RCMP gun seizure in high river is still an ongoing concern.

Essentially, the story is that police were going door-to-door during the High River, Alberta floods in June of 2013.  They say it was to search for possible victims, injured people, elderly, and other people requiring help.  However, when they were in the houses, any firearms they saw improperly stored (their interpretation) they seized for “safe keeping”.

In reality, I’m not sure if the officers intended to invade our privacy.  Sure we have to be very careful to keep our fleeting gun rights in this country – But I don’t want to make this a cop-hating issue.  I am quite sure that the individual police officers were acting with the public’s interest in mind.  If there hadn’t been a flood involved, then this would be a different issue.  If they prosecute anybody for owning a firearm without the proper documentation, then that would be wrong and a bad precedent to set.  If that were the case then we would have to fight this, since that would turn into a revenue generating witch hunt whenever there is a reason or excuse to do so.

If it is indeed as case where the firearms are returned ‘no questions asked’ then I think we should back off, learn what we can, and look at the real issues.  You can’t fight every single thing that comes up; picking your battles is an important skill to learn.

Door damage caused by police should be covered by them or by the insurance companies.  This is again a dangerous topic to tread on.

The individual officers should not be help accountable for these actions, but I think there is a systemic push by the government to increase gun control here in Canada (If that’s even possible).  Whether this individual action was indeed to prevent looters from stealing the firearms, or if it really was them taking the opportunity to try to ‘catch’ some gun owners without the proper licences.  I’m sure the revenue from the sale of unclaimed guns or any fines will go straight into police revenue.  Perhaps it should go towards paying some of the damages caused or given to the National Firearms Association (the Canadian NRA) to promote firearm ownership.

Most Confiscated Firearms Have Been Returned

RCMP Seizure of High River Guns Sparks Probe

Sun News Network

What do you think about the RCMP Gun Seizure in High River?