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Comment by crustycoder | Hacker News Reader

> It may surprise you to know that Canada currently has more restrictive gun laws than any European country.

It certainly would, as it's not true.

That depends how you define restrictive. Last I checked (which was admittedly five or six years ago) many of the countries had non restrictive laws on silencers and rifle lengths and most, if not all, allowed you to own pistols (although it is quite difficult to get a licence in some). To me that would make Canada's gun laws much more restrictive. One could argue that in some European countries it is much harder to get a license and that makes it more restrictive but I would disagree with that because there is still a pathway to own and use many guns not legal in Canada in those countries (at least as of five or six years ago when I last looked).

> most, if not all, allowed you to own pistols

Still wrong. In the UK, for example, it's virtually impossible to own a handgun of any sort. The info is easily available online.

your own answer highlights your reading comprehension fail. go read it again and notice how, if your claim was that it was impossible rather than virtually impossible, my statement would still be true. now notice you didnt say that because it is not impossible, just very hard and realize that is less stringent than canada for new purchases becaus eof recent and foolish changes by canada's government.

Oh well, if we are going full Ad hominem, not only are you mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence, you are lazy as well. If you'd bothered to look, you'd have found that under UK law, all modern handguns are totally illegal. Specifically, any firearm which either has a barrel less than 30 centimetres in length or is less than 60 centimetres in length overall, other than an air weapon, a muzzle-loading gun or a firearm designed as signalling apparatus, is forbidden. Any form of semi-automatic solid projectile weapon is also banned, so the weapon that's issue in Canada (Glock handgun) is illegal on multiple counts.

Good luck fitting a switch to a handgun dating before 1919, which in theory can be held - although you'd struggle to get a license because you can only hold antique handguns if ammunition isn't readily available for them in the UK, you are a bona-fide collector and central government don't object - they have to individually approve all such licenses.

As you seem to be struggling, I'll simplify it as much as I can for you. The situation that's causing concern in Canada can't happen in the UK because it's illegal to own that sort of weapon in the first place.

That means our laws are stricter than those in Canada.

That means Canada's laws are weaker than those of at least one European country.

That means you are wrong.

sigh taking your words as truth regardless of whether they are or not, we then fall back into the "most" category of my statement, meaning you continue to utterly fail at reading comprehension.

The UK is not a European country.

It is what then?

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