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Vernon  

Assault-style gun ban actually increased business for Vernon gun shop

Gun ban good for business

Last May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau banned a variety of assault-style weapons in the wake of the Nova Scotia shooting spree. One would assume a ban on firearms would hinder business for a gun shop, but that hasn't been the case.

The manager of Del Selin Gun Shop in Vernon says the ban has actually increased business over the past couple months.

"All it did was increase business dramatically," says the manager of the shop, Aaron, who declined to give his last name. "After hearing about the ban, our customers are buying guns while they still can in case another ban comes through."

Even though business has been good, gun shop owners are vocal about their displeasure with the ban. They say the government has not been co-operative in terms of communication, and they are leaving them to find out information on the evolving ban on their own.

"It needs to be understood by the public that this order in council is almost exclusively targeting legally purchased property by law-abiding, non-violent hunters and sports enthusiasts," says Craig Jones, a gun shop owner in Maple Ridge.

"This does nothing to stop the flow of illegal firearms into the hands of gangs and criminals which is the primary cause of violence."

The gun shop owners have to find out which guns are banned manually, and the list changes regularly. In terms of the inventory on the now-illegal firearms that shops have, they say there has been no indications yet of a buyback program or any other program that will allow for the disposal of these weapons.



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