MACLEOD: From licenced citizen to ‘gun grab’ criminal

I’m old enough to remember a time when owning a firearm in Alberta was simply a part of our lives. Farmers carried rifles in the back of the truck. Hunters taught their kids firearm safety before they taught them to drive. Sport shooting clubs operated openly and responsibly. We knew the difference between a .22 short, .22 Long, and .22 LR before our tenth birthday. Firearms were simply tools, traditions, and hobbies. In Alberta, owning a variety of guns was never viewed as offensive or radical. It was, and remains, completely normal.