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Handgun Transfer Exemption
The ability to transfer (and therefore purchase, inherit) Handguns was suspended in Bill C-21. Many of us are concerned about the survival of our sport.
Within that legislation is the following clause:
Exception — handguns
97.1 Sections 12.2 and 19.1 do not apply in respect of an individual who:
a) holds an authorization to carry in respect of a handgun; or
b) meets the prescribed criteria and provides a letter to a chief firearms officer from a provincial or national sport shooting governing body indicating:
(i) that they are training, competing or coaching in a handgun shooting discipline that is on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee,
(ii) the disciplines in which they train, compete or coach, and
c) that the handgun in question is necessary for training, competing or coaching in those disciplines.
BC Target Sports Association is that Provincial sport shooting governing body in BC. The SFC is the National Sports Organization.
What this means, is that if you are training, competing, or coaching in an Olympic or Paralympic discipline using Handguns, BCTSA can provide an exemption allowing you to purchase appropriate handguns. Generally, this means .22 caliber pistols. You are not expected to be proficient or competitive, just wishing to train in the sport. We offer this to all BCTSA members, including the members of Affiliated Clubs.
Over the summer of 2023, we met with the Chief Firearms Officer for BC and worked out a process for this exemption.
In order to request an exemption letter, I ask that you fill out a request letter and email it to targetsports@BCTSA.bc.ca. I will then generate the exemption request from there. The process may take a bit of time, depending on the details, but should, generally, be within a couple of weeks.
Acceptable Firearms are generally .22 calibre. Entry level handguns are acceptable, as are the more expensive, competition quality handguns.
NOTE: Before you apply for a Transfer Exemption, you should locate a Handgun to purchase. Many stores no longer carry or order Handguns, so please do your shopping before you ask to transfer a Handgun you can't find to purchase. BC is not Texas. The availability of Handguns here is an issue, especially with this being one of the few avenues left for purchasing one.
Also, to be eligible, you need to EITHER: Train, Compete or Coach. Only one is necessary. More is better, but only one is necessary (section i, above). This is about intent, so if you are training to compete in the sport, please check off Training and Competing, as that is the intended purpose of the Handgun transfer.
Do not send me a shopping list of what you MIGHT like to transfer if you can find one, only what you have found and will transfer. Shopping lists will be denied. I won't tell the CFO you are requesting to buy 4 Handguns, when it's really only 1 of 4. No shopping lists please. Do your homework.
This exemption is for Olympic and Paralympic shooting. It is NOT a workaround of the law. I am going to be enforcing some new, arbitrary rules:
- Unless you are ACTIVELY competing, you will be limited to 1 exemption for a training handgun. Choose wisely. Competition includes Provincial competition, and competitions sponsored by our affiliated clubs running under the appropriate ISSF rules. If claiming active competition you will be required to provide a reference to your last competition. Active, for now, is within the past 12 months. Remember, the handgun in question must be necessary for training, and until you start competing, I'm considering one to be sufficient.
- I may allow some latitude, with support from a certified coach.
- Regarding the possibility of center fire handguns: NO. There are very few circumstances where I would consider this necessary, and if you need to ask, or need to ask where to find a coach to sign off, the answer will be a very firm NO. Don't even try. The exemption is for Olympic and Paralympic events, not all ISSF events. The Centerfire events are NOT Covered.
- I will not be responding to "Did you get my application?", "Where is my letter?", "Just checking up on...". Cool yer jets. I'm a volunteer and I'm doing what I can. If you need to, send a note 3 weeks in and I'll look, but don't expect a response unless the request is lost and I need you to resend it. As I understand it, there are only 2, maybe 3, of us in all of Canada providing these letters. Best not to annoy us.