The National Firearms Association (NFA; french: Association Nationale des Armes à Feu) is a Canadian non-profit association based in Edmonton. Its main goals are the repeal and replacement of the Firearms Act (Bill C-68), which was introduced into
Canadian Parliament
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
in 1995 (Now called "Chapter 39 of the 1995 Statutes of Canada"), the promotion of
marksmanship
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than- ...
and
firearm safety
Gun safety is the study and practice of using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms and ammunition, including the training of gun users, the design of weapons, and formal and informal regulation of gun production, distribution, and ...
and the protection of the right to
hunt
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
, and
self-defence
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
and property rights.
The NFA is a registered
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
(NGO) with
special consultative status
The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations (Non-governmental organisation, NGOs) in Consultative Status with the ...
to the
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...
(ECOSOC). It publishes ''Canadian Firearms Journal'', .
The NFA was faced with a hostile takeover attempt in 2015. Several lawsuits ensued, with the NFA surviving the takeover attempt and winning the court cases.
Controversy
The NFA was criticized for its media release after the occurrence of a shooting spree that left three RCMP officers dead and two others wounded in
Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...
of June 5, 2014.
Their statement read, "Incidents like these demonstrate...that none of Canada's firearms control efforts over the past 50 years have had any effect on preventing violence, or otherwise stopping bad people from carrying out their evil deeds... The excessive rules in place do not in any way increase public safety, but merely contribute to an expensive and unnecessary regime which harms only those of lawful intent." The release was perceived by some to be insensitive and politically motivated. The NFA stood by their statement claiming that they were responding to the calls for tighter gun control that people on social media and in government were making.
[
In late March 2015 the NFA pulled out of a committee looking at the Canadian government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation Bill C-51.]
See also
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References
External links
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{{Authority control
Political organizations based in Canada