A reverse flag and the 12-gauge shotgun controversy

Jeff Green | May 27, 2020

Last week, Frontenac News Volume 20 – No.20, May 21 on page 8, an ad appeared that showed an upside-down Canadian flag flying in front of a home in the Hartington area. The ad was placed by a community member who was offended at what they considered to be a gesture of disrespect towards the flag, and by extension, the country. Soon after the ad appeared, we received a number of calls from people who said that the paper should not have run the ad because it shames the family flying the flag that way without offering them any opportunity to explain their reasoning. The ad included the address so people would be able to figure out whose house it was even though the 911 sign was not legible in the photo.

In retrospect it was clearly an error on the part of the News to accept the ad. The advertiser did nothing wrong, they simply brought in a photo and paid for it to go in, with text that they wrote, but we should not have run the ad since it was our responsibility to provide balance, the advertiser does not bear any responsibility.

Fortunately, Chuck Holmes, who flew the upside-down flag in front of his house, also called in to complain, so we now have his explanation. He said that as far as he was concerned, flying the flag upside down, while ensuring that it does not touch the ground, is a statement that the country is in distress. He said that he, and 12 members of his family, including his father, have served in the Canadian Military, and “I would never disrespect the flag or the country.”

The reverse flag was flown in front of his house in response to amendment 95 of the Canadian gun control regulations, brought in by the Prime Minister on May 1, which, Holmes told the News, forces law abiding gun owners to turn in hunting rifles that “are not military rifles at all”. In his view the gun control measures trample on the rights of law-abiding hunters, like himself and his family.

Among the guns that he said he owns, two have become illegal, he said. They are 12-gauge, pump action shotguns with a 20.2 mm diameter.

“They made the limit 20 millimetres, knowing those guns are just over 20mm. These are bird hunting rifles, not military weapons at all,” he said. “That is why the flag is flying upside down, because our country has been put under distress by our Prime Minister with this overly broad gun ban.”

The new rules are the subject of a lawsuit by the Canadian Association for Firearms Rights (CAFR) and the Canadian Sports Shooting Association published a legal opinion stating that the new rules will make 12-gauge shotguns illegal.

This position is counter to what Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has said about that particular weapon.

On May 07, Minister Blair said, in a tweet from his official account, “the regulation introduced on May 1st does not prohibit 10 and 12-gauge shotguns. The regulation is based on their standard size, which is under 20mm.”

According to Blair, there has been some confusion because the size at the end of the choke on some models is over 20mm, but the measurement that is relevant for the legality of the weapons is “after the chamber, but before the choke in shotguns. Therefore, if the measurement is taken at any other location, it is not a factor that is being considered under amendment 95 of the regulations,” according to his May 7 tweet.