Gun culture in America and Canada sure is different. However, most Americans fail to recognize how disturbed Canadians are by American gun norms. A lot of these differences are hardly things you’ll see in the headlines. That’s what makes them so easy to miss.
There’s also the fact that individual states set the rules, so your experiences of gun culture can be different even within the same country. Here are twelve gun norms that Canadians find disturbing. Which of these do you think is the strangest?
No federal minimum age to possess long guns
There’s no federal law that sets a minimum age for owning a rifle or shotgun in the United States. In fact, some states don’t even have a minimum hunting age. Such a lack of limits is quite disturbing for Canadians because we’re used to clearer age thresholds.
Many feel uncomfortable with how lax licensing requirements are compared to those in Canada.
Firearms used as raffle prizes
A gun is sometimes the prize that everyone wants to win at an American fundraiser. Yes, really. The company will sell tickets for the gun the same way that they’d sell tickets for a barbecue, and then they draw the names. The winner receives the paperwork from a dealer later.
It’s a norm that disturbs Canadians because of how casual it is. They think that raffling of a firearm is rather uncomfortable, and it’s actually difficult for them to process such behaviour.
Firearms kept unlocked
Surveys show many American gun owners have at least one firearm unlocked & loaded in a place that gives them easy access. They see leaving it somewhere accessible as a matter of self-defence.
However, Canadians are more used to dealing with stricter storage rules, and that makes hearing about unsecured home storage for guns rather unsettling. They don’t get why anyone would admit to doing so openly.
Permitless concealed carry
Quite a few American states allow adults to legally carry a handgun without ever needing to have a permit. That’s right, they don’t need a safety course or formal approval, not even a card that they need to show. The number of states allowing for this has grown recently.
But in Canada, it’s a completely different story. Canadians are used to licensing through the RCMP, and that makes the American approach to things feel too casual.
Open carry
Open carry is almost completely banned in Canada. As such, Canadians who see Americans visibly carrying a firearm in public may feel a little unsettled. They’re not used to seeing people lawfully walking into a pharmacy or coffee shop with a gun.
It’s quite intimidating for Canadians. They find it disturbing that Americans are perfectly fine with seeing other people walking around with firearms so openly.
Firearms allowed at state capitols and protests
There are a few state capitols that also allow people to take firearms inside or on surrounding grounds, although it mostly depends on local law. You can even legally attend protests with a gun in some states. Yes, the policies differ in each place, but the fact that it’s even allowed in some places is a bit much for Canadians.
They’re used to government buildings and places near them having heavy restrictions on what people can take with them. It makes such a contrast seem rather strong.
“Stand your ground” statutes
The “stand your ground” statutes in many American states eliminate people’s legal duty to retreat before using force. These apply to public places and the rules do vary, depending on the state. That’s still quite disturbing for lots of Canadians.
We’re completely unfamiliar with frameworks that don’t encourage retreat whenever possible. As a result, our view of self-defence with firearms is equally different.
Active shooter drills
One of the saddest aspects of American gun culture is the fact that most public schools run active shooter drills as part of safety planning. These drills happen alongside fire & lockdown exercises.
For American students, they’re a routine part of the school year, but for Canadians, they’re dystopian. Safety drills in Canada very rarely involve rehearsing gun violence scenarios because it’s not the norm to have weapons.
K–12 firearm laws
Speaking of schools, even in areas where guns are banned on school property, there are several American states that include legal exceptions. These allow certain staff members to carry firearms on K-12 grounds.
Such exemptions being written into law is disturbing for many Canadians, as the schools here rarely work under the same kind of principles.
AR-15-style rifles as a mainstream consumer product
A lot of Canadians are often surprised to see how widely sold and owned AR-15-style rifles are in the United States. Some estimates put civilian ownership figures in the millions. It’s not surprising, though, given how easy it is to buy these weapons through standard retail channels and firearm catalogues.
But these same weapons have a very different reputation in Canada. Most people there associate AR-15s with news headlines, rather than something the regular person owns. That makes the scale of ownership in America quite disturbing.
Children in gun-related family photos
Don’t be surprised to see kids posing with firearms on U.S. social media. Whether it’s during hunting weekends or range days, perhaps even family gatherings, the parents will share the photos proudly. They’ll include some captions about tradition or spending time together.
However, in Canada, the idea of putting kids and guns together is quite strange. Seeing it done so visibly in America really stands out.
Youth shooting programs
That’s not all for young people. In many parts of the U.S., youth shooting programs are completely normal, and they’ll have competitions and skill badges to match. Groups like 4-H make firearm training seem like a regular youth activity.
It doesn’t matter how structured and supervised these programs are because, for many Canadians, hands-on gun training for kids is wrong. We can’t understand how anyone would treat it as a standard extracurricular activity.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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