The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) members are concerned that the proposed federal gun bans are ineffective and politically motivated infringements on the rights and freedoms of farmers, ranchers, and all law-abiding recreational firearm users.

This in turn, has led SARM to support the province in introducing the proposed Saskatchewan Firearms Act to help protect law-abiding firearms owners.

Ray Orb, President of SARM, explained more about their concerns over the proposed federal gun bans.

"But now, with these new amendments to Bill C-21 they are going down that road, and they're actually, you know there are some gun owners that will simply overnight if that legislation is passed, they will, actually they'll have illegal weapons, and so they'll have to decide. We don't know if the federal government is going to have a buyback program specifically for those kind of handguns or what will the compensation be? It's not clear."

Orb spoke about SARM's support for The Saskatchewan Firearms Act, stating that SARM is a strong advocate for responsible and safe firearms ownership.

"We kind of like the idea of the province bringing this act forward because in a lot of ways it clarifies, you know not only the jurisdiction, but also some of the regulations you know, for use of handguns and rifles and shotguns and things like that. But also you know, to promote education, the safe handling, the safe storage of all of those kinds of firearms."

Orb discussed SARM's vision of strong, rural municipalities that are autonomous, with a diverse economy as well as building towards a sustainable future for the province. He said their mission is to be able to foster rural development in Saskatchewan and build strong communities as well in the rural areas.

The Saskatchewan Firearms Act will establish a provincial firearms regulatory system that will promote the safe use of firearms. Orb noted that SARM has a strong working relationship with Robert Freberg, the Chief Firearms Officer for Saskatchewan.

"He's a wealth of knowledge, he knows the firearms laws inside and out in Saskatchewan, that's one of the reasons why we're supporting that. I think because we have a good working relationship with him and he helps us really understand, you know, Bill C-21 and what the federal government is looking at doing."

Orb contended that the Federal government is "pointing fingers at the rural people right now, and we don't think that's fair."

"That's why I think the firearms act will help us, there's a lot of education that comes out of Mr. Freburg's office, and I think that will be helpful for people to get a better understanding of what's going on."

Anyone interested in more information or links to SARM's press releases can go to their website at sarm.ca.