Efforts to change gun laws highlighted after pellet gun incident

By Tyson Leonard

A jogger in Belleville shot by a pellet gun last Saturday has highlighted concerns that gun laws should include guns considered non-lethal.

The victim was shot three times in the back while jogging eastbound on Dundas Street East. The jogger suffered minor injuries.

Belleville Police said two male suspects were seen traveling eastbound on Dundas Street East in a grey GMC Chevy half-ton truck.

“(Pellet gun incidents) are easily preventable. It’s a matter of common sense”, said Lewis Smith, the media coordinator for the Canadian Safety Council.

The council reports that approximately 50 people a year are hurt from pellet guns and that they are a leading cause of eye loss and eye damage in children. The council is a not-for-profit, non-government organization that monitors safety issues in Canada such as pellet guns incidents.

A pellet gun is any gun powered by air, spring, or gas that uses pellets as ammunition. They are primarily used for vermin control in rural areas and recreational purposes like target practice.

“(Pellet guns) should be registered under the Federal Firearms Act.” Said Smith.

In Canada, only guns that fire at a rate higher than 152.5 meters per second are covered under the act. Pellet guns covered are subject to all the same license and registration requirements as other lethal firearms.

“(Pellet guns) are not monitored nearly as much as they should be”, said Smith

Under current law in Ontario pellet guns don’t have to be registered and you don’t need a license to own one. Some air guns that shoot pellets do require you to be over 18 to purchase but not to use.

Fredericton, New Brunswick, is the only Canadian city that requires all air and spring guns to be registered and can only be used for indoor target practice.

Belleville has no by-laws regulating pellet guns.