Harsher penalties needed for driving with illegal guns: MLA
Posted May 8, 2019 6:17 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2019 6:21 pm.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) — People driving around with an illegal gun in the car should face heavier penalties if caught, according to one Surrey MLA.
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Marvin Hunt, BC Liberals MLA for Surrey Cloverdale, put forward a private member’s bill in the B.C. legislature Wednesday calling for those changes to the law.
“The simple reality is, we know we have a challenge with gun violence, with gang violence in the Lower Mainland,” he says. “What we’re trying to do is address that challenge and get the guns out of cars in this province.”
He’s asking for changes to the Motor Vehicle Act, giving the province some tools to address it rather than relying on the federal Criminal Code.
“Currently, if the RCMP stop a vehicle that has a firearm, all they can do is confiscate that firearm if everyone in it says ‘oh it’s not mine, I don’t have anything to do with it’,” he says.
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If Hunt can get support for his bill, he’d like to see fines as high as $10,000 and jail time as long as six months for those found guilty.
