It is unfortunate that some irresponsible people have necessitated the government to ban recreational shooting in the bush close to roads.
Nevertheless, not all recreational shooters should be punished. The province should set aside areas for shooting. These do not have to be formal ranges but simply relatively safe areas.
Recreational firearms shooting had been part of Canada since before Confederation and currently is at its highest level in history. As a result of this popularity, most gun clubs in the Lower Mainland are full and are not accepting new members. The impact of this is that many shooters have no place to go.
For the province to ban shooting in certain areas while not providing an alternative, when it would be inexpensive and easy to do, gun owners can only suspect an ulterior motive within the legislation.
Edward White
Chilliwack