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On Wednesday, the UCP passed a government motion to “support the ability of Albertans to lawfully and in a responsible manner own and possess firearms.”

While it’s only a motion, not a law, it’s more than just window dressing.

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It’s widely expected that once the House of Commons reconvenes next week, one of the Trudeau government’s first orders of business will be a gun ban. The Kenney government is trying to get out ahead of this latest gun grab.

So how does a motion in the Alberta legislature prevent the federal confiscation of hundreds of thousands of legally owned firearms?

It’s likely the federal government will not seize guns directly. Rather, Ottawa will grant municipalities the authority to ban guns within city limits.

But there is an intermediate step — a step that makes Wednesday’s UCP motion important.

Municipalities are the legal offspring of provincial governments. Thus, any municipal ban granted by Ottawa would likely require further approval from each province.