rural life For many children, guns are a part of growing up Urban & armed Officers face increasingly violent calls involving stolen and modified firearms SERIES HAVE YOUR SAY Meet the women making their mark in a male-dominated industry female firepower hunters & business Rifles and shotguns drive a $300M industry in Saskatchewan gun shows Explore the cultural differences between Canadian and American gun enthusiasts the shot that a province divided scroll down VIDEOs Your story Tell us about a time when guns had an effect — either positive or negative — in your life or the life of someone close to you. Back to the top How increased drug and gang activity in Saskatchewan cities led to a jump in gun violence Police & crime Guns laws cause tension between First Nations leaders and government indigenous voices © 2018 Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix, divisions of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. 365 Bloor St East, Toronto, ON, M4W3L4, www.postmedia.com Worlds are colliding when it comes to guns in Saskatchewan. For some, they are a tool — important for life and work on farms and ranches. Others see a rising rate of gun crime and are fearful of increased violence both in the city and the country. Is it time for the province to rethink how guns fit into daily life? Editor Heather Persson explains why you need to read this series. Read now In a divided province, how do guns fit into Saskatchewan life? A Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix multi-part series investigates lines of F I R E lines of fire videos lines of fire series lines of fire have your say lines of fire Read more rural life Read more Read more Read more Read more Read more Read more

The depth of mistrust and anger found in the province is overwhelming. The divisions between people from rural backgrounds and those who were born and raised in the city hit very close to home for me. I grew up on a farm south of Weyburn, where my father and brother also operate a hunting outfitter business that focuses on upland game. Guns are part of daily life. They bring in food, take care of animals that threatened our livelihood and offered an income during some tough years for farming. Gun safety was drilled into us. Strict rules and horror stories of mishandled weapons scared me from getting into hunting. A distant family member had accidentally shot his mother through the front seat of a vehicle, a tale that I thought about all the time. My brother, however, followed in my dad’s footsteps. Together, they still enjoy hunts, as well as the conservation efforts that so many outdoorsmen also promote. guns By the numbers A man holds up a photo of Colten Boushie

For them, guns create community, and activities that are not just for fun, but have purpose and meaning. Stories — mostly written by journalists out of the east — painted a picture of gun-toting farmers, willing to shoot anyone who might cross a line with them. This deeply frustrates me. I know this is a terrible misrepresentation of both rural residents and gun owners. I also, however, know the urban side of life in Saskatchewan. I live in a loft in the middle of downtown Saskatoon, where people have died due to gun violence just blocks to both the north and south of my building. I got up to walk my dog one summer morning and was soon confronted with police tape, and blood on the sidewalk. Of course, my role as editor of the daily newspapers in Saskatchewan's biggest cities ensures I am aware of every gun crime and death that takes place. I am highly conscious of the fact that guns can have a deadly role in our society, creating a very different reality than the one I saw growing up. These worlds are colliding. It is for this reason that the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix embarked upon the Lines of Fire project. There is a need to get behind the stereotypes to examine how guns currently fit into our culture, and how they might in the future. guns By the numbers

guns By the numbers Over the next week, the Lines of Fire series attempts to lay out the landscape from a number of perspectives: Indigenous people, gun owners, competitive shooters, women, police and more. One of the stories examined in the series that most sticks with me is the death of Matthew Wells, a Regina man who was hanging out with his family when a spray of bullets hit the front window of his home. The assailants had picked the wrong house and hit an unintended target. Wells’ death at age 49 was a profound tragedy. The gun involved in that crime was not smuggled into the country by gangs. It was stolen — shortly before the killing — from a truck parked on the street. This is an example of the collision of worlds I am talking about. Gun owners probably can’t imagine their weapons being used in this way, but this is now a real possibility. The makeup of our province has been slowly, quietly, changing from one where country life was the norm to one where the majority of us live in the city.