More than 1800 guns were surrendered to police recently as part of a province-wide gun amnesty.
Among them were pistols, rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic weapons and more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition.
In Abbotsford, one resident called in to surrender a missile. Police apparently didn't find the homeowner's comment - "I don't think it's live" - particularly reassuring.
In a previous gun amnesty one Lower Mainland family even turned in a rocket launcher.
For the most part, the guns turned in just tend to be old, and unused. They aren't weapons favoured by gangsters or criminals.
But getting them out of people's attics, closets and storage spaces is still a commendable exercise.
An old Chekov rule of drama said a playwright shouldn't put a gun in scene one unless it was going to be fired by the end of the play. And all too often, life has imitated art.
Every year there are tragic cases in Canada of kids who get access to their family's legal guns and manage to shoot either themselves or other children.
People often do stupid things when they are drunk or angry. Having guns in the vicinity just ups the ante on that.
In other cases, circumstances simply change. Someone who legally acquired a gun 20 years ago when they are healthy can go on to suffer dementia or mental illness.
Simply put, fewer guns out there means fewer gun accidents.
The gun amnesty program allows us to breathe just a little bit easier.
