Misinformation from Canadian Press
This week The Vancouver Sun offered a multi-part feature on guns, titled: “Part 1: Tighten controls on civilianized military-assault weapons.” That is a new one for us, “civilianized military-assault weapons,” which attempts t suggest that these military guns are still somehow “military.”
The article offers this interesting passage:
“Some Canadians are alarmed that registered firearms users such as (Dan) Styles have legal access to such weapons, which are considered ‘civilianized’ models of modern military-assault rifles. Although these high-powered rifles are seldom used in crimes in Canada, many gun-control advocates want them banned in the name of public safety.”
This sounds familiar doesn’t it? The guns are “seldom used in crimes” but in the “name of public safety” the anti-gun zealots want them banned! We also note that once again, the adjective “high-powered” is also used erroneously to suggest these weapons are even more sinister.
The Gazette Explains Canadian Gun Laws
Ask most Americans about Canada and guns, and they’ll quote Michael Moore that the country doesn’t have the same love of guns as America. But this week The Montreal Gazette offered a piece that that shows that guns are big in Canada too.
The article notes:
“According to the most recent statistics from the Canadian Firearms Centre, there are more than 7.6 million registered firearms in Canada, or about one gun per four Canadians. More than 1.8 million Canadians — about six per cent of the population — have valid gun licences, with the largest concentrations in Atlantic Canada and the North. The Yukon stacks up as the most gun-loving area of the country, with more than 84 guns per 100 people.”
This piece also explains how firearms such as the AK-47 are officially banned, but notes “Czech-made CZ 858 Tactical rifle, which appears almost identical to the infamous Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle and shoots the same 7.62-calibre NATO bullet,” is legal in Canada.
In other words things north of the border aren’t all that different.
National Post: Gun control, homicide rates not linked: study
This week the National Post of Canada offered some news that many anti-gun zealots won’t want to hear, namely, “Gun control, homicides rates not linked: study.” The post notes:
“Criminal record checks, 28-day waiting periods, the long-gun registry: none has done anything to stem Canadian firearm homicide rates, according to a new study by an emergency-medicine academic.”
This is an interesting bit of information and we’ll be fascinated to see how the media in the United States responds, that is if at all.
Should U.S. Follow Canada’s Example? Editorial Says So But Fails to Make Point
Writing as a guest columnist for the News-Press.com of Fort Myers Floria, retired newspaper editor Rick Diamond gets straight to his point:
“Taking on the gun lobby is an exercise in futility. No politician – Democrat or Republican – will risk having the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) campaign against them at election time.”
In that one sentence Diamond fails to make his point in his entire column. What does the NRA have to do with the “Canadian” system? Only at the end of his op-ed does he note:
“Hopefully someday, as a way to reduce gun violence in this country, Congress will find the courage to follow Canadian law which has no loopholes for unregistered guns.”
And here we circle back to a point that Diamond and many other anti-gun zealots fail to understand. The NRA is powerful because it is how the people vote. Congress doesn’t lack courage, Congress acts in response of what the people want.
So what Diamond and others of his ilk really mean is that they want a Congress to say, “To hell with the will of the people. Banning guns would be better.”
MICHAEL KRYZANEK: U.S. could learn from other nation’s gun policies
Writing for the Patriot Ledger, Michael Kryzanek, executive director of the Center for International Engagement at Bridgewater State University, offers an interesting commentary on international gun laws. He writes that the United States could learn from other nation’s gun policies. He cites examples in England, Canada and Australia.
But what about Nazi Germany? What about the Soviet Union? How about North Korea or Cambodia? How about China as an example? China today has laws that ban individual gun ownership, but yet criminal syndicates not only have guns but they have gun making factories that churn out AK-47 clones!
And how about Mexico? That one seems surprising to leave off the list. Private gun ownership is tightly controlled in Mexico, and yet the criminals there have no problem getting guns.
Did banning alcohol turn the United States dry in 1919? That didn’t seem to work. So why would gun control?
Canadians Show How Easy it is For Americans to Get Guns
Gun bias isn’t limited to America we know and a piece from The Montreal Gazette shows as much. The story offers this interesting insight:
“Undercover investigators have exposed how easy it is in the United States to buy high-powered weapons — even when the buyer admits to being unable to pass a background check.”
This story, like most we’re seeing, doesn’t bother to point out that private sales don’t require a background check. But we like how the paper adds in the term “high-powered weapons.” Again, “high-powered” is not – and should never be – a blanket term for all guns. Not all guns are high-powered.
This story also attempts to make it seem that laws were broken at the gun show in Tucson, and the fact is whether you like it or not, laws were NOT broken. Of course this point is never actually made clear in the report.
Woman Saved From Dog Attack By Shooter
Angelita Deleon, 58, was peacefully walking the streets of San Antonio, Texas when she was suddenly attacked by a pit bull mix. A man driving by, whose name hasn’t been released, saw Angelita struggling on the ground with the dog. He parked his vehicle and fired several shots, hitting the dog in the leg.
Police Sgt. Devon Lambert said Deleon sustained bites to her head, neck and face. According to the police report, Deleon was walking down the street when the dog attacked her for no apparent reason, knocking her down. She was taken to the hospital and released later the same day.
The shooter, who has a permit to carry a concealed handgun, may have saved Angelita’s life.
“If he hadn’t come along, it could have resulted in her death,” Lambert said.
The police followed a blood trail which led them to where the pit bull mix had retreated to. Animal Care Services picked up the dog and according to shelter spokeswoman Lisa Norwood, it was immediately euthanized.
The dog had a collar but police haven’t been able to find its owner.
It is interesting to note that in places like Texas, citizens can protect themselves and others from life threatening dangers with firearms. In a country like Canada, which has draconian gun control laws, they can’t. What has Canada done about pit bulls? It has banned them. Not all pit bulls are dangerous and not all dog attacks are made by pit bulls.
A person should be free to own any breed of dog they want. No matter how many freedoms a government takes away from its citizens, it can’t protect everyone from every danger. Let the individual exercise his or her freedom of ownership. When a people are willing to give up rights because that’s what the majority wants, there is a tyranny of the majority that tries to cookie-cut everyone with the same mold. I prefer to hold onto my individual idiosyncrasies rather than be absorbed into the collective. Read more
Gun Control Myth Two: Firearms Restriction Reduce Crime
Gun control advocates have claimed for years that laws which restrict firearms ownership reduces violent crimes. The United States has over 20,000 different gun laws, most of which are at the state and local level. Since the 1960’s states and cities have passed stricter firearms laws intending to reduce violent crime but more often than not violent crime increased. Read more
Canadian Liberals: Evil NRA Attacking Canada
Bloomberg via Businessweek.com reported that David McGuinty, a Liberal Party lawmaker, has called out the ruling Conservative Party to clarify any links with the NRA. This comes as the Conservative Party has announced that it would eliminate the long gun registry in Canada.
According to the story:
“The NRA has been involved in efforts to scrap the Canadian registry for a decade, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported today.” Read more
Gun Business: Canadian court ruling could zap Taser’s bottom line
Taser X3 multi-shot ECD
Canadian Judge Robert Sewell, denied Taser International Inc.’s (TASR) request to reject the previous findings of a governmental inquiry. A public inquiry into stun gun safety began in May 5, 2008 after the 2007 death of a man in a Vancouver Airport. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) shot the man multiple times with a stun gun and he later died. The inquiry report provided evidence that stun guns also called conducted energy weapons which disable potential targets with up to 50,000 volts of electricity can be lethal.
“It is quite clear to me that there were presentations made to the commissioner by medical experts,” said British Columbia Supreme Court judge Sewell,” and others to the effect that such weapons can cause serious harm and even death in exceptional circumstances.” Read more
