I am not surprised to hear members of a Liberal Ontario Government question Prime Minister Harper’s goal to dismantle and change Canada’s gun laws. As you read in one of my previous posts, Harper is extending the amnesty deadline for citizens to register their guns. Apparently, according to members of the opposition and the Ontario Government, this is sending the wrong message in the wake of the tragic Virginia shootings. I Disagree. I think it is sending the right message – That we should stop wasting our money on laws and system that target the wrong people.
Our laws would have had NO impact on the Virginia shooter. Here’s why:
A plastic photo id card (with the shooters face on it) would not have prevented any shots from being fired. It only would have made it easier to id the shooter. Criminals won’t carry a card anyway.
The supporting paper work, that must be carried with the firearm, would not have prevented any shootings from occurring. Criminals (VA Tech Type Shooters) could care less if they had the supporting documents for their weapons while robbing a bank.
The Canadian law that says handguns can only be transported to and used at a shooting range would not have saved one life. Criminals or (Viriginia Tech shooters) will carry their guns wherever they want to. This requirement means nothing to them.
The fact the firearms must be registered, and in order to be registered, the registrant must complete a gun safety handling course (complete with a mound of paperwork and references) would not have stopped the shooters rampage. Why would a criminal waste their time on an initiative that will help police track and id the person committing the crime? It was revealed today that the Virginia Tech Shooter’s guns were registered. A big help that was.
The misleading statistic that the police check the registry 5000 times a day would not have saved one life (click here for ‘lowdown’ on that stat). Criminals won’t register their guns. The only names on that list are names like mine. That’s effective. Although, I may have an unpaid 407 bill…
Our trigger lock law and requirement for ammo to be stored in a separate, secure area will (admittedly) help keep guns (and ammo) away from non-owners of the firearms or children. This law was of no benefit to the victims in Virginia. That being said, I wonder how many police raids have had a greater success rate because the criminals, they were attempting to corner, were fiddling with their trigger locks or running for ammo in a secure area?
As I said in a previous post, lets create gun laws and policies that impact criminals not ‘Joe Legal Gun Owner’ like me. Imagine, if the 1 billion dollars (it may be closer to two billion) that, went into the Canadian Gun Registry, could have gone to initiatives like gun detection technology for schools, research into why crazy people would use on a gun on their peers, social programs for communities under siege from criminal gun violence, the creation of tougher laws that target criminals, and additional police force members and teams (for improved police presence). These are things that would make a difference on gun crime and could have made a difference in Virginia.
These are just expensive laws to implement and they trick the public into thinking they are safer.
No doubt there are people out there who will take what I just wrote and say, “All the more reason to ban guns!” And I’ll say, “And next week we will ban explosives to keep our world safe from terrorists!”
Agree or disagree, I think we can all appreciate the following,
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and students impacted by the Virginia Tech shootings.
Bill Anderson – Muskoka Outdoors
