Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter to ask questions and make comments that came to mind while reading the editorial, ‘Is what we see working?’, June 9 issue.
I think that Canada’s firearms laws are working just fine for the people that obey the law. No changes necessary. All we need to do is enforce these laws just as they are. Empower the police to get the job done.
The government taking aim at law-abiding citizens is wrong, changing laws for the purpose of incriminating people that obey the law is wrong.
Empower the police to go after the people that are breaking the law. Lawbreakers that own firearms without taking the necessary courses, without having character references, that carry firearms without any licensing, gun smugglers and furthermore people who steal property, intimidate and kill people as well as each other.
The lack of respect for human life is astounding. They are the ones, go after them. They are not going to obey the new laws, they don’t obey the ones that are on the books now.
The general media these days contains a lot of misinformation, disinformation and improper definitions. It began with the AR15 when they thought that the AR stood for ‘assault rifle’ when it actually stands for ArmaLite Rifle which is the manufacturer.
Military weapon is a term that can be used not only for a rifle or handgun but anything from a tank to a grenade, bayonet, cannon or a sword, and more.
The writer referred to her father’s firearm as a ‘single action’ which is a term more often used when talking about a revolver. Single shot is a term more commonly used to describe a rifle.
It was very common in the early to mid 1900’s for people to have military firearms which may or may not have been sporterized for everyday use around the farm or for hunting and usually in .303 which was a military calibre.
When we refer to firearms we should get the terminology correct. Mistaken information becomes disinformation when we accept it as true and base decisions and ideologies on that information. The lethality of a firearm has little if anything to do with its appearance, or the material it is made from because a firearm is made of plastic and is black or cameo-coloured doesn’t make it more lethal.
Automatic firearms have been illegal for decades, semi-automatic firearms will only fire as fast as one can acquire a target and squeeze the trigger.
Larger calibers semi auto or repeaters are restricted to five round magazine with some holding only three or four rounds. There is a broad spectrum of firearms being used in the war for the Ukraine right now. Some might even look like grandpa’s old hunting rifle.
The one paragraph that bothered me most was the one which stated that any lawful firearms owner can become a killer and I quote, “The problem with citizens lawfully owning handguns and military-style weapons is that a ‘lawful’ person can within seconds turn into a killer, intentionally or unintentionally.” Is there any documented research to back that statement up? That is a very dismal outlook on the 2.3 million Canadians that are legal firearms owners.
Is what we see working? Why do we continuously look to the U.S. to compare Canada with. There are many differences and we need not waste time worrying about what Americans do and focus on what it is that makes us Canadian and make it work for all law-abiding citizens.
To the legal firearms owners out there, continue to respect the law, enjoy hunting, shooting sports and collecting. It is your privilege under the provisions of the Canadian Firearms Act.
Write letters to your representatives to ensure that your privileges remain.
Gordon Grice
Castor, Alta.
