Dear Editor:
RE: Applauds gun ban, May 21.
Absolute shock is what I felt when I read Terry Filce’s letter about the gun ban! Not because of his point he made about assault weapons “that make shooters feel macho”, but the fact that firearms were a large part of his life.
Surely he would sympathize with gun enthusiasts nationwide, purely based on his experience. He probably saw firsthand the joy a well placed group of shots bring to a shooter, or the elation when the gong is struck by a novice 9mm happy hand gun owner. That’s what I don’t get about this ban; these firearms are only prohibited because of their looks? Oh well, it’s only the recreational shooters that suffer, right? No big deal (heavy sarcasm here).
If that’s the case, then let’s not stop at firearms, lets ban all recreational activities that can’t be justified as utilitarian. Let us prohibit the sale of all sports cars, pickup truck lift kits, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, crotch rockets … should I go on? I would definitely feel more macho if I owned any of those! But some would argue they are loud, obnoxious, unruly and not necessary. If you take away one’s “enjoyment of property” (as the Canadian bill of rights puts it) please be prepared, for others will fight to have yours removed as well.
The scariest part of all this drama was the way that our government handled the situation. Any proud Canadian who values democracy should be calling out the Liberals on this one, gun enthusiast or not. They banned over a thousand types of firearms through an order in council. Yah, guns have been put on that list before, but not to this scale. Should a minority government be allowed to wield this type of power? I think not! What kind of loop-hole will they find next?
Trudeau took advantage of the most tragic event in our history and twisted it to his advantage, all in the name of buying votes when he (probably) calls an early election. He doesn’t care about the honest law abiding citizen who really enjoys these firearms, he’s only in this game for himself. As Andrew Scheer and any other rational person would say, the gangs and illegal gun smuggling have got to go first!
Let’s please focus the money and resources on that, and let’s make some real progress!
Doug Vanderveen,
Belwood