A "Gun"undrum.

I've had some discussions in the past with the "anti - gun" crowd, and most of the time it boils down to 1. "why do I need a gun", or 2. "Why are you so scared you feel you have to have a gun"?

Instance number 1. is pretty simple: The desire to own a firearm doesn't have to be based on need, because in a "Free Country" we are allowed to own things that we wish to without the requirement of need.

As for number 2. the question itself is a red herring, because even if I choose to have a firearm for protection, the real fear belongs to those that think you shouldn't have the right to own one, because you owning it is terrifying and somehow untenable to them . The fear of guns is what motivates bad legislation (and bureaucratic re-classifications) which criminalize responsible gun owners. Now there may be instances where fear is a motivating factor in the purchase of a firearm, but I believe most who purchase one for personal protection look at it the same as buying insurance: you hope you never need it, but it's nice to have it if you ever do.

I've jumped through the ownership hoops, not all of which I even disagree with (ie: training, and some licencing), but it has come to the point where non legislators are literally abusing respectful, responsible gun owners with new laws that have NO AFFECT on criminals. Legislation and even worse what has been done by the RCMP to BYPASS legislators to take responsible individuals property away ARE because of fear, and an ACTUAL violation of the rights of ownership within a "Free Society". I should NOT be made a criminal because of something I own, rather than an action that hurts someone else, THAT is an abhorrent abuse of the legal system.

I leave with this thought:
"To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow... For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding."
-- Jeff Snyder, Oct 20, 1994

You can find more information on Canadian rights to own and bear arms HERE.
You can also check out the Canadian National Firearms Association for more information.

Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean you should be able to tell me I can't have it.