My U.S. gun surprise.

For the first time since I was a child, I took a trip down to Minot North Dakota for a weekend getaway. And to be completely honest, I was completely taken aback at how much I loved it there. Sure I expected to have a good time, but I think I expected Americans to be more... I don't know.... xenophobic maybe? But whatever I expected, I had no encounters this trip to justify anything close to what I had preconceived!

There was a point in our trip where (as an outdoor enthusiast) I went into a local sporting goods store located in the mall, where I happened to walk by the handgun section to notice 3 customers purchasing assorted handguns. I happened to overhear one customer ask what it required, and to my utter shock, the salesperson said "do you have a driver's licence? Then you're all good". The one thing I didn't see during my trip, was any sort of fear, or violence. But it made me realize how the Canadian Government has oppressed the rights of ownership for average Canadians. So needless to say I was a little frustrated with my own Country.

My frustration made me go "off book" in one of the shops we were in, where after some friendly banter between a young saleswomen and my wife and I, I broached the subject of her opinion of conceal and carrying sidearms. Being a 25 year old young lady, I naturally assumed her to be an anti-gun Liberal. Boy did she blow my socks off (funny thing about that statement, we were in a shoe store! lol)! Not only was she pro-gun, SHE had a conceal and carry licence!!! She explained that she had gotten it for protection at 18 when she left home, and then proceeded to ask me about gun laws in Canada.  I have to say I was both so embarrassed and furious at my Countries willful erosion of personal rights that it was getting hard to keep my voice moderate, but I managed to explain all the restrictions, to which she just shook her head and said it seemed "unreal".

Are we too willing up here in Canada to let our Government and it's officials run roughshod over our rights? How did we get to the point that we allow the Government and it's agencies to dictate ownership and self defense right to us? We have gone over the rails, sacrificing personal rights for the appearance of security by Government agencies.

Time to repeal the "do nothing" Gun laws (not all laws do nothing, I believe we should toughen penalties, and laws for crimes committed with a firearm, and allow self defense), to allow Canadians to be free.

Ten thousand regulations.

I was wondering to myself last night: "When was the last time having a police force made me feel safe, rather than nervous?" I was thinking this because I had a dream where I had been given something that I wanted (A handgun from someone who had passed away), but then had fear of the police for not having the "proper paperwork" to even take it home. As someone who tries to abide the law, yet believes in personal freedom this was very conflicting (this was literally a nightmare), simple due to the severely restrictive nature of Firearm's laws in Canada. Even the other day on a Highway trip I knew I wasn't speeding (had the cruise set), yet when the I saw the red and blues come up behind me (and pass me) I had no feelings of safety or protection. What I did get was a ball in the pit of my stomach, even though I knew I wasn't breaking any laws!

Now I've already explained (previous post) how law enforcement is incapable of protecting the citizenry from crimes upon the person, but what they are supposed to do is enforce infractions to the laws, so to be honest the only problem I have with the police in this post is their compliance to enforce laws that actually restrict the freedoms of what we obviously mistakenly think of as a "Free Society". The problem itself comes with the incompetency of (knee jerk) lawmakers who put forward restrictive legislation which only affects those who respect law.  Winston Churchill once said "If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law", and to be honest I believe for a lot of responsible gun owners it has come to that point. We now had the potential for 10,000 "paper criminals" that were facing mandatory time in prison, for owning a firearm that has been recently deemed "scary" (arbitrarily reclassified from non-restricted straight to prohibited) See here.

When did we start giving up freedom for the perception of safety? And let's face facts, right now all you have is the "hope" that some criminal won't somehow victimize you, not the security that they won't (which no one ever has). For one thing penalties for "actual" criminal offences are so short that they are no deterrent for a real criminal, yet there are those that the mere thought of doing something administratively wrong, yet not even truly criminal,  is enough to give them nightmares. Does that sound right for a free society? The Government has the power to either protect rights or oppress them, and in the case of responsible gun owners they have gone the way of oppression.

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.