Editor, The News:
Re: Gun club, business worry about handgun ban.
In response to Barry Billas’s letter. The danger of emotional, knee -jerk cries for “more gun control” goes beyond just Wanstall’s livelihood.
The bigger issue is when [people] … shoot off their mouths off about a subject about which they know nothing about – resulting in ineffectual actions being taken that only adversely affect the most law-abiding citizens while leaving the real criminals alone.
Mr. Billas obviously knows nothing about firearms and how incredibly strictly they are enforced in Canada. This is immediately evident in his misuse of the term “assault rifle” when describing the AR 15 sporting rifle. As he says, “calling it something different doesn’t change what it is.”
Demonizing objects and people they don’t like or agree with has long been a tactic of the rabid anti-gun lobby. By the accepted definition of “assault rifle,” they are already all prohibited and cannot be purchased legally by anyone except for the few collectors who owned a machine gun prior to 1978.
The definition of an “assault rifle” is one that is smaller than a battle rifle, fires intermediate-sized ammunition, feeds from a high-capacity magazine and is capable of select fire (full auto). Full autos are prohibited in Canada. High-capacity magazines are prohibited in Canada.
Just in the past few days, the head of the Toronto police union stated that more regulations will do absolutely nothing to prevent crime. The oft-quoted figure that 50 per cent of crime guns in Toronto were “domestically-sourced” has since proven to be a blatant lie.
Mr. Billas says Glocks are not target pistols? What does he think a target pistol looks like? Sure, Glocks are good target pistols. All my handguns are used for target shooting (the only legal usage allowed).
No one needs a motorcycle that goes 150 km/h. No one needs to smoke or drink. Any one of these activities kills way more Canadians than guns (in the hands of criminals or irresponsible people) do. This is a slippery slope toward giving up completely to a “nanny state”
The proposed Bill (C 71) will do nothing to fight gangs and curb gun violence in Canada.
As tragic as the recent shootings in Toronto and Fredericton were, they are still rare in this country. Gun homicides have remained low and steady for over 40 years.
Most gun deaths in Canada are suicides. The bulk of homicides are the result of drug gang warfare. Why don’t we crack down on drug gangs instead of the meticulously screened and vetted legal gun owners?
David Vernon
Maple Ridge