More good news for our Canadian members

[qlajlu]

From The Toronto Star

Kimveer Gill's weapons were registered, but it did not stop him from killing, says Rondi Adamson


Sep. 17, 2006. 01:00 AM
RONDI ADAMSON


I have to admit, I've been wrong about the gun registry in the past. I always thought that it should be scrapped, for the simple reason that criminals don't obey the law.

It turns out, however, that the registry is useless for another reason. Some criminals do obey the law, dutifully registering their guns before using them to slaughter people.

On Wednesday, at Montreal's Dawson College, Kimveer Gill used three apparently legally registered firearms to kill (as of this writing) one person, and injure and traumatize many others.

In one sense, at least, he was law-abiding. But given what he was able and willing to do with his registered weapons, how can it be argued that the registry is anything but a misuse of funds, time and energy?

Even had Gill's weapons not been registered, what difference would that make? It isn't paperwork that will prevent the kind of violent crime Gill committed. That kind of crime can probably never be completely prevented.

Mandatory sentencing, tougher bail and parole legislation, while laudatory initiatives in terms of other crimes, would not have stopped Gill.

He had no police record. Hiring more police officers, while also a good idea, would most likely not have stopped him.

And even sounding the alarm at the sight of his nihilistic web profile might not have helped.

Were we to scrutinize every young male who posts similar ramblings (an impossibility), there would be few police left for anything else. Not to mention the crucial matter of freedom of expression, be that "expression" disturbing or not. All of this is tragic, but no less true for that.

The registry of long guns, and more talk of gun control in general, came about, in part, as a reaction to the 1989 Montreal massacre.

But, if anything, one could argue that the 1989 tragedy and Wednesday's events, would more likely have been stopped earlier on, if not prevented, by supporting the right to bear arms.

Had all, or many, students and faculty at L'École Polytechnique, or Dawson College, been armed, Marc Lepine and Kimveer Gill would have been taken out quickly.

I'm not suggesting Canada should be like Tombstone, Arizona. I'm arguing that it is fatuous to insist these rampage killings would be stopped by stricter gun laws.

We should, after incidents such as this, ask questions. We should look for solutions, or at least improvements.

But the inevitable political manipulations that take place in the aftermath of the Lepines and the Gills are dismaying.

The reflexive reaction on both sides — the latte-drinking, pro-gun control urbanites, vs. what the latter view as assorted loners, rubes and crazies, is not productive.

But as a latte-drinking urbanite, who has no interest in owning a gun of any kind, I see no societal benefit to making rubes, crazies, or anyone else, register theirs.


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Rondi Adamson is a Toronto-based writer. [email protected].

Also see The Globe and Mail

The fact is, this tragedy happened despite the fact that the Firearms Act, one of the most restrictive gun laws in the world, has been in full effect for years.

Finally, someone in Canada has made a down-to-earth analysis.

 

[denfoote]

However, the result of all this will still be more gun control.
Commie libs are still in charge!!

 

[Banta]

I live in Western Canada so there were no cries of banning firearms or such after this incident. There generally never is in this part of the country. What probably surprised me was that there seemed to be alot of opinions like the one you posted coming from (Liberal) Eastern Canada. It seemed like the majority of the comments that I read or heard from Eastern Canada either were in regards to not disamntling the gun regsitry like the Conservative government has vowed to do, to the comments that the registry was no help in stopping the tragedy committed. The whole incident blew over really quick. There was alot more emphasis on the victims and the web site that seemed to promote or at least contain alot of strange people with strange thoughts.

 

[thexrayboy]

The writer of that article stated that that type of crime probable can never be prevented and he may well be right. However that type of crime can be seriously curtailed by the average citizen who is legally carrying a firearm.

If just one person with a Glock 17 or(fill in your favorite handgun) had been present in that building when this yutz opened fire the number of people shot and wounded would almost certainly be much lower. However we will likely never know if a crazed gunmen can be deterred by legal carry. These guys are crazy but not stupid. They strive to pick out locations where they know
the intended victims are disarmed due to moronic anti gun laws, policies and restrictions.

 

[denfoote]

Banta,
That surprises me!!
Usually the response is hue and cry for "sensible" gun laws, followed by even more Draconian measures!!

 

[Sunray]

Both the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail lauded all gun control legislation when it was proposed then enacted. The only difference, now, is that they'll print letters and editorials that point out what Canadian gun owners have been saying since 1978.

 

[qlajlu]

A trend starting in Canada?

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52041

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

What can we do to stop lunatics with guns?

by Christopher di Armani

On Dec. 6, 1989, a lunatic took a rifle into a Montreal school and brutally murdered 14 young women and wounded an additional 13.

With the battle cry of "Never Again!" the government-of-the-day introduced Bill C-68, Canada's Firearms Act, and passed it into law in 1995.

On Sept. 13, 2006, another lunatic took another rifle into another Montreal school, brutally murdered one young woman and wounded another 20 people.

Bill C-68 (the Firearms Act) could not stop Kimveer Gill on Sept. 13, 2006, anymore than it could have stopped Gamil Gharbi (aka Marc Lepine) on Dec. 6, 1989.

Both Gharbi and Gill were vetted by the authorities of the day. Both were cleared by the government and "given permission" to purchase their firearms.

Neither the Firearms Acquisition Certificate questions asked of Gharbi nor the Possession and Acquisition License questions asked of Gill tipped off those guarding our public safety that these young men were deranged and dangerous.

Those who continually cry for more "gun control" refuse to learn the fundamental truth these heinous crimes teach those of us with the ears to hear:

Society cannot legislate sanity.

There is nothing government can do to stop someone from going crazy and going on a murderous rampage.

All we can do is stop them once they've already gone mad and started killing.

Who do we call when this happens?

Someone with the means and ability to stop the killer ... someone with a gun.

In Canada it is "unthinkable" that we citizens are capable of defending ourselves when a madman starts shooting.

Instead, panicked and terrified, we frantically dial 9-1-1 and pray to God we aren't dead by the time "someone with a gun" arrives to save us.

It would be so much simpler to cut out the middleman and the high death toll, don't you think?

What if the first student confronted by Gamil Gharbi and his rifle that awful December day, instead of cowering and dying, had pulled a concealed-carry handgun from her purse and shot him dead?

Even if her actions were not in time to save her own life, 13 other young women would be alive today, celebrating her training and foresight each Dec. 6.

Instead, every year we allow the "grief industry" to tell us over and over how powerless we are. We allow the "victim culture" to grow. We allow ourselves to believe the lie that we cannot defend ourselves.

What if one of the first young men confronted by Kimveer Gill had pulled his own concealed-carry pistol and shot Gill dead?

Instead of mourning the death Anastasia De Souza and facing his own impotence, he could instead stand tall, knowing his training and foresight saved Anastasia's life.

When will Canadians comprehend the simple truth Israel learned back in the '70s when Muslim terrorists were murdering Israeli children in their schools: Gun-Free Zones only protect the killers – not their intended victims. Once Israel armed their teachers, attacks on schools stopped. Immediately.

One day we must face the truth: Licensing and registration of firearms does not work.

On that day we must look for real-world solutions to this problem, instead of the politically expedient knee-jerk reactions that keep killing our young people.

After all, the goal is to save lives, isn't it?

I detect a trend starting in Canada.