Assault Riffles and Gun Control

Well it would appear the Conservatives are trying to get rid of gun registry and seem to be fighting the police on it. Now why on earth would the police support gun control? Perhaps it's because they are the ones that have to deal with guns on the streets.

However, some argue that gun control just takes the guns away from law biding citizens. It does nothing to remove them from criminals because a criminal is not going to commit a crime with a registered gun.

Now there are different reasons for opposing gun control and they are indeed political and ideological. Originally the Americans "Right to Bear Arms" was entrenched in the constitution for two reasons. To allow citizens the right to protect their constitutional right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The other was to help prevent a democratic nation from being conquered by a foreign power or a corrupt government. Hitler supported gun control and disarmed the nation before he seized dictatorship.

The Americans big fear was godless Communism. If the general public is armed and has guns, it's harder for a foreign government to invade and take over that country. Kinda like how it was difficult for England to invade and control Scotland when everyone and his dog had a sword. They'd take their claymores with them everywhere. Even to church on Sundays.

Then there's protection of persons and property. In America, if a criminal breaks into someones home and threatens their family, that home owner is legally justified to defend himself and his family. If he shoots the invader he is a hero. If a Canadian did that he would be a criminal.

I used to be a strong advocate for the right to bear arms for those two reasons. Many in Canada are less vigilant when it comes to that right. They are concerned with gun violence. When guns are in the home, fatalities from domestic violence increases. When guns are in the home accidents happen especially when children get a hold of them. When guns are in the home street violence rises when those guns are stolen and used to commit crimes.

The gun registry debate has resurfaced and Harper made a statement about not wanting to turn farmers with rifles into criminals. Fair enough but we do know that the real reasons behind the right to bear arms are ideological as I've mentioned and have nothing to do with farmers.

Now, on to assault rifles. Semi Automatic Assault rifles are a restricted weapon in Canada. That means you may buy them but you have to have it registered and you may only use it on the gun range. OK what if you buy one and you use it to commit a crime? You basically get a slap on the wrist and a lifetime firearm ban which really doesn't mean anything because like i said, people aren't going to use a registered firearm to commit a crime.

There needs to be a more severe penalty for someone who uses a firearm to commit a criminal offense. Registered handguns in Canada are not for self defense. They must be stored unloaded, in a locked container with a trigger lock. You are not allowed to use a registered handgun as self defense even though we are legally authorised to defend ourselves with reasonable force against a lethal attack.

Logic would infer that if someone was attacking you with deadly force, you would be legally authorized to use deadly force to defend yourself. I.E. if someone was shooting at you you would be allowed to shoot back as that would be reasonable force against a deadly attack. Yet the gun control laws prevent that from happening. So in reality, if someone was shooting at us, we would be legally authorized to snap their neck with our bare hands not shoot back at them.

I fully agree there are too many guns in the hands of criminals on the street. Not just .22's. We're talking about automatic weapons, semi automatic assault riffles, rocket launchers and hand grenades. I kid you not.

Right now I can go to my local sporting goods store and buy an AR 15 or a M&P 15 semi automatic assault riffle as long as I don't buy it with a banana clip with a large capacity. However, nothing would stop me from buying the assault riffle with a small magazine and later buying a larger banana clip for it afterwards.

Don't get me wrong. I think the idea of getting an AK or an M&R 15 and taking it to the gun range to blow shit up would be a blast. I'm just wondering how we get guns out of the hands of criminals.

Typically a right wing conservative government supports democracy and less government meddling into the lives of private citizens. However, that is a stereotype. True the Liberals are really making a big deal about nothing when the Harper government wants to make census information less intrusive.

The Liberals making a big deal about that is bizarre and a red flag. Why does the government need to know all that information about it's citizens?

Then we have the patriot act. Isn't that an oxymoron. Overriding the US Constitution by removing civil liberties and calling that Patriotic. This done by a right wing government that had abandoned democratic principles just like Hitler did. A right wing dictator is the same as a left wing dictator.

Harper's obsession with his idol Brian Mulroney and his deja vue push for the HST is very undemocratic. The HST is killing the housing market. Despite huge public opposition the government is determined to press forward unilaterally. That is a clear example of how the stereotype is wrong and shows a right wing government abandoning the principles of democracy it so dramatically boasts about defending.

I will add that no one is going to commit a criminal offence with a registered firearm unless they plan on committing suicide. If someone plans on committing suicide, they aren’t going to care if the registered firearm is going to be traced back to them.

Likewise if someone was going to commit a Bowling for Columbine murder suicide, they aren’t going to care if the registered firearm gets traced back to them. I think everyone would like to see less guns in the hands of criminals. Except for the companies that make guns of course.