The recent media and political furor over Vancouver School Board Trustee Sharon Gregson giving her views on handgun ownership and self-defence have brought out the worst in some politicians.
BC Liberal Solicitor-General John Les is appalled and says Gregson is "irresponsible."
NPA Mayor Sam Sullivan is shocked.
Don't either one of them have more important things to do? How about dealing with homelessness, property crime, drug dealing, or even criminals smuggling handguns across the Canadian border?
Instead they have nothing better to do than take political cheap shots - pardon the pun - against someone who has done nothing illegal for speaking her mind.
And because she is a Coalition of Progressive Electors trustee and an NDP supporter, Les and Sullivan are trying to tar and feather her.
I have used a .45 calibre pistol for target shooting myself - I enjoyed it immensely and it was both legal and safe. No, I don't own a gun, thanks for asking.
I worry about drug dealing scumbags who have illegal weapons - like the folks who have killed several young Vancouver people in the past few years.
But I don't stay up night worrying about legal gun owners who shoot competitively in very restrictive conditions with licensed weapons.
I do not agree with Sharon Gregson that Canadians should have the right to carry and conceal handguns for self-defence. All the evidence shows that our American neighbours have a far more dangerous and violent society despite letting citizens arm and defend themselves.
But Sharon Gregson has every right to argue her case in public without a witch hunt by political opportunists.
It's up to citizens to decide if changing our gun laws is a good idea.
Meanwhile, let's not attack one of the only politicians who speaks her mind freely and is willing to open a democratic debate.
We need more frankness and honesty in politics, not less.
Bruce Allen said it well on his CKNW Reality Check today:
"With Sharon Gregson, you know what you are getting and who can't deal with that?"
Who indeed.
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5 comments:
I agree with your comments, but I think she showed poor taste in photography.
Nanaimo
I have no qualms if someone buys a gun and fires it at a Gun Club facility, has a permit to tranfser the thing, and even if the same person has a permit to carry it concealed in the US of A. Just don't flog the idea that any of us should do the same in this country. This old self defence argument is BS. It shouldn't be a point to debate with school kids which she has reported to be in favour of doing. I used to own a small pistol. I can't remember the reason why I just "had" to have one. It got to be a bit of a pain getting it stored, and hauled to a gun club. I lost the great urge rather quickly as the reason went away. If one has a weapon , as Ronny Reagin's wife used to claim she had under the pillow to defend herself, some time she might well have shot herself with the damn thing. Guns are built to kill something or somebody. Few people have the need for a hand gun. Farmers hunting guides and folks hauling piles of money around, but a school board member? I got issued a hand gun during the FLQ event as we were hauling the airborne in and out of Quebec. Didn't feel right. Hell we had about a thousand guys around us who actually knew how to use the things. If ush came to shove they could do the shotting for us. Our survival equipment did not include a weapon as the theory was a person could injure themselves or try to wander off to shoot something to eat. But if the lady follws the rules, well so be it. Les is making it a deal because the woman is know to be left of center. What might have happened if our Premier had a concealed weapon when he was so pissed he couldn't stand up when the cops got to him? I don't think our cops like the idea of more concealed weapons being in the general population
I don't think there is any real constituency in Canada for the idea that guns can be used for self-defence against criminals. Except perhaps for Prof Gary Mauser of SFU.
However, there is a reasonably large group who believe that the federal long gun registry has accomplished little, cost a lot, and succeeded only in alienating the previously quiet duck hunters.
It's refreshing to see some people in the NDP, Sharon Gregson and Bill Tieleman, who do not regard responsible firearm use as some kind of political menace.
But many of these NDP's more righteous left, including most if not all of the Women's Rights Caucus, are going to be right in there with Les and Sullivan condmening Gregson and Tieleman, and demanding a purge of all those who don't show sufficient respect for the loss of 14 women engineering students to mass murderer Marc Lepine 17 years ago.
Note two, that there will be little mention of the fact that these women were studying engineering, since in the minds of these people engineering is a suspect profession, being to business oriented and male dominated.
Is sharon gregson entitled to her opinion? No doubt she is. But when it comes to optics and perception, this wasn't exactly the greatest move for someone with some political acumen, who may have been a potentional star on the vancouver political scene. I think that while she's entitled to her opinion and expressing that opinion, one must question why someone like sharon would risk "shooting herself in the foot" politically and publicly to voice a personal opinion
Never trust a Socialist that outguns you. It's an odd thing; although all Canadians are Guaranteed in the rights and freedoms to Personal Security. So a gun in subtle terms are permitted with no strings attached, such as registries and licences; any weapon. Funny enough the militia has very few limitations in the Canadian Constitution so as I can see; except for the rights like personal security.
Best
Gölök Zoltán Buday
"No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President. Source: The quote is not found in any of his speeches, personal correspondence, or diaries. Nor has the quote ever been cited in law journals by Second Amendment legal scholars.
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