Editor,
Open letter to the Honourable Ralph Goodale
As a lifelong responsible gun owner, father, grandfather and veteran of 12 years’ Regular Army service, I am shocked and appalled by the proposals of Bill C-71 and their potential impact on law-abiding gun owners.
The Liberal Party of Canada has been embarked on a campaign of increasingly onerous anti-gun legislation since Ron Basford was Minister of Justice in the government of Pierre Eliot Trudeau.
That campaign goes on to the present day, allegedly in the name of “public safety” and “anti-gang” measures, despite the fact that it cannot be demonstrated that any such laws and restrictions have an effect on reducing crime.
Several members of the Liberal Party have made statements that underscore this anti-gun stance:
“My vision of Canada is one where the only people who should have guns are police officers and soldiers.” Justice Minister Alan Rock, 1994
“Bill C-68 has nothing to do with “public safety” and everything to do with re-engineering Canada into a gunless society.” Senator Sharon Carstairs, 1996
“Canada will be one of the first unarmed countries in the world.” Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, 1998
“Disarming the Canadian public is part of the new human social agenda.” Axworthy, 1998
Were these people lying to us? I think not. The track record of the Liberal Party bears out the truth; the agenda being civil disarmament one gun, one barrel length, one calibre, one variant, one classification at a time.
It is next to impossible for lawful gun owners to keep abreast of current gun laws when lawfully owned firearms and magazines become “restricted” or “prohibited” at the whim of the RCMP from one day to the next.
For example:
Models of the CZ858 and the Swiss Arms that were purchased in good faith are once again reclassified and would be “grandfathered” to current owners under C-71. That would be nothing more than delayed confiscation as with current 12(6) firearms and other classifications.
The Mossberg “Blaze” .22 rifle that resembles an AK47 is prohibited.
The .50 Beowulf magazines that hold more than 10 rds of .223 ammunition are now “prohibited.”
The Ruger 10/22 magazines holding 25 rounds are now a “prohibited” device.
Making criminals out of hitherto law-abiding citizens does nothing to prevent crime or reduce gang violence. Current laws have done nothing to achieve these stated aims and new laws will only further restrict and hamper those who are not the problem.
Permitting the RCMP to determine what guns Canadians can own, use and transport and under what conditions is the stuff of a police state. The role of the police in a democratic society is to enforce laws, not make them.
On the other hand, I applaud the Liberal Party for proposing C-71 as it has assured the undying enmity of Canadian gun owners as well as those voters capable of critical thinking. We are united as never before with one common goal – the defeat of the Liberal Party in the next federal election.
If these travesties can be applied to the most lawful and closely vetted members of Canadian society, then no one is safe from the excesses of the Liberal Party. Contrary to the comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, there are “core Canadian values” to include lawfully owned firearms.
Todd Birch
Baker Creek, B.C.