[BPM]

I rarely update my facebook page, I dont post political things, however I did write this the day the news broke.

Its a long read however it really emphasizes how incorrect the Liberal government is on this issue! Please read and share!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...4&id=516236443

This is for anyone on my friends list who is considering supporting the Trudeau governments election "promise" on banning guns in Canada... yes its long however I encourage you to read it as a friend of someone on perhaps the other side of the issue wanting to see how this really impacts both myself, as well as possibly your family members and all Canadians.

There is a great deal of misinformation represented in their plan, along with a great deal of playing on emotion versus the facts...

I'll try to be as diplomatic as possible however this impacts not only myself, but a huge amount of my friends and colleagues and is both a huge financial loss personally (the cost of a decent midsized car) as well as for our country.

I cite my near decade background in law enforcement having used these firearms both professionally on a daily basis as well as privately as a much loved hobby of mine to support my opinion.

I'll start point form.

- A ban on "assault rifles", "military style" rifles, "military grade" rifles, or whatever scary moniker the media is using.

Firstly... by definition an "Assault Rifle" is a weapon capable of select fire...meaning "fully automatic capability". These weapons have been banned in Canada already for roughly 80 years for civilian use. If you can believe it...they have also been banned in the USA for nearly the same amount of time... so unless you have a whole bunch of permits and whatnot for class 3 destructive devices which are rare, even our friends to the south are in the same boat as us. The closest thing we have to this for private purchase in Canada is the AR-15 sporting rifle. A semi automatic sporting rifle designed for the civilian market limited to 5 rounds. Lets get the record straight here. THE "AR" IN AR-15 DOES NOT STAND FOR ASSAULT RIFLE. It stands for Armalite Rifle... the company that designed the platform.

An assault rifle is a weapon used in the military and some elite police forces throughout the world. There is not one police agency in Canada that even uses an "assault" rifle in Canada on their standard scale of issue. They are already highly regulated. Short of enlisting in our armed forces you will likely never ever see one of these.

-The Liberal government claims they will make tighter controls for guns where as the conservative government would make it easier for people to own assault rifles.

This is laughable and a complete lie in every way.

It has been illegal to own any firearm in Canada unless you have a license. It has been this ways for decades and decades. As a person who is in posession of both a restricted and non restricted firearms license, my criminal record and arrest record is checked every single day. I completed all the required background checks both on my initial application, and have to maintain a flawless record for the rest of my life to maintain this. And as it should be and as its been long before this news.

-The liberal government would have you believe that these guns are running rampant through our streets.

This simply is not true. There is no record of an assault rifle being used in the commission of an offence in recent memory. Not only that, but unlike grandpas old 22, I cannot take my AR-15's or pistols shopping with me. I cannot take them out to the pasture and shoot cans, I cannot take them into the back country for protection from bears or cougars or the mighty squirrel. The only place in Canada you can shoot these guns legally is at an RCMP approved range. And to date, no licensed gun owner has committed a mass shooting in Canada with a restricted firearm. Shocked? Nope. Statistics Canada (a real government agency) cites licensed firearms owners as 3 times LESS LIKELY to commit an offence over non licensed Canadians.

- The UK, New Zealand, Austrailia, Japan, have all enacted a gun ban and we should too.."

Ok this one also makes me cringe...

I could go on for days about how this has been a colossal failure for them, bring up the statistics in how gun crime actually increased after the ban but Ill just say this...

What do they all have in common? They are Island Nations not sharing an 8000km unprotected border with the most firearm saturated country on the planet. A country where you can actually walk across the border to and from. A country that provides Canada with the overwhelming majority of the illegal guns used in the crimes in our cities. Narcotics come into our country by the bag full, truck full, boat full, the same is true with firearms. Its a lucrative market. A gun that can be purchased for 50 or 100 dollars in the states can be sold up here for 1000% profit or more. The 10s of billions of dollars this gun ban will cost Canadian tax payers is far better spent on giving our border officers the tools to interdict these shipments. Local agencies to provide high risk youth programs to reduce the chances of becoming gang members, not taking away the property of legal gun owners already highly vetted, and heavily scrutinized, with near zero return on this investment.

And lastly I'll bring up the favorite amongst anti gun folk.

-Nobody needs a handgun or assault rifle in Canada.

Okay. I can appreciate your view. Setting aside its already highly illegal to own an assault rifle in Canada, I'll just assume you mean the scary looking AR-15.

Functionally, its no different than any semi automatic hunting rifle with a wood stock. In fact the cartridge it fires is less powerful than any cartridge you can legally hunt with. Your grandpas deer rifle chambered in 30-06 packs nearly 3 times the energy. Also the AR15 and any other semi automatic rifle in Canada is LEGALLY only permitted to have a 5 round magazine. Not 30, not 500. Its incorrect to assume that they are mass killing machines in this country as our laws do not permit it. Pistols magazines are limited to 10 rounds in Canada. The overwhelming majority of the guns used in all the recent shootings in Ontario were smuggled across our borders and would otherwise be prohibited in Canada. Not restricted... PROHIBITED.

So I go back to why.

Well, because its a tremendously enjoyable sport. Not only does it allow me to train and keep competent while I'm keeping Canadians safe while you sleep, but it requires concentration, discipline, and responsibility. It is an all inclusive gender neutral race regardless sport that brings everyone together in a common interest. Theres no mens league, in fact when I took Kari out shooting she outshot me her first time.

Its therapeutic, and has the mental focus requirements of many sports like Golf, and pool. It encourages precision, and affords many people great bonding experiences with friends and family.

Aside from the fact that millions of Canadians take part in this, it also employs so so many, adding billions of dollars each year to our economy. The vast majority of businesses, including retail stores and gun ranges are supported by Canadians who own restricted firearms simply because our laws require range memberships in order to own them. Everyone has things they enjoy, hobbies, clubs, and thats the great thing about being Canadian is choice.

I'll close with this.

If you dont like guns, thats okay. You dont have to own one. But I do. I have a very respectable collection that has been put together over many years and thousands of dollars. Its a part of who I am. Not once have any of my guns unlocked themselves, Houdini'd themselves out of the safe, loaded themselved, and headed out on a shooting spree. Because Im not a criminal. I have given a lot for my country, this is a slap in the face to every gun owner, whether or not you own a handgun or semi automatic rifle, the Government is saying that we cant be trusted when the facts state the opposite. This law will make criminals out of a huge number of Canadians, while real criminals are laughing in our streets.

I have asked people convicted of horrific crimes in this country if they even considered the consequences of using a firearm. Never crossed their mind. Often the firearms charges were the lesser charge. This needs to change.

Lets get tough on the real problem. Gangs and Guns. Leave the lawful people in peaceful posession of their property alone. All you're doing is taking away from the non issue and enabling the criminals to keep doing what they're doing. Murder is illegal in Canada. Heroin is illegal in Canada. And yet they are still happening because people dont care about laws when theyre motivated.

Lets get tough on the crimes committed by these people, actually do something about the root of the issue, not go after the people who are not the problem because we're an easy target. Its a easy way to get votes but will do absolutely nothing to stop the carnage in your streets, and even Canadas police agencies including the RCMP agree that gun bans wont stop the problem. Their plan makes no mention of increased consequences for criminals yet decimates a legitimate industry and peoples freedoms. At what point will it stop. At what point does the government stop removing these freedoms, well vetted and well licensed freedoms.

If you want to look past the Liberal scandals. Fine. If you want to look past the laws hes broken, fine. But dont look past your friends and fellow Canadians. We dont deserve this.

Im not telling you how to vote, I understand Canadians right to choose whats best for them, just please do your due diligence in understanding this issue. It will not have the desired results that the Liberal Party of Canada would have you believe. If you agree, let your LPC candidate know.

Thank you for your time.