Hard to believe that Canadians, who have often been dismissive of America's "Culture of Gun Violence", are finally admitting that they have their own share of crazed mass murderers.
Toronto City Council Urges Ban on Handgun, Ammunition Sales After Shooting: On July 22, 2018, Faisal Hussain opened fire in Toronto’s Greektown, killing two and wounding 13. CBS News reported that Toronto Mayor John Tory reacted to the shooting by saying, “Guns are too readily available to too many people.”
The National Post quoted Tory saying, “Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all? ....”
Eventually our Northern Neighbors will acknowledge that all nations need to address the problem of rising gun violence. And banning guns and ammunition will only disarm the honest public, and turn their citizens into sheep at the mercy of the wild dogs.
Hard to believe that a nice Irish lad like Faisal would go rogue, isn't it?
I mentioned "a nice Irish lad" ... then I read the current news. It seems that the Irish (bless the ancestral home of my "DILDINE" ancestors) are still causing mischief:
July 27, 2018 by Zendo Deb And you thought the Criminal Justice System in the USA was screwed up.
Violent burglar dressed up as garda during raid on family. It seems things aren’t much different in Ireland. He has 130 previous convictions for burglary, theft, road traffic offences, criminal damage, possession of drugs, taking vehicles and public order matters. If he was sentenced to 6-months for each of those 130 offenses, he wouldn’t be out causing more mayhem. But the Irish, like their European neighbors, are too civilized to actually put people in prison.
The funny thing about our "kinder, gentler" Northern Friends is that when it comes to taking their guns away, they're every bit as resistant to The Gov'ment as are we rowdier "southern neighbors".
A year and a half after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government came to office promising to tighten Canada's gun laws, there are now more than a million restricted and prohibited firearms across the country.
The number of restricted firearms in Canada rose 5.5 per cent last year, reaching its highest point in more than a decade, according to the annual report from the RCMP's commissioner of firearms. There are now 839,295 restricted firearms, many of them handguns.
The number of prohibited firearms in Canada, such as fully automatic guns, edged up 0.5 per cent to 183,333
Considering that these firearms are being described as "prohibited" and "restricted", it's difficult to understand how they get an exact count of the 'restricted' guns Let alone the 'prohibited'!
In the meantime, the article missed an interesting point when they neglected to mention whether unregistered "restricted' guns were confiscated if/when found, or were the owners merely obliged to register them.
Seeing as how a government which would restrict guns would prefer to say "Mister and Missus Canada, Turn 'em All In!" it's probably safe to say that the guns were confiscated without compensation.
Eh?
"Quite frankly, the Trudeau government really hasn't done very much in regards to attacks on firearms owners in Canada since they got elected. About the only thing they have done is let the RCMP run wild and make up laws as they go."
And that does not endear the Trudeau government (or any government) to citizens who would be legal firearms owners without these bizarre restrictions.
"Unacceptable remarks made in private do not automatically become lawful just because they're made by a comedian in the public domain," wrote Judge Scott Hughes in his decision forcing Ward to pay Gabriel. "Plus, having a such a platform imposes certain responsibilities."
Ward's mistreatment is a reminder of the importance of the First Amendment—something that doesn't apply in Canada. But it's also reminiscent of the current state of free expression on American college campuses, where administrators often behave as if they are not obligated to obey the Constitution. A recent documentary, Can We Take a Joke?, explores the death of comedy and challenges to free speech rights at universities and elsewhere ...
Well ... this is Canada.
But I wonder if America (with it's vaunted First Amendment Freedoms) isn't as likely to be as critical of a Jokester with a vicious streak?
The author of this article at Reason was obviously critical of the Canadian judge who arbitrarily imposed a fine of $42,000 on the 'perpetrator' of the canard.
The joke concerned Jeremy Gabriel, a 19-year-old Canadian singer who suffers from Treacher Collins Syndrome, a debilitating disease. Ward's joke was that the constant media coverage of Gabriel overlooks the fact that "he was supposed to die… why isn't he dead yet?" Ward suggests that Gabriel "stole a wish" and is now, in fact, unkillable.
An unkind statement? Yes.
Cruel? Perhaps.
Actionable ... I don't know; you tell me.
FROM THIS POINT ON, this is talking about children, not about comedians:
Characteristics of Treacher Collins Syndrome include:
Down-slanting eyes
Notched lower eyelids
Underdevelopment or absence of cheekbones and the side wall and floor of the eye socket
Lower jaw is often small and slanting
Forward fair in the sideburn area
Underdeveloped, malformed and/or prominent ears
Most children with Treacher Collins have normal development and intelligence; however, it is important that there be early hearing tests. Most children with Treacher Collins Syndrome benefit from early intervention speech and language programs.
The unlettered explanation of the syndrome is that it affects very young people who look really ... odd. The appearance is permanent; they never outgrow the distortion of their face and head.
Sounds like those afflicted have a lifetime of being 'different' to bear, and anyone who has that kind of life to look forward need a lot of support, not casual jokes.
A Toronto-area pastor says there's a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness in the city's Rexdale neighbourhood and it's a problem for the entire city to fix. On Sunday, a 35-year-old pregnant woman was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting while riding in the back seat of a vehicle in the area.
What's this? People are still being shot in Canada?
That's impossible! Canada has many of the gun laws which American anti-gun groups have been trying to establish for years, and for the specific purpose of eliminating exactly the kind of tragedies described above!
Perhaps this announcement was premature. Gun Violence continues in Canada. Non-gun violence has peaked in countries where private citizens are not allowed to defend themselves with firearms against thug. See "yobs", below.
HOW AMERICAN GUN DEATHS AND GUN LAWS COMPARE TO CANADA'S
According to a StatsCan report from 2012 – the most recent year available – the U.S. suffered a total of 8,813 murders involving the use of firearms that year. Canada, in the same year, recorded just 172 firearms-related homicides.“When looking at firearm-related homicide rates in comparable countries, Canada’s rate is about seven times lower than that of the United States (3.5 per 100,000 population), although it is higher than several other peer countries. While Canada’s firearm-related homicide rate is similar to those in Ireland and Switzerland, it is significantly higher than the rates in Japan (0.01 per 100,000 population) and the United Kingdom (0.06 per 100,000 population),” states StatsCan’s findings, which do not include Quebec figures.
Note that Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world, even though guns are absolutely forbidden there. UK has even more draconian firearms-ownership regulations ... but the rate of non-gun violence is higher there than both Canada and America combined, because Brits are not allowed to arm themselves in protection against assault by YOBS.
SUMMARY:
Yes, it's possible to dramatically decrease the number of gun-related murders by highly restricting or even eliminating the private ownership of firearms.
That just means that the criminals do not fear lethal resistance from their victims.
The odd thing is, when anti-gun folks laud the 'improvements' in a society where guns are highly restricted, or totally banned, they see higher rates of robberies and burgularies (including 'occupied dwelling' incidents, muggings, other assaults and murders by knives, bludgeons, and fist-and-feet.
The quality of life dramatically decreases when the public is not allowed the tools to defend themselves against even casual assault and robbery.
Ask any Brit, for example, or Australian who feels defenseless against young hoodlums who feel confident that they will not be met with an effective defense in a home invasion.
The Gun Ban In Australia Caused Increase In Crime And Home Invasions
Two thousand angry Australians gather to demand their gun rights and justice. Ginny Simone reports that the people of Australia gathered at the feet of Parliament with signs and outraged chanting in protest of the country's gun bans. Interviewees from the crowd discuss the gun buyback that required citizens to surrender their weapons with the threat of jail, an event that resulted in the confiscation of over 6,000 guns. With millions of dollars spent and no reduction in crime and actual increases in crime including home invasions, from the gun bans, Australians demand the right to defend themselves and to feel safe in their homes.
Ban guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets, and, as much as possible, on police. Not just because of San Bernardino, or whichever mass shooting may pop up next, but also not not because of those. Don’t sort the population into those who might do something evil or foolish or self-destructive with a gun and those who surely will not. As if this could be known—as if it could be assessed without massively violating civil liberties and stigmatizing the mentally ill. Ban guns! Not just gun violence. Not just certain guns. Not just already-technically-illegal guns. All of them.
As news about the attack on Canada's Parliament Hill continues to unfold, Canadian Press correspondent Lee-Anne Goodman says these kinds of things weren't suppose to happen in Ottawa where there are "pretty tight gun control laws" and suggested a talk on gun control is imminent in the coming days.
The funny thing about Gun Control is .. it only works to infringe upon the rights of legal, responsible citizens. They just want to protect themselves, but since they're ... you know .. "Law Abiding"?
.. they give up their guns in accordance with the gun-control-laws-de monde? Which doesn't do YOU much good, does it? Think about it.
And you thought the Criminal Justice System in the USA was screwed up.
