I'll begin by saying that I have owned and do own guns, including handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, and long range sniper/hunting rifles. As a Canadian I cherish my privilege to own these guns, but in order to receive the permit, I had to take classes to prove that I could safely and responsibly handle and store guns, and that I understood the comparatively restrictive laws around them. I can hunt with non-restricted weapons, but restricted weapons which include handguns, AR-15s, and any rifle with a barrel length of less than 18.5". I had to undergo a criminal background check, and pass a fairly intense psychological evaluation to get a permit, especially with the restricted permit, as I believe it should be.
You are not allowed to use guns for home defence in Canada, which I don't entirely agree with, but if someone breaks into my home and I feel that my family is in danger, I wouldn't hesitate to use a gun, the safety of my loved ones being my primary concern, and potentially going to prison being a secondary concern - a problem for later.
I also spend a lot of time in the UK, where there's essentially no guns (farmers can get single or double barrel shotguns, no pump action, and that's about it), and things are way out of whack here. There was a case a few years ago where a man came home to find his wife and kids tied up and being tortured, the assailant tried to stab him, and he fought back and killed the guy. People were picketing this guy's house, calling him a murderer, and asserting that the home invader who was in all likelihood going to kill everyone a good man and the victim. He was exonerated in court, but had to put up with tons of harassment and threats. That's just plain wrong in my book.
Anyway, as I outlined, I'm pro gun, but only for the right people. Criminal record? No guns. Domestic abuser? No guns. Psychologically unstable/bad temper? No guns. It should be a privilege, not a right. The whole second amendment argument is utter hogwash. Like you're going to fight off a tyrannical government with an AR-15 when they can just drone strike you. I think a lot of it is still rooted in racism, just as it always has been in the USA. White folks are scared of black people. You see those "Oath Keepers" showing up to political events with loaded AR-15s. I wonder how long that would last if the Black Panthers showed up to those events armed in that way.
Unfortunately, it seems that the biggest abuser of firearms is the police force. They're not trained in de-escalation, they're trained that everyone is out to get them, and they'd best shoot first, which is why particularly unarmed young black men are being murdered by the police, who enjoy special .protections to be free of consequence. It's not JUST black folks either, the video of the cop unloading 5 or 6 rounds of 5.56 from his AR into a white teenage kid who's unarmed, had nothing to do with the police call, and was cooperating fully on the ground. He was trying to follow instructions but nervousness made him twitch a bit and that was it for him. Even before he gets shot, you can hear in the cops voice that he's just itching for any excuse to murder him. The police force need to be de-militarized and disarmed until they can prove that they can use firearms responsibly within the course of their duties, shooting someone only as a last resort, not unloading entire magazines into unarmed civilians because they're scared children.
You are not allowed to use guns for home defence in Canada, which I don't entirely agree with, but if someone breaks into my home and I feel that my family is in danger, I wouldn't hesitate to use a gun, the safety of my loved ones being my primary concern, and potentially going to prison being a secondary concern - a problem for later.
I also spend a lot of time in the UK, where there's essentially no guns (farmers can get single or double barrel shotguns, no pump action, and that's about it), and things are way out of whack here. There was a case a few years ago where a man came home to find his wife and kids tied up and being tortured, the assailant tried to stab him, and he fought back and killed the guy. People were picketing this guy's house, calling him a murderer, and asserting that the home invader who was in all likelihood going to kill everyone a good man and the victim. He was exonerated in court, but had to put up with tons of harassment and threats. That's just plain wrong in my book.
Anyway, as I outlined, I'm pro gun, but only for the right people. Criminal record? No guns. Domestic abuser? No guns. Psychologically unstable/bad temper? No guns. It should be a privilege, not a right. The whole second amendment argument is utter hogwash. Like you're going to fight off a tyrannical government with an AR-15 when they can just drone strike you. I think a lot of it is still rooted in racism, just as it always has been in the USA. White folks are scared of black people. You see those "Oath Keepers" showing up to political events with loaded AR-15s. I wonder how long that would last if the Black Panthers showed up to those events armed in that way.
Unfortunately, it seems that the biggest abuser of firearms is the police force. They're not trained in de-escalation, they're trained that everyone is out to get them, and they'd best shoot first, which is why particularly unarmed young black men are being murdered by the police, who enjoy special .protections to be free of consequence. It's not JUST black folks either, the video of the cop unloading 5 or 6 rounds of 5.56 from his AR into a white teenage kid who's unarmed, had nothing to do with the police call, and was cooperating fully on the ground. He was trying to follow instructions but nervousness made him twitch a bit and that was it for him. Even before he gets shot, you can hear in the cops voice that he's just itching for any excuse to murder him. The police force need to be de-militarized and disarmed until they can prove that they can use firearms responsibly within the course of their duties, shooting someone only as a last resort, not unloading entire magazines into unarmed civilians because they're scared children.