The fight of our lives

[TJspeller]

There is a Libertarian leaning CPC MP, Maxime Bernier, who is running for the CPC leadership.

Notwithstanding his little disgrace with the biker chick, he is a smart man, was foreign affairs minister, and is a "new face" not associated with the Harper name. He is very popular in Quebec. He is a relative long shot, but in my opinion has a real chance of winning the nomination. He has not said anything specifically about guns, but in other ways he has reasonably good libertarian leanings (he is still,ultimately, a conservative).

He will be visiting Toronto on May 13 for a local fundraiser. Speaking to a few gun owners about their concerns, and us taking the opportunity to impress upon him that we are a vote block worth supporting, could be a worthwhile exercise. If anyone is interested in attending that event, PM me. Remember that 75% of any donation you make is returned to you at the end of the year, so a 100$ donation really only costs 25$. The cost of a box of 9 mm ammo or a few boxes of target loads for trap shooting.

In politics, as is true everywhere life, 90% of success is showing up.

[Travis Bickle]

It amazes me how everyone here thinks there are no Liberal gun owners. I can guarantee you that a huge percentage of gun owners voted Liberal. The average voter/gun owner is uneducated in politics. They do not believe anyone will take their guns away. A big majority of CPC voters also stayed home election night in protest to such Harper greats as bill c51. Harper had no right to run for another term, no matter how good a Prime Minister may be people do not want to see the same person in power for over ten years, it just doesn't happen. The Federal Liberals at present have no intention of coming after gun owners, their budget which includes a projection for the next four years does not include any money for it. I'm not saying they can't add it in later, but they are running such huge deficits they will not spend money they don't have to spend.

As for Senator crazy pants bill, it has no chance of success. In order to implement it there would have to be thousands of gun clubs to open in order to house all the restricted firearms that already exist. A bill that has no way to be implemented cannot be passed. She also is forcibly resigning on April 22 2016. This is her swan song to get us all upset. Some Orgs are using this to generate fear and get their memberships up, it's a horrible tactic.

Senate bills almost always die on the senate floor do not give this bill attention that may help it pass.

Instead let the good senator have her goodbye, send her a nice birthday card on Aprill 22, and stop the fear mongering. There's no sense in living in fear until their is actually something to be worried about. When that day comes we will find a way to solve the problem and work through it.

Aye,
And that's the point I'm trying to make.
I'm not going to spend hours of what little spare time I have sending letters to a Liberal majority government who is not the slightest bit interested so I can get ridiculous canned responses back telling me to indirectly go f**k myself....

I'm not shouting doom and gloom from the mountains either. When they prohibed the 858 and the Classic green (overnight with no warning) I sent letters, I sent e-mails, I informed everyone who would listen around me personally about the situation etc I didn't even own either of the rifles at the time. But that was the time for action because it was a real threat. And we won that one in the end god damn it!
When a real threat comes up we'll act again. This bill doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell in passing. It's half baked and barely even coherent. The logistics of implementation even if they wanted to enforce it don't even add up on page one. If it does (by the atomic scale of possibility) then we'll fight it too and we'll win.
Waiting patiently and watching closely....

[TJspeller]

Political parties make decisions on where to proceed legislatively based on where they think they will find resistance, and where they will find support.

Letter sent to the government now protesting this bill are a measure of the resistance they might expect when they do the real thing. I suggest that a letter sent now is not a waste of time.

[Travis Bickle]

It's a good post and idea. I think it's time we stop being arm chair quarterbacks. Most ideas are good ones if we just got off our butts and acted. I still think one of the most powerful messages to send to parliament is increasing PAL ownership by 10% per year and then have a lobby group convince the government that a vote against the interest of this growing populous is a guarantee to be replaced.

And that right there is the only change we're ever going to make.
Get more people into shooting.
Period. Everything else is a waste of time and energy in the end. The only safety/protection any private group has in a democratically elected government system is in numbers.
Politicians are literally parasites. They will feed off anything if it means votes and power for them.
More people shooting and enjoying firearms legally and responsibly (more persons with PAL's) means more votes as a whole demographic = when we say if you f**k with us, you may not get your pampered for life election win, they listen.
It's that simple. The rest is just minor details. Even if every current PAL holder in this country voted in the last election I doubt it would have even made a difference. You don't need much more proof than that.

[Pure Energy]

I am not reading through all three pages of this, 200+ is a lot. From the stuff I did glance at while skipping through, it would appear that most posts saying "Don't worry it will never pass" are from people that joined after 2006. While I do agree that bill 223 will never make it through parliament, if we all ignore it then something else can possibly come out after it. When that chubby bastard Paul Martin announced a complete handgun ban in 2005, gun owners actually united. Thousands of letters and e-mails were sent. It let the Libs and the CPC know we would not stand for that. Months later the CPC won after a non confidence vote.

My point is this, get off your ass and be proactive. Send your letters to BOTH the CPC and Libs. Let the Libs know you will not stand for this kind of BS, even if this particular bill will never pass, some slightly less offensive one eventually will. It will show them that screwing with legal guns owner is wrong and immoral and will cost them their precious win. Sending it to the CPC will remind them of how they got into power in the first place.

Oh and I did read through the 223 bill. I noticed one part where Crossbows are included with the new amendment and no owning one under 18, for the hunting fudds. So yeah...

[westcoastcanuck]

Hello

Usually I do not fire off emails and letters to my MP or Senator, but today i did, because this could be the start of a something ugly for Canadian Gun Owners and I want to stop it fast in its tracks and send a strong message. I urge everyone to do the same....

Thanks

[Roadhawk]

What he said!!!

Yup.

Think about this... call it conspiracy if you like...

Trudeau is increasing refugee influx and immigrant influx. (Not to mention all the money and benefits they are getting)
They're eligible to vote in a few years...

Kathleen Wynne (Ontarion) recently announced free tuition for people with little income.

Well who do we think THAT is geared for?

Hey, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

[kavemanx39]

The Pot head thing is getting so tired. Yup, everyone that voted Liberal are Pot heads, they voted solely on that issue. It's been so difficult for people to buy Marijuana in the past!
It's a good thing that Alcohol has no tax on society. Like DUI's, manslaughter, endless domestic disputes, broken homes, homelessness and taxes to the Healthcare system.

+1!

[9mmGunGuy]

Mailed and emailed my MP and Ontario senators (not sure which senator is mine). Also mailed to PM and Public Safety Minister.

[-raqh-]

You do live in a free country but this isn't the United States and gun ownership is not a fundamental right in Canada. What is occurring here is exactly what men & women in uniform have fought for; so that opposing views can be openly expressed and acted upon by an elected body in which every Canadian of age has a say through their vote. I say this as a 12 year member of the regular force.

Do I agree with S-223, not really. Do I think the senator who put this forward is unenlightened on the subject, sure. Do I believe gun legislation needs to be reformed and updated, absolutely. But saying things like " it's a fight for our lives", "you'll have to send in the military", and "this is a criminal act" is plain foolish and plays right into the hands of our opponents. Generally gun owners are portrayed as uneducated, reactionary, and ultra-conservative by the anti-gun lobby. Look at what has been written in this thread and you'll see why that portrayal stays in the public mind. We are our own worst enemies.

If you want to change things invite friends, neighbours, and co-workers to the range and hunting. Pay for their ammo, introduce them to the people, show them how genuinely friendly the community is. Get your ranges involved in community activities beyond shooting; Serve at a soup kitchen, have charity shoots to raise funds for the local SPCA or Hospital, and network with other clubs and recreation associations. Invite your MP, MLA, Mayor, Police Chief, and prominent community members out to show them why you love what you love. Ask them ALL to sign a petition against S-223 at the end of their visit. I suspect most will.

That sounds right.