Your shop made the paper

FLYBYU44 said:

Here is my letter to Linda:

Hello Linda,

I'm writing you in response to your article relating to assault style weapons being used in Canada. I'm rather disappointed in your article as I think you have used it to push a hidden agenda and not to inform people like a proper journalist should. The amount of half-truths and outright misinformation presented in the article should cause you to rethink your career as a journalist. I'd like to point out some of the errors in the piece so at least you will be properly informed next time you decide to write a piece on firearms.

The first paragraph states that the shooter in Connecticut used a semi-auto rifle in the school shooting there. That is not the case at all, he actually used a Glock handgun and a Sig handgun. The semi-auto rifle remain in the shooters car the entire time and was not used at all in the shooting. This part of your article saddens me as well because you are using the horrific shooting in Connecticut as a platform for your obviously anti-gun views, not only is this non-objective journalism, but I feel it is dancing on the graves of innocent children in order to push your agenda on the masses.

The Wolverine Supplies website is another bit of misinformation spewed by your article. I have no affiliation with the site at all, but I feel you have represented them in a very untruthful manner. Most people with common sense would say you slandered their business, something that can result in law suits, you may want to avoid that in future articles. The "Packing in Pink" section of the site does have a caricature of a female with a handgun. She is also surrounded by pink firearm safety devices such as shooting glasses and earmuffs, hardly weapons for personal mass destruction, can we say fear mongering Linda? If my wife ever decides to take up shooting sports I hope she decides to wear proper safety gear, and if it being pink helps her feel comfortable with it than that is even better.

Another bit of misinformation is that people don't use semi-automatic rifles for hunting. People have been using semi-automatic firearms for hunting for 50 years or more. There are many popular non-tactical firearms out there that are used for hunting, they have equal or more damage potential to the assault style weapons you are rallying against in this article. Since all semi-automatic centerfire firearms in Canada must have the magazine pinned to 5 rounds or less, all semi-automatic firearms are basically equal in capabilities, they only look different. All AR-15 style rifles in Canada are generally Restricted, which means owners must go through additional training and background checks with the RCMP in order to own them. After purchasing them, they must get a permit to transport them to an approved range so they can target shoot, none of these rifles are legal to shoot off a range. So unless a deer wanders across the targets of an approved range they will never be used for hunting. These firearms are also restricted to 5 round magazines, same as any other semi-automatic firearm.

You mention that people applying for a Restricted Firearms license go through RCMP screening, but did you also know that the RCMP calls previous conjugal partners for the last five years and references? Surely an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend would have a pretty good idea on the mental capabilities of the person applying for the license. Short of intense psychological questioning I think the RCMP is already going above and beyond to insure that only stable, responsibly people own guns.

I should mention that buying an assault style firearm is not as easy as putting it in your cart online. Wolverine Supple has a very modern well organized website and it would appear at first glance that you could do just that, but I challenge you as a non-gun owner to attempt to purchase an assault style firearm. I think you will find considerable red tape and personal expense (taking courses and licensing fees) before you are able to purchase a firearm of this kind.

I should mention Linda that I am also not a firearm owner. I do however have my PAL (Possesion and Aquisiton) licence, I have taken the course and passed the background checks, I can legally purchase a non-restricted longgun to use for hunting or target shooting. I got my PAL because I believe that as a Canadian and a free person (something my ancestors fought for) that I should be able to purchase a firearm. Gun control is proven to not work along with the gun registary (criminals don't follow laws and will get illegal guns to commit crimes with, they don't buy and registar guns to shoot someone with.) You may not own a gun or ever plan to, that is okay with me, I respect that you have chosen to not own a firearm, but please do not try to make legitimate firearms owners out to be devious criminals, we aren't. Just to walk in our shoes for a minute, please think of a hobby or interest that you have, possible visiting coffee shops or reading or any other interest. Now imagine that someone decided that was unsafe and must be made illegal, imagine you had to take a course and pass background checks to drink your morning coffee, and someone still wanted to ban your coffee and take it away. It's the same thing with legal responsible gun owners, you are attempting to ban an inanimate object, and at the same time infringing on the rights and freedoms of your fellow man.

Linda, I sincerely hope you have made it this far in my letter, my goal of the letter is to inform and also help you see my point of view

Thanks so much for your time,

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Linda,

First of all, merry xmas and thanks for taking the time to do some research and write/publish your December 17th article. After reading this article, I felt compelled to respond and I sincerely hope you are taking the time to read what I have to say in this personalized message to you.


First of all, in light of yet another shooting in the U.S., every Canadian is in the same state of shock as you are I'm sure. Please remember we're all on the same team here. We all need to prevent these things from happening.

The main reason I've taken the time to write you today is because I found a few things in your article to be upsetting and misunderstood. I'm not going to slander your opinions but I know alot of people read what you publish and I think it's very important that we all have the facts right so we can all make informed decisions on these extremely important issues.

I'm sure by now you've painted me as a 'pro-gunner' but I'd urge you not to compare me to your stereotypical American gun nut. I'm sure I might actually agree with you on some changes need south of the boarder; however, this is Canada, and during times like these, Canadians can get confused with how very different we are to our neighbors.


"...making it easy to forget you’re not dealing with books but rather high-powered weapons which have little use unless you’re planning to wipe out a SWAT team."
Please let me know what makes a rifle high-powered. These rifles you we're referring to are chambered in .223, one of the smallest center-fire chamberings. Also, wiping out a SWAT team would take more than a semi-automatic rifle with a 5 round magazine, but then again I don't know much about that so maybe you're right.


"The Wolverine website features a section called “packing in pink,”..."
PIP is a Canadian company that is devoted to including women in the shooting sports and even donates to breast cancer with every purchase. Please let me know why you have chosen to paint them with a negative brush and why Canadians should feel this way about them (http://www.packinginpink.com/about/).


"...are machines designed explicitly to kill humans in warfare."
Indeed these were designed for warfare, but their modified versions available on the website you were looking at are actually used for collecting and target shooting. We even have 2 Canadian manufacturers who design and export their own takes on them. I'd also like to point out that in the last 3 memorable Canadian shootings (Polytechnic, Dawson, and the recent one in Montreal) none of the shooters used these weapons, despite their 'notable' capability to kill. If they are so deadly, why are they not common place for these criminals?


"They are not suitable for hunting, unless the intention is to pump bullets into a forest in the hope that a deer nestled among the trees might be caught napping. Quite the sport."
As a hunter, I find this downright offensive. I hunt with a semi-automatic and I can assure you it's not because I light up a treeline nor because of poor aim. You're right though, they are not suitable for hunting, given the underpowered .223 calibre.


Please tell me what a "peace researcher" is and give me an example of a modified dummy suppressor (used in a crime). I'm actually very interested in learning about these because I was under the impression that they were harmless.


"Obviously this can’t weed out those with apparently normal backgrounds, as is often the case with first-time mass murderers."
Please let me know which mass murderers slipped through the cracks and why you have such little faith in our system. Also, wait time between taking a firearms safety course (if you can get on one) and receiving a restricted firearm is measured in months. After that comes the wait time for the Long Term Authorization to Transport.


"But this airbrushes the growing power of the Canadian gun lobby, which consists of gun manufacturers and retailers, individual hunters and collectors as well as the lobby’s political arm, the Harper government."
Indeed the American gun lobby is strong and maybe isn't looking in the best interests for public safety, but in Canada it is very different. Most Canadians are only asking for common sense laws. You may not appreciate Harper's leadership but he is not on the gun lobby's side. He recently shot down some re-classification recommendations, a victory I'm sure for the anti-gun lobby.


"...dismantling one that Canadians had paid close to a billion dollars to create."
Thank-you for recognizing the cost of the LGR. Please let me know how which crimes it prevented for that staggering cost.




I hope you took the time to read through my response as I took the time to read through your article. I hope you continue to use your voice to educate Canadians on the matter at hand but I only ask you use facts, not emotion. There is too much emotion blinding our better judgment when it comes to firearms and all I ask is a little more though process on what you're recommending we all do about these issues.



Take care,
Kevin

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sheepfarmer said:

She says "l'm a journalist" but l didn't relieve they pilled it that high !

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Deckard said:

You realize they will only snicker at grammar mistakes and absorb nothing?

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YouAreInOilCountry said:

For goodness sake, holding up a piece of paper to a bad guy that says it is illegal for him to assault my home and family isn't going to do me any good.

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haha49 said:

I sent a letter explaining that a moose gun packs way more punch and some shooters are disabled and unable to shoot another style of rifle due to hand or shoulder injurys or are blind and tend to point the barrel up instead of straight.

I also told them that dummy suppresors converted is harder then making one from scratch and send a youtube link to her to prove how easy it's to make and it explains how it works why it works and what happens. (it even explains how it can protect your hearing)

I also sent a video on cowboy action shooting showing that somoene with a 12 ga break action shotgun can really shoot fast even faster then some people with a semi auto.

I also sent a link showing how much the money gun registrey cost and is now saving which could be used in treating people with mental health issuses.

I also sent her links to storys were a person was saved by a firearm from wildlife.


If that doesn't make them think I don't know what will.

I also told her my Grandfather who was a WW2 and Korean war vet told me first hand what the holicost was like when he went into 1 of the camps and saw it. He also explained how only free countrys you can own firearms and if the country ever takes them away you should run away fast.

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