An Interesting Email Indeed....

[Sniffer]

We received this today from a research assistant at one of our local universities. At first I thought it was a joke or some sort of mistake but then I read it closely and yes, it was indeed meant for us. I called someone from another lgs and they confirmed that the people that are conducting this 'study' actually came to their store in person to ask. Unbelievable.

This is Liberalism in it's purest form - the automatic pre-supposition that simply because we are in the firearms industry we associate with criminals. Here is the text of the email, you guys tell me what you think :

Hello,
My name is (assistant's name here) and I am a research assistant at Simon Fraser University. I am contacting you because we are conducting a study that may be relevant to customers/clients of your business and would like to inquire if you would be willing to help us recruit potential participants.
Through our study, we are hoping to gain a better understanding of how illegal firearms are being acquired and traded in British Columbia. We are also hoping to determine why individuals are acquiring and trading them, their preferred methods of illegal acquisition, and information about how they are being traded. We have contacted you because many of your members may have experience with legal firearms, and perhaps knowledge about illegal firearms.
To participate, a member would only need to complete an online survey that takes about an hour, and they will be compensated with a $20 gift card to a popular retailer of their choice from a list of options.
Would you be willing to (a) post a flyer with information about the study and a link to survey at your establishment, (b) send an email with information about the study and a link to the survey to your members, or (c) share social media posts about the study with your members?
To be eligible to participate, members must meet these criteria:
1. 19 years of age or older,
2. Currently reside in British Columbia,
3. Have knowledge about guns, including how they are bought, sold, or traded, legally and/or illegally, in British Columbia, OR have been charged with or convicted of a weapons-related criminal offence.
It is important to note that participation in this study is completely voluntary, and participants’ responses will be kept confidential.
If you would like to help us in any of the above ways, we will send along the materials that we would like you to share with your members shortly, as well as an email template that you can use to distribute the materials.
Thank you very much for your time.
Best wishes,
(assistant's name here)
Research Assistant, Douglas Research Lab





________________________________
Douglas Research Lab
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive


It is obvious to me that there is a built in bias to this 'study', not surprising with the way universities these days like to indoctrinate our youth. I have filed a complaint with the Simon Fraser University ombudsman. If this research assistant's quirey is offensive to you as well then I suggest writing the SFU Ombudsman a letter as well and let's put a kink in this nonsense :

ombuds@sfu.ca


And the battle rages on....

I'll translate.

"I found your site and as someone in the firearms industry you almost certainly are a Conservative and as such will naturally be criminally minded.

As part of my social justice pursuits I have decided to help rid the world of firearms and other unnecessary items and would like your help to make this happen.

Can you please supply me with information around illegal firearms and their acquisition (as mentioned earlier it is obvious you will be party to this information) so I can use it to shut down the industry and kill your business (yes I really think you are that stupid).

When you complete this request (should take around an hour) I will forward you a token gesture gift card (20$) for a lefty sh1thole shop that I use. There probably isn't anything of interest in there for you being a neanderthal and all.

Many thanks

Your friendly Anti Gun research assistant"

You would need to be a special kind of stupid to help these lefty dreamers. Even if you did know something (and I'm not insinuating that you do unlike our lefty brethren) there couldn't possibly be a win by telling them (best case they use said info to shut down the industry including your business and worst case you get an all expense paid holiday at an hotel chosen by a judge).

The cheek of these people. The scary thing is there will be some narcissist dreamer somewhere that will grab this "opportunity" with both hands and inflict even more pain on the firearms community.

 

[Sniffer]

Yeah, she called me on Tuesday afternoon. I gave her a polite rant about how I found it offensive that she would assume legal gun owners have knowledge of illegal gun trafficking. She actually seemed confused.

Sounds like a typical empty headed lefty who thought they had it all figured out until they experienced the real world.

 

[Sniffer]

No.

She had no interest in talking about legal firearm ownership. She was nice enough but seemed to be under the impression that it was common knowledge that legal gun owners would have insights about illegal gun trafficking.

Sounds about right. This grates my cheese.

 

[Sniffer]

For those of your giving the benefit of the doubt to the University I say that you are wrong. Nothing good will come from this study nor from the participation of legitimate businesses and people.

From where I sit in the cheap seats it seems every time the government or a government funded entity does research on firearms use and ownership the results are perverted to forward the disarmament agenda and portray legal gun owners / ownership as the problem.

The cynical part of me feels this is accurate ^^^^^^

I am generally a helpful person and the argument has been made in this thread several times that we can use this as an opportunity to set this person straight as to how legal gun owners in Canada are not the problem but I feel that in not the intent and would be ignored from the final result.

Illegal guns are the focus here and any information gathered will put that front and centre at the end. I'd be surprised if there was a win to be had with this.

 

[Briguy34]

can you dm me the email of the guy doing the study? i would like to educate him on this stuff and offer truthful information on gun smuggling and who is doing it

 

[luv2roll]

Refer Her/They/Ze to Eric Holder and the ATF. They know all about how to run illegal guns to Mexican Cartels. You could even say they are Fast and Furious.

 

[Dlask Arms]

can you dm me the email of the guy doing the study? i would like to educate him on this stuff and offer truthful information on gun smuggling and who is doing it

I am waiting for the SFU Ombudsperson, Ms. / Mrs. Laura Reid to get back to me. Once I hear back as to what her position is on this email I will decide if I want to pursue this further and give out the survey email address.

 

[bcbravo2zero]

I conducted research at SFU in the 1990s. I have training in this stuff to the graduate level. I was a TA for "introduction to experimental design" (among others) for several semesters...

The 1st question I had was: who in the he11 was in charge of experimental design on the day they came up with this? The answer is probably, "someone with little to no experience/knowledge of firearms, generally".
They clearly don't "get it".
Other than a bunch of (mostly) self-selecting study participants giving their anecdotal experiences, hunches and opinions, I'm not sure what conclusions could be drawn from a "study" (which seems to be more of a survey) like this...

Any "bias" will mainly come from subject selection/participation. And they are probably doing their very best to access some folks who live in correctional facilities.
(NB: I recall my thesis supervisor telling me, "research on criminals should really be called 'research on the dumber criminals' because the clever ones tend to be underrepresented in jails.")

 

[bcbravo2zero]

I am waiting for the SFU Ombudsperson, Ms. / Mrs. Laura Reid to get back to me. Once I hear back as to what her position is on this email I will decide if I want to pursue this further and give out the survey email address.

"We have contacted you because many of your members may have experience with legal firearms, and perhaps knowledge about illegal firearms."

Prima facie, I don't see how this would offend the usual ethical standards for this kind of research.
I am a legal firearms owner with no police, mental health act or criminal records. I have a great deal of experience and knowledge about legal and illegal firearms, but virtually everything I know about illegal firearms comes from research and statistics...and the anecdotal experiences of the police officers I speak with.

 

[twyeh]

 

[Dlask Arms]

"We have contacted you because many of your members may have experience with legal firearms, and perhaps knowledge about illegal firearms."

Prima facie, I don't see how this would offend the usual ethical standards for this kind of research.
I am a legal firearms owner with no police, mental health act or criminal records. I have a great deal of experience and knowledge about legal and illegal firearms, but virtually everything I know about illegal firearms comes from research and statistics...and the anecdotal experiences of the police officers I speak with.

It is the pre-assumption that our customers are criminals are have knowledge of illegal doings. As someone else mentioned just imagine going into your local pharmacy and asking them about illegal drugs. "Excuse me, help out a starving doctorate student here and tell me which of your customers are drug dealers on the side ?"

It was rude and massively disrespectful to the industry as a whole. As I mentioned they actually went into the place of business of at least one LGS that I know of as well as calling a gentleman that runs a shooting range. They didn't give two poops about the legal aspect, they just wanted the 'dirt' on customers that might be gang members or other illegal types.

Trust me on this, nothing, and I mean NOTHING good will come of this unbiased and totally non-political 'Study'.

 

[Phat Eagle]

Dear researchers.
We won't be able to help you finding out any sources of illegal firearms, as this is a licensed business and we only cater to legal, licensed gun owners.

You should however try inquiring about this at the corner of Jane & Finch in Toronto (or find the equivalent in the nearest bigger city to your current location).

You will very likely find out, that for the right price you can get just about anything from the other side of the border by utilizing the services of one of the local operatives, whom are experienced in bringing these illegal items across with impunity.

Yours truly
Dlask Arms

^^^yup

 

[bcbravo2zero]

It is the pre-assumption that our customers are criminals are have knowledge of illegal doings. As someone else mentioned just imagine going into your local pharmacy and asking them about illegal drugs. "Excuse me, help out a starving doctorate student here and tell me which of your customers are drug dealers on the side ?"

It was rude and massively disrespectful to the industry as a whole. As I mentioned they actually went into the place of business of at least one LGS that I know of as well as calling a gentleman that runs a shooting range. They didn't give two poops about the legal aspect, they just wanted the 'dirt' on customers that might be gang members or other illegal types.

Trust me on this, nothing, and I mean NOTHING good will come of this unbiased and totally non-political 'Study'.

The letter does not state a presumption that your customers are criminals...although the RA (who may be some undergrad...a minion) might want to bring up editing the language with his/her prof given the reaction.
To my eye, it looks like they are canvassing (very) different sub-populations that possess guns to see what they know with regard to how & why illegal guns are acquired and traded. I assume they chose you b/c they assume your "members" (legal firearms & firearms parts producers/retailers) are those with experience with legal firearms, and maybe are those with knowledge of illegal firearms. The study is also open to subjects who have been convicted of gun offenses, but they don't appear to include you or your members in that category/sub-population.

Also, going out like this to collect data looks pretty standard. Data collection can be THE hardest part. I went to hospitals, halfway houses, lock-ups like the Forensic Psychiatric Institute of BC, etc. to enlist subjects and get data. Sometimes we would go to shopping malls. He11, I stood in the quadrangle at SFU for days trying to get students to fill out questionnaires. What would be wrong with canvassing pharmacists on, say, their experiences/knowledge of criminals trying to source the ingredients for meth-amphetamine through legal pharmacies or other sources?

Anyway, maybe the authors are intending to produce some biased findings/conclusions. Maybe they have an anti-gun political agenda. Or maybe they just want data. I'm not sure. After all, I don't know who the prof/lead researcher is. Is it Gary Mauser or someone like him? What research has he/she produced on this issue previously? Where did he/she get the funding/grant for this piece of research? And most critically, what does the original research proposal say: what is their theory, what are their hypotheses, and what do they expect to find?


And I'm not trying to convince you to participate. Given the gaps in my knowledge (above), at this point I don't care if you participate or not.

 

[can14]

They should be found a study on illegal search
warrants for firearms
There are a few people who have experienced
this situation

 

[cattabliss]

It is the pre-assumption that our customers are criminals are have knowledge of illegal doings. As someone else mentioned just imagine going into your local pharmacy and asking them about illegal drugs. "Excuse me, help out a starving doctorate student here and tell me which of your customers are drug dealers on the side ?"

It was rude and massively disrespectful to the industry as a whole. As I mentioned they actually went into the place of business of at least one LGS that I know of as well as calling a gentleman that runs a shooting range. They didn't give two poops about the legal aspect, they just wanted the 'dirt' on customers that might be gang members or other illegal types.

Trust me on this, nothing, and I mean NOTHING good will come of this unbiased and totally non-political 'Study'.

Well, this happens in pharmacy actually :'D

Often it's pharmacy students doing this sort of research though.

 

[rtm]

The letter does not state a presumption that your customers are criminals...although the RA (who may be some undergrad...a minion) might want to bring up editing the language with his/her prof given the reaction.
To my eye, it looks like they are canvassing (very) different sub-populations that possess guns to see what they know with regard to how & why illegal guns are acquired and traded. I assume they chose you b/c they assume your "members" (legal firearms & firearms parts producers/retailers) are those with experience with legal firearms, and maybe are those with knowledge of illegal firearms. The study is also open to subjects who have been convicted of gun offenses, but they don't appear to include you or your members in that category/sub-population.

Also, going out like this to collect data looks pretty standard. Data collection can be THE hardest part. I went to hospitals, halfway houses, lock-ups like the Forensic Psychiatric Institute of BC, etc. to enlist subjects and get data. Sometimes we would go to shopping malls. He11, I stood in the quadrangle at SFU for days trying to get students to fill out questionnaires. What would be wrong with canvassing pharmacists on, say, their experiences/knowledge of criminals trying to source the ingredients for meth-amphetamine through legal pharmacies or other sources?

Anyway, maybe the authors are intending to produce some biased findings/conclusions. Maybe they have an anti-gun political agenda. Or maybe they just want data. I'm not sure. After all, I don't know who the prof/lead researcher is. Is it Gary Mauser or someone like him? What research has he/she produced on this issue previously? Where did he/she get the funding/grant for this piece of research? And most critically, what does the original research proposal say: what is their theory, what are their hypotheses, and what do they expect to find?


And I'm not trying to convince you to participate. Given the gaps in my knowledge (above), at this point I don't care if you participate or not.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that Gary Mauser is not connected to this study in any way, shape or form.

The study is being conducted by SFU's Douglas Research Lab, under the leadership of Dr. Kevin S. Douglas in the Department of Psychology. Not sure who is funding this study, but I intend to find out.

Information on Douglas Research Lab is available at https://www.sfu.ca/psychology/research/drl.html

 

[Dlask Arms]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that Gary Mauser is not connected to this study in any way, shape or form.

The study is being conducted by SFU's Douglas Research Lab, under the leadership of Dr. Kevin S. Douglas in the Department of Psychology. Not sure who is funding this study, but I intend to find out.

Information on Douglas Research Lab is available at https://www.sfu.ca/psychology/research/drl.html

Thank you. Really, thank you.

 

[cottonpound]

Have you take this to the csaaa? Sounds like you should.

 

[Juster]

It could be a psychological study into how people react to being treated as criminals. The people posting here are the unwitting guinea pigs.
Psychological experiments are never about what they say they are about.

 

[BooSSted2.0]

I personally think you are reading too much into it. Research Assistant or students probably not to knowledgeable on thre subject figure that legal gun owners may have the answers to their questions about illegal guns.

When you think about it, the legal gun community know a hell of a lot more than government/media/etc... on how to deal with the illegal guns

I agree with this. I think they're trying to study something that they know absolutely nothing about and haven't conducted a seconds worth of their own research. I read that in the tone of someone who has never spent more than an hour under the sun and thinks they're actually going to make a difference in the world.