"Gunslinging" Canadian MP Tries to Soften Gun Rules Even Further - With Remarkably Bad Timing.

Dear Editor,

A tragic thing happened in my province on Christmas eve. A Winnipeg woman was shot with a pellet gun and suffered,  according to police,  a "life-altering injury." A pellet gun is a weapon my Member of Parliament, Robert Sopuck (CPC - Dauphin/Swan River/Marquette - above) is convinced is "literally, not a firearm." Scant weeks before this unfortunate incident, Mr. Sopuck had introduced a private members bill to amend the Criminal Code. Its purpose - "
to clarify that low-velocity rifles such as BB guns and air rifles should not be considered firearms.” 

And a bit before that, the Supreme Court had declared that they were so, firearms! 

That pesky judgement obviously runs counter to the Harperites, who apparently believe that pellet guns are somehow necessary to make their version of the world safe for "Wild West capitalism."  
Justice Minister McKay (middle) poses with a pro-gun group.

The police, meanwhile, have charged a young man with attempted murder in the Winnipeg incident, along with a reminder that, no, pellet guns indeed, are not toys! 

Meanwhile, myself and my fellow voters in this District are faced with a laughable (if it weren't so tragic) prospect in the election campaign that already seems to have begun. The two leading candidates, Mr. Sopuck and the former Conservative member Inky Mark, now running as an independent, are already "duking it out" over who loves guns more! 

That's right. Not youth unemployment. Not child poverty. Not missing or murdered indigenous women. Not our unrelenting, human assault on nature. Not climate change, nor the poisoning of our food by agricultural chemicals. But guns!

If this is the depth to which our political discourse has sunk in this country, I only have one thing to say.... 

HELP!!!

Larry Powell lives in Neepawa, where he publishes
www.PlanetInPeril.ca

Comments

Marla Lewis said…
Am I missing something here? He's gunslinging cuz he has carried a gun? He's trying to soften the rules by not putting pellet & bb guns in the same category as uzis? Seems a bit over the top larry - just saying.
Keeble McFarlane said…
Good on you, Larry. If there is anything I particularly hate, it's the gun fetish and the gun culture it fosters.
Larry Powell said…
Marla, I'm sure if you lived in this area, you, too would feel suffocated by the absolutely stupid pre-occupation which "the powers that be" around here (AKA, the "Harperites") have with all things with barrels, stocks and triggers, to the exclusion of more important issues. Whether it's a BB gun or an Uzi, it's all part of a progression that speaks to the relentless march this PM (and his cronies) are taking us on, turning us from an (albeit imperfect) peace-loving, mild-mannered middle power which we once were, into a militaristic, super-patriotic "bully-boy." In case you haven't noticed, we are now living in an age of endless war. Ever read "The Ugly Canadian?" If you haven't, please do. As a journalist, I try to follow the old adage; "Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comfortable." I believe I have achieved a bit of both in this simple yarn. Other journalists may want to reverse the order; to "Afflict the afflicted and comfort the comfortable." I prefer the former approach. Anyway I've now posted both your comment and Keeble's with my blog article. Thanks to you both!
Thomas G MCcaffrey said…
All of you remember guns dont kill people do. If the guns used in most crimes are black market. I can walk into a couple of hotels and come out with a gun.im not condoning guns but all the gun laws will do is stop sports man and people who want to protect their family
pellet gun said…
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.

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