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It is different when one is armed in law enforcement or in the military. I can even understand having a gun in a rural setting for hunting. I just can't wrap my head around why the average person, especially in an urban setting would feel the need to own one; especially for 'self defence.'
That's the attitude question, right there.
As you know, Fusion, I was (still am, I guess) from an urban setting. Yet I posted earlier about my experiences, qualifications, and so on, with firearms.
But I would never--never--think of using a firearm for self-defence against another human being. Not even threatening with an empty firearm, hoping I could bluff the other guy. Neither would pretty much every Canadian gun owner that I know (and I've known plenty). Are there Canadian firearm owners who would like to? Undoubtedly. But I would suggest that they are few and far between. Canadians (including Canadian gun owners) are just not raised with the mindset of, "The only person who can protect myself and my family, is me; therefore I need more and better weaponry than the average burglar and mugger." Rather, Canadians are raised to believe that, "We pay police to protect us, so--let them."
It seems to me that that pretty much sums up the attitudinal difference between the US and Canada when it comes to the gun question.
I never said that there were no gun crimes in Canada. Just off the top of my head, I can think of Dawson College, L'Ecole Polytechnique, the Islamic nutter who was shot down in the Parliament Buildings, the guy in Moncton, and a shooting on Danzig Street in Scarborough. Heck, I remember a school shooting in about 1973 in Brampton, Ontario. Some kid shot up his high school class. Gun crime exists in Canada; I never stated that it did not.
But I would suggest that it is a lot less than occurs in the United States--especially if I have to reach back to 1973 for an example. My point is that Canadians who jump through the hoops to get permits are probably not willing to jeopardize those permits by taking the courses (which they can fail), and going through all the other rigamarole so they can buy a gun legally, and then misuse the privilege; at which point, they can be forever barred from owning one ever again. Yes, criminals can always go to the black market, but you've got to know somebody who knows somebody, and you'll likely end up paying more than retail in the US. Your average street mugger or burglar in Canada finds them financially out of reach, I would guess.
In the end, it's a lot better system than being able to go into a gun shop or to a gun show in the US, saying, "I want that," paying for it, and walking out the door with it. Yes, I know about US waiting periods and suchlike, but I'd suggest that Canada's system weeds out a lot of the wackos before they're even allowed to walk into a gun store, or be able to afford to buy an illegal gun from a guy on the street.
As you know, Fusion, I was (still am, I guess) from an urban setting. Yet I posted earlier about my experiences, qualifications, and so on, with firearms.
But I would never--never--think of using a firearm for self-defence against another human being. Not even threatening with an empty firearm, hoping I could bluff the other guy. Neither would pretty much every Canadian gun owner that I know (and I've known plenty). Are there Canadian firearm owners who would like to? Undoubtedly. But I would suggest that they are few and far between. Canadians (including Canadian gun owners) are just not raised with the mindset of, "The only person who can protect myself and my family, is me; therefore I need more and better weaponry than the average burglar and mugger." Rather, Canadians are raised to believe that, "We pay police to protect us, so--let them."
It seems to me that that pretty much sums up the attitudinal difference between the US and Canada when it comes to the gun question.
I'm not even sure if it is as much a national attitudinal difference Chevy as much a sub sect. Not everyone in the U.S is a gun toting NRA lover or of the only person who can protect myself and my family is me type. Mightyqueen and many like her, probably those in more urban settings in the U.S are probably of more like mindset.
You gave a list of massacres in Canada dating back to the 1680's even in war like environments? There are also massacres such as axe slayings and bombs killing people. Why not make this apples to apples instead of providing an irrelevant comparison. I'm not saying Canada doesn't have gun violence and we aren't clean with mass shootings either, but get your comparisons together and provide a relavent comparison linked to the topic at hand instead of this foufou list.
The question is of mass shootings which involve at least 4 people excluding the perpetrator. From 1967 to 2018 (no real need to go much further back than that either it becomes increasingly irrelevant to today), there have been 147 mass shootings in the U.S. Do you really need me to go through your massacre list and pull out mass shootings for Canada from 1967 to present for comparison?
I'm not even sure if it is as much a national attitudinal difference Chevy as much a sub sect. Not everyone in the U.S is a gun toting NRA lover or of the only person who can protect myself and my family is me type. Mightyqueen and many like her, probably those in more urban settings in the U.S are probably of more like mindset.
I would agree with you. My American ex-wife and I used to laugh about how she (from the gun-crazy USA) and I (from gun-controlled Canada) had such vastly different experiences.
She had never seen a real working gun in her life in the USA (note that she moved to Canada when she was 26), except for firearms carried by police and military. She had certainly never handled any. We met up, we moved in together, and I introduced her to my guns, in our place in Canada. She was curious, so I taught her how they worked. Then I rendered them safe, put them in safe storage, and that was that.
She and I found it ironic how an American had never seen, and had no clue how to use guns, yet I (a Canadian) did. Still, I don't find Mightyqueen's claim strange at all, given my experience with my ex-wife. I have the feeling that most Americans don't see enemies lurking around every corner, to which the only answer is packing a gun. If my ex-wife is any indication, her experience is today's reality in the USA.
Those biker wars in Quebec during the 90s were pretty brutal. I doubt there were any other conflicts between criminal groups in Canada that had such a high death toll. I doubt (I hope) that will happen again.
I don’t know how much this affects the gun culture, but there are approximately 20.8 million military veterans in the U.S. This compares to less than 0.7 million military veterans in Canada. That means there are 30 times more veterans in the U.S.
I don’t know how much this affects the gun culture, but there are approximately 20.8 million military veterans in the U.S. This compares to less than 0.7 million military veterans in Canada. That means there are 30 times more veterans in the U.S.
As an anecdote, I'll mention a friend of mine who was a Canadian UN Peacekeeper in southeast Asia after the fall of Vietnam. He was a great shot--in those days.
He's a farmer now, in southern Ontario, and when I visit, he sends me out to the back-40 with his varmint rifle. "Sight it for 50 meters," he asks, and I do; putting a target on a tree, and pacing off 50 meters, then sighting the rifle in.
His eyes are still good, but he likes the precision I can bring: it's the difference between hitting the fox in the eye, and hitting the fox between the eyes.
But I would never--never--think of using a firearm for self-defence against another human being.
Really?? Never say never...I bet you would pull a trigger without the blink of on eye in the right circumstances...please Chevy, be serious...
Last edited by saturno_v; 02-19-2018 at 01:25 AM..
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