There is crime in Canada.....but Canada still remains one of the safest places to live.

If everyone in the country owned a handgun and was able to carry it......would that make Canada an even safer place to live? In my opinion....No. I think people would be more inclined to use their guns and we would go back to the wild west mentality. Do you think more people or less people would be shot under these circumstances?

I like it the way we have it now.

 

In case you missed it, below is a very good write up on WHY I carry a gun (aside from the fact that I live in a country that gives me the RIGHT to carry one). I couldn't possibly say it any better than this.

by Will Dougan

The question "why do you choose to carry a firearm?" has haunted me.

I am a fairly normal guy. I love to eat barbecue, I pay taxes, I vote. I'd like to take my wife out more often (to eat barbecue), I attend church and I'm a baseball fan - just like many other men in Memphis.

One thing that makes me different from some of those men is that I carry a gun. I do so because I truly believe that preserving the safety and well-being of my wife, my children and myself is my duty.

Do I think there are villains around every corner waiting to pounce? Certainly not. To quote the Boy Scout motto, my intent is only to "be prepared."

I carry a spare tire in my car, have emergency supplies at home, and always wear my seatbelt, all so that I will be prepared. I have used my spare tire twice, never used the emergency supplies and found my seatbelt's restraints necessary only once. So why do I still maintain all those safeguards? Because I know that when I do need them, I'll need them desperately.

For me, a handgun is much the same - a safeguard. I carry it and train with it just in case I ever need it.

I hope never to need my gun. I avoid places I think might not be safe. I pay close attention to what is going on around me, so that I can stay one step ahead of potential dangers. I do not look for trouble nor go around with a chip on my shoulder.

I love my family more than anything on Earth. I want my children to grow up, go to school, move out and give me grandchildren. I want my wife and me to live and love each other until death do us part - when we are very, very old. The thought of losing them or having them lose me makes my eyes well up and lodges a lump in my throat.

I grew up in rural Madison County, where guns were a part of life, not something to be feared or mistrusted. We all had them, we all used them, and we all respected them.

A gun was and is a tool - nothing more, nothing less. You would never know my gun is there; it is safely tucked away in a manner that renders it harmless unless it is called upon. When you are at my home, there is no sign of a firearm; they are all stored in locked safes.

I take my duty as husband and father seriously. Part of that duty is being willing and able to protect my loved ones - from drugs, economic dangers and physical threats. The words of my father ring in my ears: "With great privilege comes great responsibility." I carry a gun because it is my responsibility alone - not that of the police, nor the government, nor the community - to defend the precious lives that God has entrusted to me.

Although I have great distaste for the possibility of taking a life, I recall the words attributed to St. Augustine: "Though defensive violence will always be a 'sad necessity' in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men."

Fathers are like sheepdogs. We must be persistent, gentle, playful and, at times, ferocious. On occasion, we must become like the wolf that threatens our flock.

For me, that means owning, carrying and undergoing extensive training with a firearm, so that when the wolf appears out of the shadows, I will be prepared to defend what the Master has given me.

 

An armed society is a polite society.

But, the bottom line is, if you don't like having the FREEDOM to own or carry a handgun then it's probably best if you just stay in Canada.

 

Bowling for Columbine?? You're kidding right??

I have one child so far. He's part of the reason I carry.

Regarding where I keep them....in a safe place.

I feel completely relaxed while my wife and kids sleep in their beds. One of the reasons for that is because I know that I have the tools to defend them if the need arises.

 

Well said Hoss, on both replies!!!

 

I hope you don't misunderstand my comments on Bowling for Columbine as I realize just about everyone down there hates Micheal Moore, my reference to it was simply in regards to numbers of shooting deaths per year by population by country, and I don't care how you spin it, the USA numbers were so far past any other civilized nation as to almost be bordering on ridiculous, and no one can seem to give an explanation why. I know guns don't kill people, people kill people, and its not that I'm anti-gun, or anti-freedom, its just I don't seee the reasoning for the seemingly excessive amounts of firearms owned by everyday citizens in the name of 'home security'. I am not against anyones rights or preferences to do so , its just that I don't understand it, call it a social perception difference if you will. Canada does have crime, no one says it doesn't, we do have shootings, no one said we don't, and we don't carry guns daily because we don't love our families and want to protect them. What it boils down to is what are we supposedly protecting ourselves/them from? Is the threat really there that would cause me to want to carry a gun everyday (even if I could), I don't think so. It's fine to say guns are like seatbelts etc, but I personnaly think the risk of being in a car accident and requiring a seatbelt is far more significant than requiring a gun. I would be more interested in carrying a grounding rod in case I get hit by lightning, because I honestly believe that risk is greater than requiring a gun to protect myself in the society I live in.

 

I hope you're right.

The great thing about America is that we have the choice. Folks like you who don't like guns (or don't see the need for them) don't have to have them.

Think of it from the perspective of the criminal. If you're going to try to rob someone, would you rather rob someone who is armed or someone who is unarmed?

Now, I don't know how Canada is, but in the U.S. the crime rates in the big cities are MUCH higher than suburban and rural areas. My neighborhood is extremely safe and the chances of a crime happening here are pretty slim. Others aren't as fortunate as me and they live in areas where there is a very real threat to them and their families. But, the bottom line is that stuff can happen anytime and anywhere. Do you think the kids who were killed in a Ft. Worth Baptist church ever considered that some lunatic might come in with a gun and start shooting while they were in worship?? After all, they were in a "safe" place.

As you know, criminals don't care much about whether it is legal to own a gun or not. That's why they're criminals. That's why your "asian gangs" have guns. I'm just thankful that I live in a nation that gives me the right own and carry the tools I need to defend myself against the thugs who would do me or my family harm. Will I ever NEED my gun? Probably not. But, as the saying goes, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

Sounds like we're destined to just disagree on the point, and thats cool, difference is what makes the world go around, I respect your opinion, can understand to a degree, I just don't see the need myself in my situation. I also hope as I'm sure you do , that the need for you to use your gun never arises. For a little info on the crime rates etc in Canada, here is a Statistics Canada overview of crime and rates over the last couple of years. One stand out is the 622 homicides in ALL of Canada for ALL of 2004. I haven't any stats from major metropolitan areas of the USA, but my interest is peaked now so I'll do some more looking to satisfy my curiosity. Cheers.
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050721/d050721a.htm

 

My place of birth was Canada and I am proud to be a Canadian citizen living in Canada. My mother's place of birth was in the U.S.A and I love both Canada and the United States of America. I have no need for or the desire to own a handgun, but I do own a couple rifles. The American Constitution gives the US citizens the right to own and carry arms. The American Founding Forefathers wanted the population ready and able to fight against foreign or domestic forces that would try to deminish the freedom of US citizens. Those factions could include criminal, political or religious elements in society and even include an evil minded US federal government that wanted to limit liberty and justice in America.

It is a fact that "If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns." It is also a fact that the gun control laws are not to control gun, they are legislated to control people. My dad, who came from Europe, told me that gun registration in Germany was only used to get the names of gun owners in Germany. When Hitler wanted no opposition to his agenda for taking over military control of the country he first had his SS troops go around to all the owners of firearms and confiscate their guns. Thus, it was easy for an evil dictator to take over the nation and force his horrendous agenda into action. My dad and one of his brothers got out of Germany before the second world war started. The modern gun control laws in North America make many older immigrants to North America very nervous.

Gun laws will not control the malicious use of guns. Unrelenting severe penalties for any citizens, who unlawfully use firearms or other weapons is the only logical method for stopping the indiscriminating violent use of any weapons. In some countries they shoot anyone found with drugs. In America criminals have more rights than their victums.

 

you don't have any way of knowing that, there is no reason a school shooting could not happen in canada.

on the coffee table

 

Other than the one either on my hip or in a sholder rig........that's for me to know....and the intruder to find out.

.....and some are in the gun vault.

 

One thing to keep in mind here when talking about hollowpoints being the answer to excessive penetration. Hollowpoint can and do plug - especially when passing through drywall. At that point, it's basicaly just a FMJ.

I have access to in-house test data from some state of the art hollowpoints and penetration of drywall and auto body sheet metal tends to produce erratic results. Some rounds expand as desired in the ballistic gelatin......others penetrate a couple feet due to plugged or collapsed hollowpoint cavities.

Bottom line - don't shoot unless you have a target and know what's behind it.

 

Population of Canada Approx 33,000,000. million

Population of United States 290,000,000. million

Population of Texas Approx 21,000,000. million

So compairing Crime rate of Canada, would be like us takeing one or two of the lowest crime rate states and compairing them to the rest of the United States

thats 223 million more bad apples we have to choose from

 

Good point.

FAY, that was a very good post.

 

Land area of Canada 9,976,140 SQ KM

Land area of United States 9,631,418 km˛

Land Area of Texas 695673.4 sq km

Thats more like the population of Texas spread out over the size of the US... considerably less population density.