CBC needs to get their act together- article on Colorado shooting and gun laws in Canada and US

This is going to be a two-part article; the first being the choice of words for the article I read’s title and then my opinion about the matter as it pertains to Canada.

First off, I read the CBC News article by Meagan Fitzpatrick and Jon Hembrey and immediately was put off. The title, “Guns used in Colorado theatre shooting legal in Canada,” is so misrepresentative of this article. This title starts of putting Canada’s gun laws in a negative light, making it seem like any old person could just walk in and buy these guns; which is not the case. I’ve been really disappointed in CBC News for the past few days with poorly written headlines just to gain readership and not indicative of the actual story.

Now a bit of background before I get into what I think; yes, all of these firearms are legal to be purchased in Canada, but you need to be fully licensed, and for some of the firearms require further licensing and courses to acquire.

Now for my opinion; I know I am biased first of all, I have been hunting since I was little and completed my firearms licensing when I was 12; growing up in northern Ontario it’s part of the way of life. Hunting is something I love to do and I’ve always grown up respecting guns for what they are, not toys or something you use for games, but tools intended for a specific purpose.  

I think that Canada is just right with their licensing for firearms. Yes, I believe that an 18 year old should be able to purchase a firearm because where I am from, they’re used for what they were made for, hunting. I think that you should be required to take the courses needed for your firearms license, courses designed to teach to you safely use your firearm and you should fail those courses if you can’t show you’re responsible enough.  Obviously when I passed my licensing at the age of 12 I was under the supervision of a fully licensed adult if I was holding a firearm, but to me that’s not unreasonable. The long-gun registry being abolished is a relief to the people that use their guns for hunting purposes and I’m glad about that decision.

I realize that not everyone feels this way and I’m aware that not everyone has grown up with the lifestyle or exposure to firearms that I’ve had. There are sick people in the world who will be able to purchase firearms, whether through legal or illegal means. That will never change, because our systems are run by people and people make mistakes. Gun violence will always exist, it has since the invention of firearms. I think that the most that should be done is further education, having gun safety worked into school curriculums; I realize that parents don’t want their kids learning about guns in school, but when you learn at a young age to respect something it sticks with you. Learning the capabilities of firearms and why you need to respect them is going to lead to a generation of people who know how to properly treat these things and what they can do.

Whether you make guns almost impossible to get by cracking down on the licensing there will always be a black market for firearms. Someone will always sell someone these guns. Speaking as an avid hunter, I don’t think it’s fair to make us who use firearms for hunting jump through hoops on one leg while juggling ping-pong balls that are in flames to just to be able to go hunting.

Coming full circle, I don’t really want to talk about the man who committed the act of gun-violence in Colorado, he’s a terribly sick individual and that’s it. I feel very deeply for all the families and victims involved in this shooting, there is no rhyme or reason for why this happened. I believe that forcing some massive debate over the availability of guns is useless, just because some wacko with a gun used them does not mean that every single person who buys a gun will.

I can’t speak for the gun laws in the USA because I don’t know them well enough to have an opinion on them, but in Canada I am alright with our gun laws. They require you to be certified, educated and tested before you can acquire your gun. Legal establishments that sell firearms (for the most part) check your licensing and certification before selling you one and you have to abide by strict rules while in possession of a firearm. If you do not, you’re punished. Don’t blame this incident on gun laws, it falls solely on the actions of one man who happened to use firearms as his weapon of choice, it could have literally been many other things.

Information taken from article Guns used in Colorado theatre shooting legal in Canada by Meagan Fitzpatrick and Jon Hembrey