Do you remember the old children’s song If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise? If you are expecting a teddy bear’s picnic, you will be wrong. Today, you are more liable to be shot. We live in a country where the government thinks any idiot should be allowed to have a gun. And a lot of those idiots go out in the woods and pretend they are sports shooters.
The Conservative government has made both our woods and our streets less safe by listening to organizations such as Canada’s National Firearms Association and the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. These organizations were so emboldened by the government ending the long gun registry for them that they are now lobbying Foreign Minister John Baird not to sign the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. It is an insult to all Canadians to besmirch our country’s reputation by not signing it.
When you realize that the United States of America and another 90 countries have already signed the treaty, you really wonder what this government is thinking.
But Foreign Minister Baird says that the Treaty reminds him of the long gun registry. That must be at the suggestion of the pro-gun lobbyist organizations in Canada who do not want us to sign the treaty. On further examination, you find that the gun enthusiasts are concerned that the treaty might impact the costs of guns for Canadians. Since the treaty has to do with weapons of war, that seems to be a bit of a stretch.
The good news is that this country cannot seem to sustain a domestic arms industry. We should be pleased at that but the lobbyists do not want anything to slow down getting their guns across borders.
What is even more confusing about this is we could not find where the American lobby group, the National Rifle Association complained about the United States signing the arms treaty.
And if Foreign Minister Baird caves in to these Canadian gun nuts, you can expect a lot more loosening of gun laws in Canada. They will be particularly eager to open up all avenues to carrying your handy little concealed weapon by people eager to impress their friends and neighbours. And do not be surprised as the United Nations treaty takes effect and lower cost assault rifles become more readily available to the avid gun collector. They will be very pleased at the new lower prices for AK-47s.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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