,
26 tweets,
11 min read
Read on Twitter
@kinsellawarren 1/ Thread. October 22, 2014. I was late for my caucus meeting. I remember this because I threw flats instead of heels on as I ran out the door in the morning.
@kinsellawarren 2/ Because I was late, I didn’t have a seat, and ended up standing near the north door. In those first split seconds, I could my colleagues thought it was ongoing construction noise. But I knew right away what it was.
@kinsellawarren 3/ I just knew. And then chaos broke out. I remember looking at the PM, and the crush of people, and getting pushed out the door. I remember Lisa telling me to run.
@kinsellawarren 4/ I remember looking at the stairwell and hearing the shots come closer in the hallway that was right there, and looking at the bathroom. I chose to run up the stairs because it was better than getting caught in the crossfire or being trapped. So I ran up.
@kinsellawarren 5/ I lost a flat on the bridge as I ran over the hall of honour. Did you know that the acoustics made it sound like it was happening behind me, not under me? Remarkable acoustics in that place.
@kinsellawarren 6/ For about two years I had trouble going up that stairwell. I spent about 45 minutes in a bathroom stall after going to the 2016 Jason Bourne movie; there’s a scene at the end where there’s a shooting in a convention hall.
@kinsellawarren 7/ Sometimes it’s little things - like, a spoon falling into the sink in the middle of the night.
@kinsellawarren 8/ And I was lucky. Nothing I experienced can even be put in the same universe as the family of the good man that was lost, and the PPS officers that were injured.
@kinsellawarren 9/ In discussing this with a friend, she said, “well, you’re in a position to change things. This never would have happened without tighter gun control laws”. I internalized that pretty heavily. And I started to research. I was going to do this right.
@kinsellawarren 10/ First, I took the PAL and RPAL courses. Hours and hours of training and study to pass an exam that I needed to get 80% of better on. A textbook that was two inches thick in small font.
@kinsellawarren 11/ Then, the practical exams, which I needed to pass with the same degree of proficiency, but this time with several points that if you messed up, an instant fail. I succeeded (even though admittedly the noises put me on edge).
@kinsellawarren 12/ Then the licensing process. A highly intrusive form that went into detail about my conjugal partners. An expensive application fee and a very long wait. Interviews and background checks.
@kinsellawarren 13/ Then I had to buy an expensive membership at a sport shooting range, because basically the only way to legally own a handgun in Canada is to target shoot at an approved range.
@kinsellawarren 14/ Then, my first purchase. A Ruger SR 22. Good to get proficient on and learn the basics. Even then, I couldn’t take it home with me. Waiting, approvals and transfer period first.
@kinsellawarren 15/ This entire process took about a year.
@kinsellawarren 16/ Now, I have to follow very very strict rules about how I store my sporting equipment. I can’t transport it without authorization, and when I do, the list of places I can take is highly and brutally restricted. Every day my name is ran against police lists.
@kinsellawarren 17/ During all of this, I was researching the incidences of firearms violence in Canada. It accounts for about 3% of all violent crime (most is via blunt force). Of this, a vast vast majority is caused by firearms that are smuggled in from the US and used by gang members.
@kinsellawarren 18/ I talked to victims services groups, law enforcement officials, and firearms owners about what we should do.
@kinsellawarren 19/ I watched this happen in my community while Trudeau dithered in appointing judges google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.…
@kinsellawarren 20/ I watched this happen google.ca/amp/s/beta.ctv…
@kinsellawarren 21/ I learned that the RCMP doesn’t really track “crime guns” google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.…
@kinsellawarren 22/ I watched my party leader start to propose solutions. google.ca/amp/s/globalne…
@kinsellawarren 23/ And I took lessons and mastered my SR 22. The sound, the sight and the smell of what it does still takes me back to October 22, 2014. But I am in control of it. It calms me and makes me focus. It is a community of fun, awesome people like @alharding and @Cdnshootingstar.
@kinsellawarren @alharding @Cdnshootingstar 24/ The video you posted also takes me back to October 22, 2014. Every similar video does. To insinuate that seeing it, as a legislator with this experience, and not acquiescing to a Liberal do nothing ban on a highly regulated sporting community, is nothing, is....brutal.
@kinsellawarren @alharding @Cdnshootingstar 25/ We will reduce firearms violence in Canada. We won’t do so playing the bs games of the left on this highly polarized issue. So you have a choice. Learn and be part of the solution, or keep RTing stuff with this tone and tenor.
