Thread by @AndersonBooz

1/ a short thread about #guncontrol and the 🇨🇦 automatic rifle ban.

For the #cdnpoli crowd.

Q: Is the ban "undemocratic" because it has been brought forward during the pandemic?
A: No. Gun control was a platform plank for the Liberals and supported by other parties. They were

2/ democratically elected to govern. Polls showed huge support for banning this kind of weapon in Canada. They still do. The timing IS in response to the latest mass shooting in NS.

Q: But that mass shooting didn't use one of these, did it?

A: Yes, two.
cbc.ca/news/canada/no…

3/ Q: So one person did it. Should we all have to pay for his actions?

A: Look at the US. While gun murder rates have dropped overall, the mass shootings have increased (until the COVID-19 lockdown). 🇨🇦 has not seen anywhere near that level. But this latest shooting breaks a

4/ meniscus. After every shooting in the US, gun lovers and those who profit from guns say "this isn't the time" - and things keep getting worse. Then we watched the leadership Ardern in NZ after the Christchurch shooting. We saw a different model that said "If not now, when?"

5/ Q: Doesn't this turn law-abiding hun owners into criminals overnight?
A: No. There's a grace period for disposing of the guns. The intent is not to criminalize the law-abiding but to see if we can't halt the progression we saw in the US from happening here.
Q: Cars kill people

6/ so why don't we ban them?
A: Actually, models that have been known to be dangerous get recalled.
And it's true that most gun-related deaths are suicides, and those don't usually involve rifles. But removing a handgun from someone intent on self-harm will only mean they find

7/ another way. And some do use cars as their method. Just as some use cars for mass murder.
But it's not as easy. And finding someone with a car is easier than finding someone concealing a weapon. And we have built our cities to mean we still need cars for now.
Q: But if I am

8/ doing nothing wrong and I am a responsible owner, why do I have to get rid of my gun?
A: Precisely because you are a responsible owner. Think of it this way: I'm a gardener. Some plants are dangerous (toxic), some are just nuisances (weeds). I get a rush from gardening. It's a

9/ great hobby, keeps me out of trouble, and hurts noone. But...those toxic plants are banned. Despite me being a responsible gardener, I am not supposed to have them. Is that fair?
Well, there are lots of safer plants I can work with. And with my neighbours' penchant for

10/ stealing my plants - even the ones I had in pots in a fenced yard - growing the toxic ones would be irresponsible. Someone less responsible could accidentally or purposely harm another person with the toxic plants.
They're cool and interesting, but having them in the 'hood is

11/ a bad idea. And I DID want to grow them to deter thieves. Nothing like a little poison ivy to teach a lesson, right? But that's not the way to achieve a healthy community.
Q: Am I a gun-hating leftist pansy?
A: I get asked that kind of question a lot, because a lot of people

12/ equate gun ownership with masculinity. Probably the most badass gun owner I know is a woman, and she's against the ban. I like her anyway and enjoy her target shooting vids (hi @Aalphalina!). I have acquaintances who are hunters and whose use of guns I respect. I know people

13/ in the CAF who use guns. All the ones I know are smart, responsible people. But I still don't believe having assault rifles in the community is a good tthing. When I was a child, my church had Bible verse memorization and we were members of the Women's Christian Temperance

14/ Union. The WCTU fought for prohibition of alcohol. As an adult, I am not a member. Yes, I see the harm alcohol can do - and there are times in my inner city neighborhood or at an NHL game that I know I'd be having a better time if I weren't surrounded by drunk yahoos. But

15/ I don't fight for prohibition.
So am I a hypocrite?

Well, if a specific kind of alcohol were designed to be an efficient killer of strangers, I'd want it banned. But that doesn't mean I'd ban all alcohol.

Q: Aren't all guns a symbol of toxic masculinity run amok?

A: Hmm.

16/ I don't think that's a defensible position. I would say that the people who called me a eunuch because I am in favour of the ban are clearly seeing guns as substitute penises. What does it say that most of the gun owners I know personally are women?
Q: Aren't you going to

17/ answer about the leftist pansy thing?
A: Nonpartisan here who refuses to accept the left/right divide. I have pansies in my garden every year - love them! And they aren't toxic. And I did work in a prison and I did work for the RCMP and because I have known so many gun owners

18/ I am pretty comfortable with saying that gun ownership is not bad. But assault weapons have no place in our communities, and I support the ban.

Thanks for reading!

/ end

1a/ PS: Tweet 1 meant to say ASSAULT rifle ban. Which includes semi-automatics. Thanks to those who corrected me!