Thread by @Norlaine

Wow, Interesting. I just noticed that there seems to be a belief that the "illegal gun problem" in Canada is (partly) because of First Nations. 1/ #gunban #cdnpoli

Now, I don't generally travel in the sort of circles that have any knowledge about gun smuggling, So, perhaps, as one <25 follower responder told me, my ignorance is showing. OK. Fair enough. I have always believed if you don't know something, it's good to ask questions... 2/

Apparently, in some people's minds, it is bad to ask questions. I wonder if these are the same people who never asked questions in school when they didn't understand something and, because of that, wound up with a less fulsome education? 3/

The other thought I have about this is, it sounds a bit racist to suggest that the illegal gun problem in Canada is due to smuggling through FN lands. And also, that FNs are not observing the border closures. Many FN communities seem to be closing their own borders... 4/

In order to protect their communities from COVID-19 infection. Which has me wondering what a Venn diagram would look like with the variables being "gun enthusiast" and "racist". And let's throw in "education level", just for fun. I wonder if there is any data on this. 5/

Doing a bit of a quick literature review, I am finding some interesting articles, like this one: 6/
theguardian.com/us-news/2019/a…

And this one: 7/
journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

Here is a more accessible presentation of the findings of the O'Brien et al (2013) paper linked above. 8/
sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/…

Those first two examples are from the US, but this one is from Germany and includes political orientation in the variables. The reporter suggests gun ownership, racism, and far-right philosophy are somewhat linked. 8/
reuters.com/article/us-ger…

Indeed, the O'Brien, et al (2013) study found correlations between racism and gun ownership, with further correlations with political orientation, education level, income level, and gender. 9/

It suggests that, in the US, the most likely gun-owner is a racist, Republican, middle income, white male with lower educational attainment. 10/

It certainly gives one plenty to think about. If racism is based on fear and lack of knowledge of, and disdain for, "the other", and gun ownership is, in part, seen as "protection" from "the other"... 11/

...then stronger gun control is only a first step in healing some of the problems in this country. We need to improve, not diminish, the education of our citizens. We need to build bridges between cultural groups and people, and reduce fear. 12/

I think of Colten Boushie, and I have to wonder if Stanley would have been so quick to grab his gun if it had been a group of drunk, high white kids on his property... We can't know, of course, but watching the dialogue on social media around that and around the new gun ban...13/

It seems some people strongly feel they need guns to protect themselves from certain kinds of people. Some use the vague term, "criminals", while others are more direct, identifying racial groups they feel are a threat to them. 14/

Any Indigenous friends want to weigh in? I feel a bit awkward about this, because it can be justifiably said that this is not my battle, but I also feel a responsibility to point these connections out where I see them. #RacismIsWrong #FirstNations