I recently took the Canadian Restricted Firearms Saftey Course (CRFSC). The course is designed to teach you enough about firearms to pass a government issed test, that you need to pass before you can apply for your Possession and Acquisition licence (PAL). For anyone that does not know the laws on guns in Canada, you need to have a PAL in order to own, or aquire firearms. To get a PAL, you need to prove you understand how to handle, and operate most types of firearms, in a safe fashion, and that you understand firearm saftey. Once you apply for a PAL, a criminal background check is done. You must also have your current spouse, and past spouses give the ok. You then need 2 people you have known for at least 3 years to sign off on you getting the PAL. The government makes phone calls to these people to confirm they are ok with you owning firearms. No one in your household can have a criminal record, in order to get your PAL.
For anyone that knows me, you might be a bit suprised that I am trying to get my PAL. I'm a bit on the anti-gun side of the fence. But I have learned a lot from the course I took, and might not be as anti-gun as I once was. Different people want to own guns for many different reasons. Some people like to collect old historic guns. Guns have a lot of history behind them. They have changed our way of life in many aspects, and therefore have a huge chapter in the history books. I can see why history buffs would collect guns. Some people own guns for hunting. Canada is a huge country, with lots of bush country and roaming animals. I am 100% for hunting, as long as you use what you kill. If you want to hunt, kill, and eat an animal, I have total respect for that. Most of us buy our meat at the store. If you want to work for your meat, and do the dirty work, you are going to have more repect for what you are eating. Some people like sport shooting. Shooting targets is fun and challenging. There are gun clubs, that host shooting tournaments. People have different hobbies, and for some people, they spend their spare time and money on sport shooting. No different than playing on a sports team, or building model cars. Some people need to own guns for their jobs. Cops, border patrol, armoured transport gaurds, people working far in the bush, with cougars and bears. Some people want to own guns so they can shoot people. And that is the reason guns have a bad name.
But think about it, the people that own guns to shoot people, are owning guns to do something illegal. Do you think they took the safety course and have their PAL? No. Do you think the guns they own are legal in Canada? No. If you put a ban on all guns, will the gang members and other people out to kill, still have guns? Yes. Those people don't legally own their guns, so making those guns illegal is pointless, they already are. Don't let a few bad apples make you think every gun owner is dangerous. Legitamate gun owners, take guns very seriously. Their guns are locked up, very securely, and they would never think about pointing a gun at another human being, in any situation. There are many thousands of gun owners in Canada, and many thousands of guns. Some stats: In 2002 there was 816 gun related deaths in Canada, 80% of which were sucides. So that's about 160 homicides with firearms. There are about 1500-1700 drunk driving related deaths in Canada a year. You are 10 times more likely to get killed by a drunk driver, than a gun. But keep in mind, a huge percentage of gun related homicides, are gang related, so if you aren't in a gang, your chances of getting shot drop even further. It's estimated that up to 25% or Canadians own a gun. There are somewhere between 7,000,000 and 11,000,000 registered guns in Canada. It's hard to find a stat on what percentage of homicides are commited with a legally registered firearm, but I'm guessing very low.
I don't like pitbulls. I think they are a dangerous breed of dog. You are 4 times more likely to be attacked by a pitbull, than your average dog. They have been banned in Ontario. Now my question is, what percent of pitbulls bite people? If a pitbull is raised well and disciplined, and not beaten and neglected, would it still be as likely to bite? Drug dealers and jackasses like the dogs because they can be made into an aggressive dog, and they want the image of having a dog that can hurt people. Now I'm sure there are people that love pitbulls, more than any other breed of dog, and would train their dog to be as safe as any other dog. So instead of banning pitbulls, what if you needed to take a course about pitbull safety, and prove you are going to train the dog properly, and make sure it's safe. You could then apply for a licence to own one. Do you think the douchebag drug dealers would go through all that, just to own a pitbull? Probably not, but the people that love that breed of dog for legitimate reasons, probably would.
My point is, the people that take the safety course, register their guns, and have a licence, aren't killing people with their guns. Banning guns, will not get guns out of the hands of the gangs and other violent offenders, because those guns are already owned illegally. Knives kill more people than guns. Should we ban those?
When I took my saftey course, some of the people in the course, were a bit...strange. Some were a bit hill billy, red neck for me. The on going joke was that we were there to get our licence, so we can defend ourselves from zombies. A lot of legal gun owners, are, in a word, simple. They like things that make loud noises, and put big holes in shit. Holding something that can make a really loud bang, and destroy any given target, gets them very excited. But are they dangerous people? No. Registered gun owners don't view guns as something you would point at another human being. I would feel safer, knocking on a registered gun owners door, at 3am, then I would getting in a car with a drunk driver, or in a cage with a pitbull.
Taking a gun safety course is not a bad idea, even if you don't intend on ever owning, or firing a gun. It's good to know how to handle a firearm, and disarm it if you ever needed to. Guns are not as scary, if you understand them, and feel comfortable handling them.
Not to mention, when the zombies come, how are you going to need to defend yourself?
Anyone wanting info about the course, feel free to contact me. I am currently seeking approval to post the companys and instructors names in this blog.
