Editor:
Responding to two letters to the editor regarding the announcement that the Liberal government has banned 1,500 firearms, I would like to put things in perspective.
Both writers echo Trudeau’s statement that he is getting rid of military grade assault weapons. The fact is that none of the newly prohibited firearms are or ever have been military weapons. They only look like them but they do not function like them. As well, there are still many firearms that operate exactly like the newly prohibited ones but don’t look like a military firearm and are still legal to own. Would the prohibited firearms be removed from the banned list if they were painted pink?
The military uses trucks, usually painted olive drab. Are these more dangerous than a Mack Truck or a White cab over? The military also uses knives, tents, bulldozers and Jeeps to move men and equipment so they can kill large numbers of men quickly. The Jeep in particular was specifically designed for military work. Would banning any of these objects reduce the number of deaths in Canada?
If preventing crime trumps the democratic process, as one writer stated, we should be ready to accept warrantless searches, random seizures of property without process, arrests without cause and basically a totalitarian society.
Instead of accepting the spin on firearms, a thinking person should check the facts before being willing to relinquish the rights of a democratic society – those rights a free society fought and died for in the last war – and opening the door to abuse by the authorities.
Gordon Bader, Sechelt
