Moral-Flexibility.Net

“Take your NRA gun loving ass back to the U.S. where you belong.”
Elie Betito (Former) President, Oakville Liberal Riding Association
[Original Article]

This quote, illuminating as it is, was made after receiving an email from one Stacey Cherwonak voicing displeasure with the Liberal announcement (A much better email than the ones I sent, original is below the cut) about banning handguns.

Volunteer or no, it’s nice to know the Liberal party (leader, members and volunteers) represent our interests, isn’t it?

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It seems I’ve had more than one job at a time for as long as I can remember. At my peak (back in Vancouver) I was working my full-time job, a part-time job and still a third job on-call for an average of 60-72 hours work a week (this is how a “security guard” makes $60,000 a year by the way). These days I just have the two jobs, my full time gig and a casual position that accounts for a shift or two each pay period.

I like having more than one job because it means I am not entirely beholden to a single employer for my financial survival. It also provides an opportunity to recce other places of employment, and to get paid for this “research”. It doesn’t always work out perfectly (as my short lived return to “hotel security” demonstrated), but it certainly keeps things interesting and as my father keeps reminding me “a change is often as good as a break” (It also has the effect of creating a “chaotic resume”, although most of us just pick and choose which jobs we want to show in the chronology, ignoring the extras that don’t fit).

The down side here is we’re in the holidays, both employers want a piece of me, and like the mercenary I am I’ve been trading sleep for money. Excuse my enforced absence, I’ll make it up once the holidays are over.

I’ve long contended that the battle cries of the stupid are “It’s not fair…” and “I have the right…“. Unqualified use of either of these phrases seems to immediately trigger a reflexive sarcastic reaction from me, one I’m almost incapable of overcoming. It marks the speaker as at best an idealist, at worst an ignoramus who has no specific knowledge of the topic at hand. To this list I’ve been forced to add;

“If it saves just one life..“

Human life is valuable, but honestly if we as a society were truly concerned with saving lives regardless of cost we’d be living in a bankrupt dictatorship long before we’d finished getting rid of unsafe activities. Just remember the next time you hear this empty tripe that if we were truly interested in “saving just one life” we’d have banned both cars and alcohol years ago. According to the statistics that’d save not just one life, but thousands each year.

Well, after weekly phone calls, and all manner of noisemaking my FrankenGarand is finally, officially registered as a complete and functional firearm.

A mere 4 1/2 months to get this done. I have to admit, this sort of headache should easily deter criminals from registering their firearms, maybe it’s all worth it in the end.

Well, all this political bullpuckey has encroached on my leisure time far too much, I’ve been seriously remiss with those pending zombie reviews (and the stack of “to be reviewed” keeps growing as my mailman happily delivers a new movie every few weeks). I finally received a copy of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Zombocalypse and it was better than I expected, and yet worse than I had hoped.

For some reasons the faults in each review seem much clearer when they’re printed. Strange, no? So I’ll be moving forward with Edition 2, and overhauling all the reviews from top to bottom. The format will be better standardized, and the critique and synopsis more clearly delineated. This process is perhaps whats taking the new reviews so long to come out, as I edit and re-edit trying to make it just right.

It’s a good thing, just hang in there, they’ll be along shortly.

This morning I decided I would do a little letter writing. It’s just the start but an email to the MP for my riding seemed the obvious choice. I’ve taken a few liberties for dramatic effect, but I s’pose grandstanding is a two-way street, no?

To: Yasmin Ratansi (Ratansi.Y@parl.gc.ca)
Date: November 9, 2005

Yasmin,

I have been a supporter of the Liberal party for years, Don Valley East has been a Liberal riding for quite some time, and I feel you have served us well. I was more than willing to support you again in the upcoming election, that is until yesterday when I heard the Prime Ministers announcement regarding the banning of handguns in Canada.

I am a shooting enthusiast, and while I supported the gun registry this step has clearly gone too far. I’m afraid the gun ban seems to do little to address the concerns we Torontonians have about escalating crime in our city, and instead it penalizes law abiding gun owners diverting resources that might better be spent in the pursuit of criminals.

I’m afraid that I am being forced to reassess my vote in the upcoming election, as much as it pains me I do not feel that I can, in good conscience, support the Liberals with this issue unresolved.

Me

And just because the address is easy to find, a quick letter to the prime minister.

To: Paul Martin (Martin.P@parl.gc.ca)
Date: November 9, 2005

Dear Prime Minister Martin,

I know the chances of you actually reading this missive are slight, but I hope that it will find its way across your desk and that you will take a moment to read it.

I am a quiet Canadian sir, I go to work each day to support my wife and child, I pay my taxes, I vote Liberal when it is time for me to offer my meagre participation in our electoral system. I have no soapbox sir, I am usually content to sit on the sidelines and leave the process of government to the government.

Your recent announcement regarding a handgun ban, however, has shattered my support for the Liberal party. A party that, until recently, I viewed as a reliable voice among the din of rhetoric and hyperbole.

I am a gun owner you see, and while I supported the firearms registry, despite it’s massive cost overruns, I cannot support further measures that penalize law abiding citizens. Diverting resources that would be better spent investigating and prosecuting those behind the escalating violence our country has stood witness to.

I have been made to feel victimized despite committing no crime. I have been made to feel unclean despite my strict adherence to the regulations that have been forced upon me. I feel I am being told that I am worse than the criminals walking our streets, and certainly no more trustworthy.

Mr. Prime Minister I implore you to rethink this course of action, so that quiet Canadians like myself will not be forced to support another party when it comes time to cast our ballot.

Sincerely,

Me

[Hard copies to be mailed out shortly]

C’mon Cannuck gun owners, sound off. What are YOU doing to fight this? What should WE be doing to fight this?

Sometimes the stupidity is so blatant it makes me weep.

Today Paul Martin announced that the Federal Liberal party was committed to banning handguns in Canada in order to reduce crime. Proposed changes to the criminal code would give the provinces and territories the power to prohibit handguns within their borders. This is merely one facet of their program, which will undoubtedly result in an instant end to gun violence. Except for those pesky criminal types.

“We do not accept the threat these weapons pose to Canadians,� said the Prime Minister. “To make our communities safer we should ban handguns outright.�
Source: Liberal Party of Canada: Press Release

Uh huh. After all it’s successfully reduced firearms related crime in the UK, right? WRONG.

This plan would include federal legislation that would enable provinces and territories to legally prohibit handguns within their borders. It would toughen penalties for gun crimes, help eliminate the supply of illegal handguns, and increase protection for communities across the country.
Source: Liberal Party of Canada: Press Release

One wonders why they are going this route when they have the capability to legislate these firearms out of existence. Someone more in touch with the political landscape want to explain this to me?

Legitimate target shooters who meet requirements would be eligible for an exemption to the handgun ban, which would be established in partnership with the provinces and territories.
Source: Liberal Party of Canada: Press Release

Oh man, I trust the government to effectively implement this part of the program. They’ve shown such good judgement in the past.

[As an aside, I'd like to ask my loyal readers to sound off about any local reaction to this announcement - I'm genuinely curious how it was received outside Toronto]

Jillians one year portrait photos came out fairly well. We used one of the poses for our Christmas cards (and everyone should have received theirs by now, unless CPC screwed up) and these pics will be given out to family at the earliest opportunity.

The picture right is my favorite out of the three we had done. And I’ve already annoyed everyone I’ve encountered over the last little while by shoving the sepia toned wallet sized version I keep in my wallet at them repeatedly.

I’m such a proud parent.

In so far as updates Jillian isn’t walking yet, but seems just moments away from putting the clues together and racing across the apartment. More teeth have arrived, and we’re making some changes to the daycare arrangements to accommodate Lisas return to work, and my night shifts (no mean feat).

I’m thinking I’ll drag her up to the local Bass Pro shop today, and see if there are any sales on ammo. I have one or two disposable dollars to spend, and might just be able to afford a round or two.

CBC Article - “Liberals expected to announce new gun laws”

Liberal Leader Paul Martin is expected to announce a sweeping ban on handguns as he makes a campaign stop in a part of Toronto plagued by a series of shootings…

…Under the current system, people are allowed to possess a restricted firearm for target practice, target shooting competitions, to form part of a collection or, in very rare cases, for employment purposes or to protect your life.

Ironically I was just having a conversation with my father about the problems I had with the conservative party (well, frankly with all major political parties), and that the only reason for voting for them was the liberal policies on civilian firearms ownership in Canada. I was waffling. I’m done waffling.

I WILL be voting for the conservatives, I will be convincing others to do likewise. Thank you Paul Martin, for helping me make up my mind.

[Hat Tip: Malfeus]