29 June 2008

Canadians Are Looking Fondly At Heller Opinion

Some of my neighbors to the north are looking with some fondness at the Heller decision, according to a columnist in the Winnipeg Sun newspaper.

"There are arguments raised that criminals steal legal weapons from gun collectors, so we must ban them. This clearly creates injustice. This says that even if I follow all the laws on weapons storage and do everything to keep my weapons from falling into wrong hands, I will be punished for what a third party engaging in illegal activity does?

"Canada has a problem with the idea of weapons for self-defence.

"The U.S. Supreme Court decision validates this right. Now, before Canadians assume Americans fired M-16s in broad daylight to celebrate, this ruling does not give an absolute right to gun ownership. Bans on military weapons stay in place, as they are not connected to routine self-defence, and state regulations are upheld. Our country may not need a Second Amendment, but it must understand that sometimes Canadians avail themselves of firearms to protect themselves and their families. At a minimum, individuals who use weapons to defend themselves in reasonable situations need legal immunity.

"This is what we can learn from this American ruling. Surely we can get over our Americanophobia enough for that."

Yeah, we're not so bad.

h/t to Instapundit

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think there are a lot more people who look with admiration toward the states, than those who hate us. Immigrants are particularly happy with the potential to be able to defend themselves, speaking for my own experience working with legal immigration programs through my church. Many of them come from countries where only the police and army have guns, and to object to policy is to risk death. I would hope there are some Canadians left who realize that Americans have it pretty good in being able to defend ourselves. One more reason to like the U.S. Hell, aren't they already coming here because of our superior health care system?