Please stop using the tragic murder of a Toronto student to advance your political agenda.
Follow Stockwell Day's example - Offer sympathy and let the family grieve.
There will be ample time later for meaningless rhetoric, finger-pointing and political posturing.
Thank you.
24 comments:
Wondering if you were around during the Boxing Day shootings in Toronto in the middle of the election campaign, which were aggressively used for partisan political advantage by "slimy politicians" such as Stephen Harper and Stockwell Day, among others.
I am sure, though, that you were highly critical of them at the time, right?
It was Miller, Martin and McGuinty that were on the scene not Harper and Day.
All almost apoplexic with compassion, then did nothing.
I was 200 yards away.
Anonymous -- at that same time period when Mayor David Miller and Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant flanked Paul Martin at a rally in TO, piling on heaps of fawning praise of his unworkable, ill-considered knee-jerk 'announcement' of a 'handgun ban'.
They were falling all over themselves to the tragedy as political fodder your selective memory only names two conservatives.
HMMMM ... but I guess you must have noticed the others at the time, right?
I saw Miller on CTV today being interviewed by the stick boy.
He made a distinct effort to claim that He and McGuinty had an "Excellent" anti-gun program in place.
Then blamed the Federal Government for not Banning Guns!
He does not like guns he tells us!
So we should all do what he likes and like it I guess!
To the nony-mouse Boxing Day Shootings comment: Harper and Day were explicitly saying that LAW ENFORCEMENT and lack of it were root causes! Considering the GANG element of most violence in TO I'd say that was accurate!
What is slimey is to take an incident and use it to prop an otherwise untenable position.
AS Miller and McGuinty are doing AGAIN!
Losers.
To all bloggers:
Please stop using the tragic murder of a Toronto student to advance your political agenda.
Thank you.
L.S. - You forget to request that we somehow weave y2Kyoto into all of this.
At least we're not hearing people tell us we need concealed carry and all the students should have been packing heat.
I did hear on the radio 75% of illegal guns are smuggled from the US, 25% are stolen from registered owners.
A handgun ban would get rid of the 25%. A ban also means a police officer need not hesitate as to whether you are a legitimate gun owner if you happen to be packing a handgun. Same as with registration. If the registry shows no guns at a location, then anyone who pulls one there can be shot dead on sight, since nobody there is supposed to have one.
I would like to hear what mac thinks of this line of reasoning.
And if the players were reversed I’m sure you’d feel the same way, right? Uh-huh. Just out of curiosity, is there a specific date on which “politicization” ceases being regarded as uncouth?
Joanne — You forget to request that we somehow weave y2Kyoto into all of this.
You mean like on the last thread when PGP said, “Miller's stats on the number of guns that are used in crimes are suspect! Kind of like Al Gore reports on weather!”
LOL. Oh, the specious little webs we weave...
Why would Mayor Miller or any NDP/Liberal want to stop shootings?
I was 200 yards away.
From what?
is there a specific date on which “politicization” ceases being regarded as uncouth?.
Let's at least wait until after the funeral.
Just for some perspective, in the print edition of the Sun, the article you linked appeared in a 2 inch by 2 inch square at the bottom of page 3 where the rest of the page is coverage of the family, the school and the fact that it seems everyone knows who did it and nobody has come forward.
On the editorial page they are mainly pointing out that making the schools into armed camps won't work.
the rest of the page is coverage of the family, the school and the fact that it seems everyone knows who did it and nobody has come forward.
That's interesting, isn't it? Why do you suppose nobody is talking? Is it simply fear?
High Drama! Shakesperean overtones of characters in conflict. Death and tragedy. Mysterious interlocutors. AND a snarky ghost!
Joane you have really brought something interesting together!
Seriously! Well slightly seriously.... anyway cheers! :)
Joanne,
Good post.
Politician's are really something.
The way they push themselves in front of the camera is down right ugly.
Pardon my French, but most of them appear to be self serving bastards.
I like a politican best, who works most and minimizes his/her photo-ops. Kind of like Harper cutting back on the PPG media and photo-op scrums.
Had to throw that in.
Tomm
Tragedies like this are always made into political fodder. It's sad our politicians are so desperate for attention they cannot wait until after the funeral(s) but not surprising. In this generation of ten second attention spans, if they don't act fast, they'll miss the boat.
That being said, I don't recall Harper and the Conservatives making comments about the Creba murder but I do recall Paul Martin promising to ban all firearms.
liberal supporter says "I would like to hear what mac thinks of this line of reasoning."
As a general rule, bans and prohibitions don't achieve the desired result. I have no reason to believe it would be otherwise with a handgun ban.
Whether a handgun ban is put in place or not, if someone is packing a handgun, especially if they pull it out, they're treated as potentially hostile until proved otherwise. This is something plainclothes officers are always aware of since their lives could depend on it.
I expect if handguns were banned, it would be more dangerous to be a plainclothes officer... or a criminal... but I can't see the Canadian public being particularly happy if cops started shooting anyone who has something that looks like a handgun. As it is now, we get citizens wondering why we can't simply shoot the gun out of a criminal's hand or maybe shoot them in the arm or a leg... you know, like in the movies...
I expect the statistics which you heard on the radio were likely pulled out of a convenient bodily orifice since it's unlikely there is a convenient source of accurate information on illegal guns, whether smuggled or stolen.
The firearm registry was a complete and utter waste of time and resources. There was never a single incident where the firearm registry provided information which prevented a crime. If there was such an incident, it would have been trumpeted from the hilltops by the Liberals and the MSM.
"Wondering if you were around during the Boxing Day shootings in Toronto in the middle of the election campaign, which were aggressively used for partisan political advantage by "slimy politicians" such as Stephen Harper and Stockwell Day, among others."
and Paul Martin and Jack Layton et cetera.
One difference though. Mr. Harper is trying to do something about gun crimes. A Liberal Senate stands in the way, concerned about a Charter challenge. this would be laughable if it wasn't such a serious issue!
A Liberal Senate stands in the way, concerned about a Charter challenge.
I wonder what the "experts" have to say about that.
Tomm, I agree with you about your "French" comment. ;)
Mac, interesting stuff about the firearms registry coming from an RCMP officer. Thanks for your perspective.
Jo, one of the ways the Liberals tried to give the impression of success at the Firearm Registry (FR) was to mention how many queries were made to the FR by police officers. It sounds lovely but a bit of information shows it's hollow.
Checking the FR is as easy as clicking on a box in a website so when we "run" someone to check for warrants, driver's licence, etc, that box is automatically checked. Plenty of queries but do they mean anything? Well, since criminals aren't known for registering guns, I would have to say "NO!"
Canada doesn't have the cultural addiction to handguns which is common in the States despite our shared border and the cross-cultural media influence. People generally feel safe on Canada's streets and being shot isn't a concern which is ever discussed. Let's hope that doesn't change.
When leftist politicians start talking about banning firearms, we should remind them inanimate objects can't cause problems- it's the owner of the hand wielding the gun who is the problem.
Many people who have no experience with firearms are uncomfortable about them. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing but, unfortunately, leftist politicians take advantage of that discomfort to push their anti-gun agenda. What does it tell you when someone plays on fears and discomforts? It says they cannot appeal to logic and reason.
Checking the FR is as easy as clicking on a box in a website so when we "run" someone to check for warrants, driver's licence, etc, that box is automatically checked. Plenty of queries but do they mean anything? Well, since criminals aren't known for registering guns, I would have to say "NO!"
Mac, thanks so much for that! I've heard politicians flaunt the number of queries before, but now I know the truth. Thanks for clarifying it.
No problem, Jo. Keep in mind that despite being checked hundreds of thousands of times, there isn't a single incident where the FR proved invaluable. Two billion of your tax dollars spent for what?
here isn't a single incident where the FR proved invaluable.
Thanks, Mac. Next time my MP brings this up, I'm going to ask her how many times the information was actually used.
"That being said, I don't recall Harper and the Conservatives making comments about the Creba murder but I do recall Paul Martin promising to ban all firearms."
I take it then you missed Harper's big media conference on the site of the murder during the campaign? How about all his claims about the escalating crime rate, when in fact it decreased steadily and significantly during the 13 years the liberals were in government?
"I expect if handguns were banned, it would be more dangerous to be a plainclothes officer..."
Why is this? Does the lack of a handgun ban mean people with licences are carrying handguns on the streets? I do not think so...I have never heard of anyone having a licence to carry. In other words, any time a cop confronts someone on the street with a handgun, that person is arrestable. In fact, I am well aware of the fact that when a cop confronts a person with an imitation handgun that person may also be arrestable.
I just do not get your leap of logic here.
While I appreciate the fact you are speaking as an RCMP officer, I also note that your position does not represent the official position of the police chiefs.
Furthermore, I happen to know of cases where the firearm registry was used to solve crimes. I am sure you know of them too.
"Mr. Harper is trying to do something about gun crimes. A Liberal Senate stands in the way, concerned about a Charter challenge."
And appropriately so, since the legislation does breach the Charter. And yes, Joanne, I got that from an expert.
What I find most disturbing about this comment is the notion that if you agree with the politician, it is quite all right to make political hay out of a tragedy. Some of us call thay hypocrisy.
I will leave you with a simple fact - in the US there is little gun control. In the US the rate of gun crimes far exceed that in Canada. What else do you need to know?
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