Thursday, August 09, 2007

Have no fear - Bryant's buttons are here!

Once again the Sun's Lorrie Goldstein hits the mark with his editorial - Gun Crime? No Worries.

In his crosshairs this time is Michael Bryant, who according to Goldstein, "is a master of the clever slogan, the brilliant riposte and the bon mot when it comes to fighting gun crime."

Lorrie reminds us that we are fortunate indeed to have Bryant for our Attorney General, because his clever slogans are such an effective tool against Toronto gang and gun crime.

However, Bryant has now added buttons to his arsenal!

Just last week, this up and coming Liberal cabinet minister revealed to the Toronto Star -- where trial balloons by Liberals go to die -- that he has made up some buttons featuring the brilliant phrase: "No Gun. No Funeral" and now carries them around in his pocket.



(Where trial balloons by Liberals go to die - Heh.)


He then goes on to explain that what Bryant really means is 'No LEGAL gun. No funeral'.

But that, of course, would be a stupid thing to put on a button, since it isn't true.

After all, Canada could ban all "legal" handguns today and people would still be shot and killed by thugs using illegal ones.

Lorrie makes several other very important points which I'll have to revisit another day.

Urgent family matters to attend to.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.nogunnofuneral.ca/home.aspx

OMMAG said...

It causes me to wonder!
Has ANYONE EVER heard Bryant say ANYTHING intelligent?

Anonymous said...

Oh God, another Michael Bryant rant today - yawn.

Burton, Formerly Kingston said...

Cars kill people too, lets ban cars. Fast food kills people too, lets ban that too. What,, your telling me that when responsible law abiding people treat those two listed killers responsibly they do not hurt anyone, well maybe we should start talking about the people who are not law abiding and responsible and DEAL WITH THEM

Patrick Ross said...

Apparently, no one has ever been killed with a knife, a baseball bat, or with fists. Ever.

Only with guns.

Swift said...

Take a look at CaladoniaWakeUp call to see what certain councillers are up to in Haldimand County.

Anonymous said...

After all, Canada could ban all "legal" handguns today and people would still be shot and killed by thugs using illegal ones.

Once stolen from a legal gun owner, the gun becomes illegal, so of course most of the gun murders are with illegal weapons.

With the number of deaths caused by cars, they would be banned, if they were not part of the backbone of the economy.

If cars were only owned by collectors, used at car ranges, and mostly used for recreation and hobbies, they would be banned.

If most people needed and used guns daily in the course of their work and errands, and could not reasonably do their work without them, there would be no call for banning them. That's why nobody says take the guns away from the police.

Burton, Formerly Kingston said...

LS. You cannot really believe that a totally ban on Handguns will do anything to reduce violent crime, could put every firearm and knife in a huge smelter, melt them down, and the next day the cry for the banning of clubs would be heard.

Anonymous said...

You cannot really believe that a totally ban on Handguns will do anything to reduce violent crime

Of course I don't. I believe that a ban on handguns will reduce violent gun crime.

As far as violent crime goes, I'd rather be attacked by a bad guy with a club or knife than a gun, wouldn't you? I am not faster than a speeding bullet, but I do have a chance if they throw something at me, since it would be more visible, and would be traveling at least 10 times more slowly. If it did hit me, I am more likely to end up in the hospital than the morgue.

Patrick Ross said...

"Once stolen from a legal gun owner, the gun becomes illegal, so of course most of the gun murders are with illegal weapons."

Not so fast, my ever-trolling friend. Stats Canada reveals that, in 2004 (a mere three years ago), only 6% of guns used to commit crimes in Canada had ever been registered.

Thus, only 6% of those guns had ever been owned legally.

The fact is that there are some people who live in places so dangerous that they really do need guns to be able to live in their neighbourhoods, and protect themselves.

I guess you don't care about them, do you?


By the by, the website is actually pretty hysterical when you really get down to it.

Eric said...

LS. I always hear it said that people fear guns more than they fear knives. "I can outrun a knife" is also something I've often heard said in debates over guns.

The sad thing is that people underestimate the damage that can be done with a knife, and they are small enough to be easily concealed until it is too late.

Banning guns has also not been proven to reduce violent gun crime. The UK is a good example of this, Washington DC is another, 'gun-free zones' are another. They do nothing to reduce violent gun crimes because the source of guns is (as someone just said) 94% of the time from illegal sources.

So perhaps you could stop that 6% of violent gun crime. Or perhaps that 6% will just obtain their guns from another source.

Either way, shouldn't we be focusing on the 94%? I mean, the one step that no one seems to recognize as helping prevent guns from entering Canada is the arming and empowering of border guards. Previously, border guards were told explicitly that if they believed the person in the car was armed, they were to let them through (and into Canada).

Anonymous said...

Banning handguns will accomplish nothing. It will simply make smuggling a much more lucrative business for organized crime.

Whether or not the gun was stolen is immaterial. It was a criminal act to steal the gun and it was a criminal act to use it in a crime. It's the criminal who is responsible not the gun owner. The governments responsibility is to do something about crime and criminals. It looks to me like this government's only solution is to victimize responsible citizens. That's unacceptable.

I wish the control freaks on the left would stop trying to dictate the minutiae of responsible peoples' daily lives.

Anonymous said...

SO: Spin as you wish. Spinning might actually deflect a knife, while a bullet will still tear through you at over ten times the speed of any human thrown object.

If you can throw as fast as a baseball pitcher, or a puck off a hockey stick, at a hundred miles an hour you are still 10 times slower than a gun powder propelled bullet. Are you now going to say you would prefer someone threatening you with a gun than a knife?

The UK is a good example of this
You have to be careful with UK stats. It seems with 20 times the population they have the same number of gun murders as Toronto. Is the rate going up or down? Is it traceable to the ban? Hard to say, but they have a ban, and the entire country has the same number of gun murders as Toronto, 20 times smaller.

The nogunnofuneral people say 30% to 50% of the guns were registered. The debunkers have 16% from the Toronto Police survey. You are using a Vancouver Police survey to get 6%. The Toronto one had 16% weapons registered here. Another 25% or so (65 guns) had their serial numbers filed off, so there is where the dispute is.

Were they filed off smuggled guns or stolen here ones? The stolen here ones would be more likely to be filed off since the chain of custody from theft in Canada to the final user would likely be shorter. If the number is there, the police will try and trace it. The closer it is (i.e. stolen in Canada) the more likely you would be found. The ones in the US could come form gun shows, and the number of potential suspects gets a lot bigger.

Just as grow ops are popular because there is no border crossing to worry about, the theft in Canada would be more favoured by crooks. And since there is no gun flea market or anything involved, the evidence could place you in the area where it was stolen. So file the serial number off.

Speaking of grow ops, unless you know of some clandestine basement factory with the tools and know how to make guns, all guns are legal at the point of manufacture. It is not as simple as setting up a hydroponic garden. Guns have brands that assure buyers of a well manufactured product. Unlikely that there are many home made guns.

the one step that no one seems to recognize as helping prevent guns from entering Canada is the arming and empowering of border guards. Previously, border guards were told explicitly that if they believed the person in the car was armed, they were to let them through (and into Canada).
Agreed. I don't know if arming the border guards is the best approach, but there should be police always attached to each crossing. You don't want a shootout at the Rainbow Bridge where they are lined up 5 wide and 20 deep. A hundred cars to get shot at. Instead, you let them through, call the cops and they grab them down the road. You could even put a transponder on the car while inspecting it.

they really do need guns to be able to live in their neighbourhoods, and protect themselves.
Nobody is talking about banning long guns. Do you really believe a pistol will protect you in your home while a rifle or shotgun will not? Or do you want to walk the streets with your piece, Pilgrim?


I wish the control freaks on the left would stop trying to dictate the minutiae of responsible peoples' daily lives.
I wish the control freaks on the right would stop trying to dictate as well. You know, like with trucks plastered with abortion porn? And the ever popular "God Hates Fags" signs?

Anonymous said...

"I wish the control freaks on the right would stop trying to dictate as well. You know, like with trucks plastered with abortion porn? And the ever popular "God Hates Fags" signs?"

Are you saying that expressing an opinion, no matter how vulgar, is the same as the government persecuting responsible citizens on behalf of a special interest group?

Shouldn't the responsible citizenry of this country be viewed as the pinnacles of our society? Aren't they the ones who have earned the protection and respect of the government?