in E News Team CSSA E-NEWS – January 15, 2015
Team CSSA E-NEWS – January 15, 2015
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COMMENTARY – ST. ALBERT GAZETTE EDITORS DRINK THOMAS MULCAIR‘S ANTI-GUN KOOLAID
On December 10, 2014, the St. Albert Gazette published a cartoon that can only be described as a disgraceful display of editorial bigotry.
Comparing Canada’s most law-abiding citizens, licensed firearms owners, to “yahoo hunters, mass murderers, crazy anarchists and radicalized extremists … fools” the paper calls for the reinstatement of firearms registration for long guns.
In the cartoon, the “Office of the Prime Minister” calls the NDP “idiots” for wanting to bring back the failed long-gun registry and infers that the only people “safe” enough to own long guns are “honest farmers and duck hunters.”
Everyone else, including the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and Olympic shooters, are lumped in with “yahoo hunters, mass murderers, crazy anarchists and radicalized extremists … fools.”
What kind of warped, delusional mind equates lawful target shooters, gun collectors and hunters to such defamatory descriptive?
Our community is nothing of the sort. Canada’s licensed firearms owners are our nation’s most law-abiding citizens. That is a statistical fact.
Who else must pass a multi-layered police background check, take and pass written and practical firearms safety courses, and be re-checked every time we want to buy or sell a firearm? Who else has their “privilege” to possess their own property confirmed every single day by the RCMP’s Continuous Eligibility Screening program?
Millions of Canadian gun owners who own firearms didn’t kill anyone yesterday. Millions of Canadian gun owners didn’t kill anyone today either and, as shocking as it is to the malicious publishers of the St. Albert Gazette, we won’t kill anyone tomorrow either.
In a perfect world, the media would seek the truth, shunning such politically correct hate speech. Indeed, our societal worship of freedom of the press is predicated on the utopian ideal of journalistic integrity; but unfortunately, not so much about reality.
It can be discouraging to realize that even in the information age, where knowledge is available at the click of a mouse, there are still people who believe what they choose to believe despite an abundance of contrary truth. Truly, a closed mind lets in no light.
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“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities.” – The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety
HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE
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CSSA “STICK TO YOUR GUNS” DINNER – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 – CALGARY, ALBERTA – Holiday Inn, 4206 Macleod Trail South. Cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Superb “All-You-Can-Eat” buffet. Raffles, prizes and special guests. Tickets $69.99 per person. For information, please call Heather at 1-888-873-4339 or email: [email protected].
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AJAX ANTIQUE ARMS ASSOCIATION (AAAA) GUN SHOW – SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015 – PICKERING, ONTARIO – Pickering Recreation Centre, 1867 Valley Farm Road. 7:30 a.m. to Noon. For more information, please call Jeff or Charlene at 905-623-1778. Other upcoming gun shows can be seen at: http//www.ontariogunshows.com.
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DO YOU HAVE SWEDISH ANCESTORY? LOVE HUNTING? THE BIGGEST TV SHOW IN SWEDEN IS NOW SEARCHING FOR AMERICANS AND CANADIANS WITH SWEDISH ANCESTORY (Sofia Eng | on behalf of Great Swedish Adventure)
Meter Television is searching for Americans and Canadians of Swedish descent to participate in one of the most popular and nominated shows, “ALLT FÖR SVERIGE” (All for Sweden or previous working title “Great Swedish Adventure”).
My name is Sofia Eng, and I am a casting director in Los Angeles. We are very happy to announce that we are now conducting a nationwide casting for season 5. Season 4 was beyond successful with the highest ratings ever of 46% in shares (2 million out of the 9 million population watched it).
We are looking for out-going, fun, adventurous people, and they have to be Americans or Canadians of Swedish descent. In Sweden, hunting is a really popular sport so we are now looking for hunters to participate in the show.
Accepted participants will travel to Sweden on an adventurous journey, learn about the culture and find out about their family who left for the U.S. or Canada. It’s all a part of a challenge with a spectacular prize: a family reunion with their lost Swedish relatives.
So we ask if you know of any people with a little Swedish-Canadian blood. We are also looking for Canadian-Finland Swedes.
The deadline to apply is February 11. The show is shooting in summer 2015 in Sweden.
To apply, go on our website: www.greatswedishadventure.com
To see an episode from season 4: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgAdtGmpI6A
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DEFENDING SELF-DEFENCE (by Lorne Gunter | Edmonton Sun | January 14, 2015)
To read the official police report, you’d think the incident at Michael Woodard’s New Brunswick home just before Christmas involved four criminals, not three.
But the truth is a 68-year-old homeowner confronted three burglars inside his remote home, at least one of whom was armed. While trying to defend himself and his home, Michael Woodard shot one of the alleged assailants in the leg. Now he and the three alleged criminals have all been charged; Woodard with “discharging a firearm with intent and discharging a firearm in a reckless manner.”
Just before midnight on Dec. 19, 2014, Woodard, an industrial process engineer, found a 19-year-old man and woman and a 17-year-old man in his home about 90 km west of Saint John, New Brunswick.
The younger man had a weapon, according to RCMP, that he allegedly used to assault Woodard. Woodard managed to get hold of a gun and allegedly shot the 17-year-old in the leg.
The charges against Woodard carry a potential for greater prison time than the charges against his three alleged attackers.
That’s outrageous.
You find three criminals in your house in the middle of the night. One of them attacks you with a weapon. You’re badly outnumbered and in genuine fear for your life, so you respond by using a gun to defend yourself. And you end up facing more jail time than the little darlings who broke into your home.
Even worse, though, is that this is hardly the exception in Canada. Again and again homeowners who use guns to fend off attacks against themselves, their loved ones or their property end up cuffed by police and prosecuted by Crown attorneys.
Despite the fact that the Criminal Code still clearly permits armed self-defence (especially when armed intruders have invaded your home), criminal justice officials have convinced themselves that self-defending homeowners should be punished.
Too many police officers and prosecutors simply cannot accept that ordinary citizens have the right to defend themselves, with deadly force if necessary.
Early on an August morning in 2010, Ian Thomson of Port Colborne, Ontario awoke to find four masked men attempting to firebomb his remote rural home. A licensed firearms instructor, Thomson grabbed a pair of legally owned handguns from his safe and fired three warning shots at his attackers.
When he showed police surveillance footage of the incident, he was arrested and charged with weapons offences even before any of his assailants had been caught.
Thomson was eventually acquitted, but it took two-and-a-half years and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees before his right to self-defence was restored.
I have no sympathy for burglars or home invaders. If you break into someone’s home, I don’t care if they shoot you dead, whether or not you plan to attack them.
In situations such as the one Michael Woodard found himself, there isn’t time to ascertain the burglars’ motives or level of violence. Homeowners haven’t time to wonder whether a burglar is the victim of a rough childhood or addicted to substances that are clouding his mind.
A homeowner who hesitates can end up dead.
If you, a criminal, have chosen to enter a home uninvited in the middle of the night, you and you alone should be responsible for any harm that befalls you. No handwringing about root causes or psychobabble about the need to give criminals a chance to reform.
And as the homeowner, you shouldn’t have to spend a small fortune in lawyers’ fees or have years of your life suspended while you wait to be cleared by the courts.
Too many in officialdom wrongly believe ordinary Canadians have no right to use force to keep themselves safe.
See the article: http://www.edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists
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GUN VIOLENCE WILL BE ELECTION ISSUE (By: Dan Singleton | Sundre Roundup | January 13, 2015)
The latest wave of firearm-related killings in the province points to the fact that Alberta is anything but immune from the gun violence that has become all-too common in many other Canadian jurisdictions.
Eight people, including two children, were killed by a gun-toting man on Dec. 29 in the worse-ever mass murder in the provincial capital. Three days later a Calgary man was shot dead at a community party, followed by another fatal Calgary shooting of a man the next day.
During the same period there were several other firearm-related violent incidents, including in Grande Prairie and Wood Buffalo.
Premier Jim Prentice spoke for all law-abiding Albertans when he called the Edmonton shootings a tragedy for the entire province.
“In this season of peace and goodwill, this act of violence is all the more difficult to comprehend,” said Prentice. “We trust that the police agencies’ investigations will help provide answers as we struggle to understand this tragic turn of events.
“In the meantime, on behalf of the government of Alberta, I extend our deepest condolences to the people affected by this incident, and our appreciation to public servants who provided a professional response during what must have been dangerous and difficult circumstances.”
While the recent shooting incidents are not related, combined they represent a shocking confirmation that guns continue to get into the hands of criminals bent on the murder and wounding of Albertans in all parts of this province.
Unfortunately, despite Premier Prentice’s strong and wise words about the Edmonton shootings, the provincial government can do little to address the over-riding problem of illegal firearm proliferation in this or any other province.
And that is because firearms control is a federal jurisdiction, making the ultimate job of controlling guns the responsibility of the national government.
Since scrapping the national firearms registry after winning a majority government, the Harper Conservatives say they have done a great deal to keep Canadians safe from gun violence. Whether those assurances can be taken at face value remains an open question.
While there is virtually no chance the Tories will reopen the firearm control debate before the 2015 federal election, it is likely that gun control will be an issue in the campaign once it gets underway.
Hopefully, the various parties will make a point of putting forward constructive solutions to address the plague of gun violence currently sweeping this province and nation.
West central Albertans and their fellow Canadians are sick and tired of hearing and reading about gun-toting criminals killing and wounding innocent children and other people.
See the article: http://www.sundreroundup.ca/article/20150113/SUN0902/301139990/-1/sun/gun-violence-will-be-election-issue
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BILL BLAIR EYED FOR FEDERAL POLITICS – OUTGOING TORONTO POLICE CHIEF BEING WOOED BY TWO PARTIES (By Bruce Campion-Smith and Wendy Gillis | Toronto Stars | January 14, 2015)
Bill Blair could make the leap from top cop to Parliament Hill.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives have their eyes on Blair when he hangs up his badge in the coming months after a decade as chief of the Toronto Police Service, a source told the Star.
“Nothing I can say other than everybody wants the guy,” said the official of one political party in the hunt.
The long-serving and high-profile police chief, a polished speaker, would be a prize catch for any of the parties, especially in Toronto, which promises to be a hard-fought battleground in the fall election.
Blair’s tenure as Toronto police chief ends April 25. In a recent interview with the Star, he left open the possibility of entering politics, saying he would not be done working at the end of his term.
Blair, a 35-year policing veteran, would bring instant name recognition and credibility in areas of law-and-order and social issues, thanks to his time as a police officer and volunteer in community organizations.
After two disastrous election showings, the Liberals have been working to bolster their slate of candidates.
And while the Conservatives too, reportedly, would like Blair in their camp, the chief sparked a backlash from the party in 2010 over his support for the long-gun registry, an episode that may influence Blair’s political leanings.
Blair is now into his final few months on the job after the Toronto Police Board last year denied the chief’s bid for a two-year contract extension.
See the article: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/01/13/liberals_and_conservatives_coveting_bill_blair_for_federal_politics.html
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CANADA IN THE ROUGH – YUKON MOOSE MANIA, PART 2
This weekend, Paul Beasley’s moose and caribou adventure with Tombstone Outfitters continues in the Yukon. As Paul hunts hard, he may just get his chance at a mature Yukon bull moose.
See the teaser: http://www.canadaintherough.com/yukon-moose-mania-part-2/
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WINNING THE UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK WAR (By Townhall Magazine | January 11, 2015)
Gun control advocates are using the ballot initiative process to take away your rights. Federal preemption is the only way to stop them. BearingArms.com’s Bob Owens reports for the January issue of Townhall Magazine.
Democracy is dangerous. Democracy is mob rule.
Democracy is the serially uninformed and easily led being suckered into voting against their own best interests by deep-pocketed grifters who are looking out only for themselves.
Our Founding Fathers knew this shortcoming of democracy well, and instead of a democracy, they created for us a constitutional republic. The system of government they crafted for us is a carefully designed system that slows rushes to judgment, encourages debate, and gives us the best possible chance to avoid self-inflicted wounds. As a result, it typically takes a great deal of time for citizens to hurt themselves significantly under the government the Founders gave us.
Unfortunately, not everyone remembers the dangers of true democracy, and several states, mostly in the west, have allowed mob rule to have its say in affairs of state, via the referendum or ballot initiative process.
Ballot measures bypass the carefully designed deliberative model, and terrifyingly favor the deep-pocketed individuals who can throw the largest amount of money into advertising their cause in the best possible light.
Put bluntly, these referendum processes allow even the most blatantly unconstitutional and unenforceable laws to be bought by the highest bidder.
We saw the dangerous nature of this corrupted system put on high-profile display in Washington state in November as a handful of billionaires led by Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Michael Bloomberg spent more than $10 million to champion and successfully pass Initiative 594.
I-594 was strongly opposed by Washington police and sheriffs who found the murky 18-page referendum to be a massive imposition on the rights of law-abiding citizens and a significant drain on already scarce law enforcement resources.
But the low-information voters of Washington didn’t hear the warnings of law enforcement officers who couldn’t spend millions to warn the citizenry that their rights were being taken away.
Instead, this small group of liberty-despising billionaires invested millions in crafting an advertising blitz built around the false narrative that all they wanted was a universal background check bill to reduce violent crime.
The fictional narrative overwhelmed the protests of law enforcement, law-abiding hunters, firearm collectors, and target shooters who noted that the language was crafted to create a de facto gun registry, which was I-594’s real purpose.
The powerful money machine of these billionaires convincingly swayed the majority of people who were too dim or lazy to read I-594 to vote for it.
They have broken the system.
This model of exploiting the ballot initiative process appears to be the new plan of attack for gun control groups. All states with such a process seem ripe for targeting by gun control groups.
Nevadans for Background Checks, a suspect Bloomberg-backed gun control group, was able to stealthily collect thousands of signatures and may have been able to collect enough to put an I-594 clone on the 2016 ballot to create a de facto gun registry in that state as well. Other states are likely targeted for similar stealth campaigns as well.
Fair or foul, “universal” background checks are incredibly popular among voters and will be implemented in some way, shape, or form.
Our best hope to counter the draconian initiatives at the state level would be a pre-emptive attack at the federal level that allows for background checks, but doesn’t tie the background checks to the de facto registration of specific firearms, which is the real goal of the background check initiatives pushed by gun control groups.
At the state level, concealed carry permits often serve a dual function of being both a carry permit and a background check mechanism valid for the duration of the permit, independent of firearm registration.
A national concealed carry reciprocity bill could be written to not only recognize a concealed carry permit issued in any state as a permit recognized in every state, but to also serve a dual role as a background check tied to permits, and not to specific transfers.
Federal preemption would override the attempts of gun banners to create a registry and take away their Trojan horse of background checks.
We’re going to have to fight this battle. We may as well attempt to win it.
See the article: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/townhallmagazine/2015/01/11/winning-the-universal-background-check-war-n1941544#!
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CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES MORE GUN CONTROL FOR NEW JERSEY (By AWR Hawkins | Ammoland | January 7, 2015)
Washington DC – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s (R) administration is proposing more gun control in the form of “security requirements” for firearm retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers –and employees of the same– in the state.
The proposals originated with the State Police and are the result of “several thefts and lapses in oversight…that led to at least one death” during the past 10 years.
According to NJ.com, the new gun control would “require dealers and manufacturers to make gun records available for inspection to State Police.” It would also put rules in place requiring “dealers to immediately notify state and local police if their security systems fail.” And if, by chance, the security system cannot be repaired within 24 hours, the dealer could be allowed to “move the guns to another licensed location with approval of the State Police.”
The proposals come just one month after Christie said New Jersey gun control laws “might be a little too strict.” They also come as Christie considers running for president in 2016.
NJ.com points out that a successful run for the president would require Christie to “do well in rural, gun-loving states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which all hold early presidential caucuses or primaries.”
See the article: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/01/christie-administration-proposes-more-gun-control-for-new-jersey/?utm_source=Ammoland+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f8fada31fa-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6f6fac3eaa-f8fada31fa-20600317 – axzz3OewTBk5z
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WASHINGTON’S I-594 UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK LAW HAS BECOME AN UNENFORCEABLE DISASTER (By Geoff Folsom | Tri-City Herald | January 3, 2015)
Washington – Initiative 594 has been in place since Dec. 4 2014, but those who have to deal with the law requiring background checks for all firearm sales and transfers still aren’t sure what to do.
No one is even certain who is enforcing the implementation of I-594, said TRAC General Manager Troy Woody, whose Pasco venue plays host to gun shows.
“From what I read, there’s more confusion than answers,” he said.
I-594, which passed statewide with 59 percent of the vote despite failing in Benton and Franklin counties, requires universal background checks, including on gun sales made online and at gun shows. It also requires checks on transfers, including many loans and gifts, with some exceptions.
Brian Kjensmo, whose Montana company puts on gun shows in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Yakima, has gone to numerous state agencies to try to find answers, he said. He finally determined it will be up to the state Legislature to pass laws providing guidance and funding for enforcement.
The state patrol cannot afford to enforce the law with its current funding, the state Department of Licensing lacks the manpower to enforce it, and the Attorney General’s Office cannot enforce the law without another law from the Legislature, he said.
“Nobody at the state level really has any clue as to who is going to be ultimately responsible,” Kjensmo said.
See the article: http://tiny.cc/1ca4rx
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POLICE ATTITUDES ON ARMED SELF DEFENCE ARE A CHANGING (By Dean Weingarten | Ammoland | January 7, 2015)
Arizona – It was not very many years ago that the common refrain echoed by the media for any self defense shooting was that the police advised against “taking the law into your own hands” and the obligatory “leave it to the professionals”.
It is hard to know how much of this was from real police attitudes, and how much was from what the media wished to portray as police attitudes, but it was what was commonly seen.
Over the last two decades, that has changed. Now, we commonly hear: “Homeowners have a right to defend themselves; you will have to defend yourself; and get training so that you can do the right thing.”
There was a recent shooting incident in Village of Centuria in Northwest Wisconsin, not far from the Minnesota border. Coverage of the incident was titled: “Law enforcement pushes self-defense education for gun owners”. From weau.com:
Eau Claire police officer Kyle Roder says law enforcement is working to make sure people are educated when it comes to self-defense.
“We think people understand the law and know their rights, however, we are very diligent in making sure that they use the proper precautions so as long as we have a public who understands that and is safe, we don’t have this issue,” says Roder.
In the incident, an intruder kicked open the armed resident’s door. The resident was on the way to the door, armed with a handgun when the intruder gained entrance. Derek Amorosa was shot in the groin after attacking the resident.
While the benefits of an armed population have long been understood in most rural American communities, urban centers are starting to get the message from big city police chiefs like Detroit’s Chief Craig and urban county Sheriff’s such as Milwaukee County’s Sheriff Clarke.
The Chippewa County District Attorney Said:
“Always call the authorities and cooperate with the authorities and use deadly force as a last resort,” says Gibbs.
This is generally good advice, taken in context. To be fair, in the video that the quote is taken from, the advice appears far less Stalinesque. Body language says a lot. While I advise cooperating with authorities, that does not mean that a person who has to resort to deadly force in defense should give the police an immediate, off the cuff, detailed statement; or ignore all the legal and constitutional rights that they have by law. The subject has been covered extensively by others.
Insuring that the police understand that you are willing to cooperate, but have been advised by counsel not to make a statement at this time, and pointing out evidence so that it will not be ignored, seem like generally good ideas.
What we are seeing is the climate about an armed population changing, and specifically and most importantly, the police attitudes changing or perhaps, being allowed to be expressed, in support of an armed population. Rural areas have commonly had this synergy, and have had far lower crime rates than urban centers.
Armed Americans and police are natural allies and are complementary to each other. Law abiding people support law and order and peaceful resolution of disputes. It is those who wish radical “change” at any price, who support the overthrow of Constitutional law and lawless rioting in response to legal outcomes that they disapprove of. Police benefit greatly from an armed population that backs them up, and acts as their eyes and ears.
A number of police have been saved by armed Americans over the years. On the other side, armed Americans need the backup provided by a rapid response force and the communication system provided by the police. The true “first responders” are the armed Americans, and their job should be to hold out until the police arrive. That is one reason that criminals flee. They know that armed backup, in the form of police, is on the way. Police are part of the criminal justice system that arrests and processes the criminals after the fact. They may not be good at preventing crimes at the scene; but you have to have a way to process criminals after they are apprehended.
In rural America, this complementary nature of police and armed Americans has a long tradition, and is growing stronger. I predict that more and more urban areas will see the benefits and will encourage this development. An early indicator to watch for would be the police encouraging and/or offering classes in the use of deadly force to non-police.
c2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
See the article: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/01/police-attitudes-are-changing/?utm_source=Ammoland+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f8fada31fa-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6f6fac3eaa-f8fada31fa-20600317#axzz3OewTBk5z
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