When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unilaterally banned dozens of models of so-called “assault weapons,” he claimed he was doing so in some kind of effort to prevent another massacre like what happened in Nova Scotia recently. It’s certainly understandable that an elected official would feel obligated to do something in the wake of such a horrible occurrence, but Trudeau’s reaction had nothing to do with preventing Nova Scotia from happening again.
No, it had everything to do with him wanting to ban a type of gun he didn’t think Canadians should have.
After all, the killer didn’t have his weapon legally. That much has been known for a little while now. You see, it seems the weapon was smuggled into Canada from the United States.
The RCMP says three of the four semi-automatic weapons used by a gunman during last month’s mass shooting in Nova Scotia are believed to have come from the United States, but the agency continues to withhold some key details.
A news release issued Monday doesn’t give the model or calibre of two rifles and two handguns the gunman had when he started the rampage in Portapique, a small community west of Truro.
The investigators said in the release one semi-automatic weapon was obtained by the killer in Canada, but they didn’t specify whether it was a rifle or a handgun.
The Mounties say the four guns were in Gabriel Wortman’s possession when he killed 13 people in Portapique on the night of April 18 and nine more people in other towns the next day.
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Observers of the gun control issue in Canada say details on what firearms are used are key to informed discussion, as debate continues over the Liberals’ recent announcement of a ban on 1,500 military-style assault firearms would prevent similar incidents.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that none of these guns are the kinds Trudeau banned in the first place, which would explain the government’s slow feet in regard to releasing the models.
However, let’s also be realistic here. Absolutely none of that actually matters.
These guns were somehow obtained in the United States then smuggled across the Canadian border–an illegal act in and of itself–then provided to an unlicensed individual, another crime, for use in mass murder, which is yet another crime.
Trudeau’s ban was a gross overreaction by any metric you wish to employ. After all, there is no law that can be passed to prevent what happened since gun control laws were broken at every step in this process.
I don’t think Trudeau really cares about trying to prevent mass shootings. They’re rare enough in Canada as it is, after all. No, what he was trying to do was score some political points. Yet in doing so, he trampled on the rights of an untold number of Canadians who did nothing wrong, all while actually making Canadians less safe.
After all, if a maniac starts shooting up a neighborhood with an AR-15, it could be beneficial to have a good guy with an AR-15 challenge him like what happened in Sutherland Spring, Texas. Only now, that’s pretty unlikely because the government there has done all they can to make it unlikely.
Meanwhile, the next potential mass shooter won’t actually be stopped in the least.
As per usual.
