The biggest reason I look at gun control in other countries is because bad ideas are like a virus. They take hold in a given place, completely rip apart that place, then explode outward to infect other places.

So, I see what they do and highlight it, and the failures that ensue.

That's especially true of the Great White North, where Canadian culture is just close enough to American culture that people think we're interchangeable. 

Imagine my surprise, though, when I came across a story that was different. It was something we should learn about from our neighbors to the north.

Canada has banned more than 2,000 makes and models of firearms since 2020 in response to concerns from the public and advocates over domestic violence, violent street crime and high-profile tragedies, including the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 and the 1989 murders of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal.

At the same time, the number of gun licence applicants — especially young males — has increased by thousands, with a significant rise among an age group that includes teenagers.

According to RCMP data, gun licence applications spiked 11 per cent for young people between the ages of 10 and 19 between 2023 and 2024, when a total of 9,654 males and 1,778 females were registered.

That's created a situation where the country's newest gun owners are in many cases some of Canada's newest voters — and some are looking for leaders who are signalling they'll ease up on gun laws.

This increase in gun ownership, mostly among young males, also comes amid fears that U.S.-style gun culture and toxic definitions of masculinity are seeping over the border, some experts say.

RCMP data also shows that applications are up three per cent for those aged 20 to 29, and 2.5 per cent for people 30 and older. That translated into almost 60,000 new gun owners last year — close to 7,500 of them under the age of 30.

Applicants between the ages of 12 and 17 can obtain a minor's firearms licence once they pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and tests determined by Section 7 of the Firearms Act. Once 18, they're required to apply for a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL).

...

There's a lot of disappointment when young people learn about gun bans, said Blair Hagen, executive vice-president of Canada's National Firearms Association.

Hagen says gun bans hurt gun businesses while the majority of violent gun crimes do not involve registered gun owners, according to Statistics Canada.

I find nonsense about "toxic definitions of masculinity" to be utterly stupid, because there's nothing toxic about actually being masculine if you're a man. There's no inherent nobility in being unmasculine, either.

What we're seeing is that the gun culture we have here in the United States stands strong enough to offer guidance to our friends up north, which is a very good thing.

But the lesson we need to learn here is that these younger people are the ones making the difference.

The Baby Boomers are dying. We Gen Xers aren't going to be too far behind.

What we need is a new, younger generation of gun culture members who can not just keep up the fight but use new, modern tools to expand the message. 

These are the people who will replace us when we're gone, but only if they learn now. They need to understand not just how to shoot, but why it matters. They need to be taught.

It's easy to get very down on the upcoming generations as we get older, because their world isn't our world. They see things differently based on what they experience. They don't remember the Challenger exploding. Many of them don't remember 9/11 or the Columbia disaster. They damn sure don't remember JFK or Reagan getting shot.

Their experiences are different, so we tend to clash on so many things.

But we need to put that aside. We need to embrace them into our community. We should listen to them when they offer ideas, and while that doesn't mean we should automatically do as they suggest, we need to actually consider them in a serious manner.

We need to cultivate our kids and grandkids as the next generation. We need to reach out to younger family members and offer them a day at the range. We can then teach them about our gun rights and why they matter.

Younger people are the future.

If we help them become as pro-gun as humanly possible, the threat to our Second Amendment rights will suddenly find its road as much rougher going.

That's good for everyone.