50 signatures reached
To: Federal Government
Gun Control in Canada Is Falling Apart
We ask the Federal Government to act on their campaign promises to strengthen gun control in Canada and internationally by:
1. Reversing Harper-era legislation that scrapped tracking sales of unrestricted firearms
2. Putting to a vote in Parliament currently stalled legislation that would finally put Canada in compliance with the UN Arms Trade Treaty (this treaty will standardize arms import and export regulations and track the destination of exports to ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands).
3. Banning guns in urban areas to reflect the attitudes and concerns of most Canadians
4. Creating a working group that will develop and implement strategies to counter the adoption in Canada of the gun culture that plagues the US and underlies their tragic problems with gun-related violence
1. Reversing Harper-era legislation that scrapped tracking sales of unrestricted firearms
2. Putting to a vote in Parliament currently stalled legislation that would finally put Canada in compliance with the UN Arms Trade Treaty (this treaty will standardize arms import and export regulations and track the destination of exports to ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands).
3. Banning guns in urban areas to reflect the attitudes and concerns of most Canadians
4. Creating a working group that will develop and implement strategies to counter the adoption in Canada of the gun culture that plagues the US and underlies their tragic problems with gun-related violence
Why is this important?
The "gun culture" of the United States is making headway in Canada and we need to and we need limit its insidious effects by restricting access to firearms and engaging in a public relations effort that counters the positive messages associated with owning guns.
The rise in gun ownership in Canada is alarming and has been accompanied by increasing rates of gun related deaths. Although the rates in the United States are astounding, Canada's rate is 10 times higher than the UK and ranks among the highest in the developed world. The majority of homicides in Canada are from handguns and imports of handguns have almost doubled to 293,000 over the 5 year period since the Harper government scrapped the long gun registry in 2012.. Bans on certain deadly rifles were lifted and rifle imports doubled to more than 1,000,000 over the same period (1). The more guns are available, especially handguns, the more attitudes soften towards ownership and the more likely harms can occur. A recent poll showed 69% of Canadians endorsed the implementing "a strict a ban on guns in urban areas" (2).
Internationally Canada has failed to deliver. It has yet to ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty that
aims to standardize arms import and export regulations and is expected to track the destination of exports to ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands. Canada's refusal to sign the treaty came at the time it was benefiting from selling armoured cars to Saudi Arabia, a country with a poor human rights record. The NRA in the US hates this treaty because it would act as a registry since handgun owners of foreign-made guns would need to have personal information recorded in the country of origin.
In Canada the gun culture has historically reflected sport shooting, hunting and protection for trappers and others in the wild yet has increasingly becoming influenced by American culture. In the US, gun culture revolves around self-defense against other people and the right to bear arms against government. Guns have assumed almost fetish-like characteristics in the United States as symbols of safety, freedom and power. Justifications to own guns by appealing to Amendment rights and the like are, for some, cover for the fact they simply really like guns and the benefits they confer while for others guns are a symbol of Individualism, the value that permeates American society. The American gun culture is unacceptable and dangerous and needs to be countered in Canada via massive public dialogue and education. Just as anti-smoking campaigns took years to lessen its positive connotations, so too will it take years to ensure that Canada reverses its slippage into the American nightmare.
1- https://ipolitics.ca/2017/06/16/firearms-imports-exploded-after-harper-government-killed-gun-registry/
2 - https://globalnews.ca/news/3894223/canadians-support-outright-ban-guns/
The rise in gun ownership in Canada is alarming and has been accompanied by increasing rates of gun related deaths. Although the rates in the United States are astounding, Canada's rate is 10 times higher than the UK and ranks among the highest in the developed world. The majority of homicides in Canada are from handguns and imports of handguns have almost doubled to 293,000 over the 5 year period since the Harper government scrapped the long gun registry in 2012.. Bans on certain deadly rifles were lifted and rifle imports doubled to more than 1,000,000 over the same period (1). The more guns are available, especially handguns, the more attitudes soften towards ownership and the more likely harms can occur. A recent poll showed 69% of Canadians endorsed the implementing "a strict a ban on guns in urban areas" (2).
Internationally Canada has failed to deliver. It has yet to ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty that
aims to standardize arms import and export regulations and is expected to track the destination of exports to ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands. Canada's refusal to sign the treaty came at the time it was benefiting from selling armoured cars to Saudi Arabia, a country with a poor human rights record. The NRA in the US hates this treaty because it would act as a registry since handgun owners of foreign-made guns would need to have personal information recorded in the country of origin.
In Canada the gun culture has historically reflected sport shooting, hunting and protection for trappers and others in the wild yet has increasingly becoming influenced by American culture. In the US, gun culture revolves around self-defense against other people and the right to bear arms against government. Guns have assumed almost fetish-like characteristics in the United States as symbols of safety, freedom and power. Justifications to own guns by appealing to Amendment rights and the like are, for some, cover for the fact they simply really like guns and the benefits they confer while for others guns are a symbol of Individualism, the value that permeates American society. The American gun culture is unacceptable and dangerous and needs to be countered in Canada via massive public dialogue and education. Just as anti-smoking campaigns took years to lessen its positive connotations, so too will it take years to ensure that Canada reverses its slippage into the American nightmare.
1- https://ipolitics.ca/2017/06/16/firearms-imports-exploded-after-harper-government-killed-gun-registry/
2 - https://globalnews.ca/news/3894223/canadians-support-outright-ban-guns/
How it will be delivered
Perhaps a combination