r/canadaguns • u/Noah_S_Schwartz • Mar 28 '26
News / Politics / Activism Thank you
I just wanted to thank all of the people that upvoted, commented on, or shared my post about my policy paper.
Given the interest of the community I thought I'd take a chance to showcase my book "Targeted".
The book is the first in Canada to tell the story of Canada's community of gun owners from their own perspective. It includes interviews with Canada's top pro-gun advocates, and ordinary gun owners.
The digital version can be downloaded for free from the University of Toronto Press website (just Google Schwartz Targeted UTP), but if you want to support balanced and fair research on gun policy, please consider buying a hard copy, or writing a review (good or bad) on Amazon.
90
u/FishingandBeer35 Mar 28 '26
Wearing black! Alert! Assault-Style Writer detected!
All jokes aside though, thank you for advocating for our community in such a professional way.
20
u/OCTS-Toronto Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 29 '26
That black sweater does look alot like the military wear. Natalie Provost should look into this. At least to make sure no pop cans or gophers are harmed by this possible gun owner.
12
u/DustyPotatoes22 Mar 28 '26
Wishlisted and will buy a copy when funds allow, thanks for helping give us a voice in today’s volatile world!
21
u/Technoaddict Mar 28 '26
Gun on the book cover? Instant ban. Jokes aside, I can’t wait to read this book!
10
u/takeme2thezoo Mar 28 '26
I hope you know your work is powerful! There is so much misinformation and disinformation when it comes to our community and firearms. Your open mindedness to actually investigate the issue for yourself and come away with a conclusion based on evidence is beyond commendable. I hope you’re able to encourage all scholars no matter what field to reject dogmas and find out the truth for themselves. Congrats and keep up the amazing work!
3
55
u/CurlyWurly61 Mar 28 '26
@CCFR, would it have been difficult to have a gentleman like him holding a sign?
-1
u/Elbro_16 Mar 28 '26
You realize you have to spend time finding somebody to do that? I know it doesn’t sound hard, but it takes time and possibly multiple photos and back forth of communication to get it done. Just saying
7
u/Teckiiiz Mar 28 '26
defending slop? how far has the AI come
0
u/R4ID on Mar 28 '26
Time is money that could be spent on the case imo.
4
u/Teckiiiz Mar 28 '26
Did they really need the shit image to get the point across? I don't think so.
-1
u/R4ID on Mar 29 '26
Did they really need the shit image to get the point across?
you think the image takes away from the message, i disagree. ur welcome to voice ur distaste of it, Id prefer more dollars going towards the case then hiring people for photo shoots.
1
u/Teckiiiz Mar 29 '26
I'd prefer no photo. No time invested with ai making slop to degrade their message.
2
u/Darthwilhelm on Mar 29 '26
There are definitely photogenic people who work for the CCFR. You don't even need a full studio, if a member has a cottage or something that'll work.
The CCFR even has a photographer on staff. It was brought up when I asked if I could volunteer as a photographer when I checked out one of their gun show booths.
-1
u/TheRealTwooni Mar 28 '26
I’d much rather the CCFR spend their money on the Supreme Court case than on models and photo shoots. Their use of AI makes complete sense for how it was used.
7
u/Motobud84 Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 29 '26
Read your book. Wonderfully structured with sound, rational viewpoints and thoughtful discussions. I have 2 questions for you if you'd be willing to indulge.
1) You mentioned that based on your respondent rate that more data would be helpful to your analysis. Was there one topic that you wanted to see a higher respondent rate that you felt was lacking and you could form a better basis for your conclusion?
2) What is one thing you would like to see changed that you think would benefit the firearm community as a whole? Could be legislation, advocation, social media presence, etc.
Thanks again for taking the time to create this great piece of literature!
7
u/Noah_S_Schwartz Mar 29 '26
Great questions! For #1 having a random sample of survey data would have helped me to make more generalizable conclusions, and do more sophisticated statistical analysis, but big surveys in Canada don't ask about gun ownership like they do in the US.
For #2 I think the law abiding gun community needs a bigger presence in public life. Right now it feels like Harry Potter - it's kind of a secret world. But if mainstream institutions did more to highlight the contribution of the community to Canada's social fabric it would correct a lot of the misconceptions I highlight in the book.
4
u/Motobud84 Mar 29 '26
Very valid and great metaphor on the 2nd question. It absolutely does feel taboo speaking to the general population about firearms. I personally have used your analogy of beer & wine / spirits to reference the PAL/RPAL licensing system. Furthermore, to convey what the current ASFCP program is attempting to achieve. I was successful in convincing 2 people who were very much anti-gun. So perhaps with greater education and advocacy, we may undue a lot of misconceptions. Thanks again and keep up the great work!
6
u/TescoValueSoup Mar 28 '26
I know the Banff Center when I see it.
Best years of my life were spent working there.
4
u/Noah_S_Schwartz Mar 29 '26
That's impressive! It was indeed the Banff centre. I was there for a conference and couldn't resist the backdrop.
5
Mar 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Noah_S_Schwartz Mar 29 '26
You can get it directly from the publisher (university of Toronto Press) or from Indigo.ca
4
5
u/everydragonisapokemo Mar 28 '26
Hey I saw that at my local library the other day, it was an awesome find
2
3
u/TheEnwizener Mar 29 '26
I convinced my local gun club to purchase several copies and donate them to local libraries. I urge others to do the same!
2
2
2
u/eekay233 Mar 28 '26
Thank you for your time and effort.
I hope your paper makes it into the hands of the powers that be and can start changing some minds.
2
2
u/Ravens_beak224 Mar 28 '26
I really do hope your book sells like hot cakes things like this are how we shift the narrative in Canada's liberal culture
3
u/Ilikechainsaws09 Mar 28 '26
Ok I bought a soft cover copy from Amazon. 35 bucks is a little steep imo.
Having said that, we need as much unbiased research as possible to convince the window lickers to leave fundamental rights alone.
Edit: grammar
23
u/Noah_S_Schwartz Mar 28 '26
Thanks so much. Unfortunately, the publishers set the price, not the authors, who get only 3-5% of the book's sales. It's part of the fun of academia 😅
7
u/excellentiger Mar 28 '26
Why are complaining about the price when the author mentioned you can read it for free online?
1
u/TheRealTwooni Mar 28 '26
Thanks for all your work, focus and truth-telling, Op.
Sadly, not a single Liberal politician will read your book or want its message to see the light of day. Given that it will not push forward their political agenda. I hope someone in a position of power will be able to use it to change a few minds and convince more people in the middle of the gun debate that legal gun owners shouldn’t be the target of the anti-gun lobby’s rage.
-28
Mar 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
11
u/RRoadRollerDaa Mar 28 '26
How can u look at how open is US border and amount of smuggled gun in and somehow has braincell left to say oh its licensed gun owner problem??
4
1
u/canadaguns-ModTeam Mar 28 '26
[9] Trolling/Spam/Disruptive Behaviour This subreddit is intended for constructive discussions. Trolling, bad-faith participation, spam, or behaviour intended to provoke, derail, or inflame discussion is not permitted.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Posts or comments made solely to bait, antagonize, or misrepresent others. Repeated off-topic derailment. Low-effort inflammatory remarks or drive-by provocations. Repetitive posting, copy-pasted content, or flooding threads. Ban evasion. Publicly arguing moderator decisions within threads. Users are expected to participate in good faith. Content or behaviour determined to be disruptive may be removed, and users may be temporarily or permanently banned at moderator discretion.
Accounts flagged by Reddit’s spam filters will have their content automatically removed.
Accounts less than 30 days old, that have negative karma, or have a history of posting rule breaking content, while also actively engaging in trolling, spam or disruptive behaviour, may without warning, be temporarily or permanently banned at moderator discretion.
Argumentative/fighting/mudslinging comment threads may be subjected to locking or outright removal, if deemed disruptive, at Moderator discretion. In egregious cases, at Moderator discretion, users can even be temporarily or permanently banned.
Please do not engage with the rule breaking content itself. Report the content and let the moderators handle it.
50
u/Saberen Mar 28 '26
As a UFV Alumni myself, I appreciate all your work!