Owning guns- Right or Privilege?

[u/Low_Bar_804]

So obviously here in Canada our government sees private firearm ownership as a privilege rather than a right. My question is, how you guys feel? Do you think gun ownership is a right or a privilege?

When you look at other things people view as rights, such as abortion, freedom of expression and freedom of religion etc. These are all viewed by most as inherently “good rights”, but in many countries these rights are restricted. I think, along with many others, that it is justified to ignore unjust laws that restrict human rights.

I personally believe that firearm ownership is a fundamental human right because it protects all of our other rights and freedoms from being taken away. So even though legally speaking firearm ownership is a privilege that can be taken away at any time here in Canada, I don’t agree with the way our country and many others treat firearm ownership.

[u/iz296]

I see the inherent value with the 2nd amendment, and what it was designed to do.

I do believe that, as a whole, firearms should be a right, with firearms ownership being considered a privilege on an individual level.

A right, ideally, with no real restrictions on full auto/semi auto. Own whatever you want, to any capacity, as long as you maintain the ability to safely do so.

A privilege, for those vetted and licensed, and who maintain a clean and clear criminal record, who carry the mental capacity to safely use and store them.

What is the reason we see so few shootings in Canada (with legally owned firearms) compared to the States? Population size? Access to mental health services? Our current licensing program and daily checks?

[u/demetri_k → u/iz296]

I think of that shootout from a road rage incident in the US between a pregnant woman and a motorcyclist that ended up with the man shooting and killing her. If they didn't have guns as accessible it likely would have ended with a police report.

[u/bilalahmed381 → u/demetri_k]

If it was not a gun, it could be a knife or any other tool. And if she had pulled anything else to hurt/threaten him, she would still have been killed in self-defense. So it's not about the tool. It's about the right to defend yourself that got her killed. As we don't have the right to defend our law in Canada, so that's why we don't have such incidents here.

[u/iz296 → u/demetri_k]

We don't have those same problems here in Canada.

Illegal firearms are a problem - the ones used in 95% of crimes involving firearms.

I feel we do a rather good job vetting individuals so that legal firearms can remain in the hands of those responsible enough to own them.

Unlicensed individuals with these illegal firearms should face exceptionally stiff penalties and jail time, and then deportation if applicable.

Firearms are simply just metal and plastic, they are not inherently deadly on their own. They can be used as weapons, but so can a car, or knives, or gasoline, or a baseball bat, or hydrochloric acid, or...

[u/demetri_k → u/iz296]

We don’t have those problems because we don’t have the “guns are my right” culture that allows one to open carry an ar-15 into a 7/11.