Weekly Politics Thread

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[u/drain-angel]

far more receptive population than we have now?

C-17 [FAC Background Checks & Storage Laws] & C-68 [PALs & 12.(X) provisions & the FA] + the prohibitions under Chretien was literally done under the context of the Polytechnique shooting. The US had the AWB under Clinton in '94 & the late 80s saw the Brady Law (NICS Handgun Check) & the US ban on Full Autos. The gun control movement was in full swing then.

A poll from the 90s also shows a 70% favour in terms of banning handguns, vs. a StatsCan survey from 2019 with only 27-33% in favor (do not own handguns/guns).

We have seen very anti-gun jurisdictions such as Coastal California (LA County & Bay Area) significantly relax the barrier required for CCW following a deterioration of the public safety situation (which we are seeing here now).

Harper's expansion of self-defence laws (which drug us from dogshit to subpar) was barely challenged and has opened the door to multiple high-profile cases where we have seen acquittals in cases where firearms were involved - yet seemingly 10 years later no one is going to touch the law.

If anything, the public is far more receptive now to the idea of having self-defence on the table (and firearms too). Personally, I don't really see how (firearms) carry is going to work out but I can 100% see the path to at least a home-defence law regarding firearms and stuff like bear spray being worked into stuff for outside the home passing without much political pushback, and on top of that the enshrinement of property rights (which is an even more easier sell).

[u/April_Ethereal → u/drain-angel]

a deterioration of the public safety situation (which we are seeing here now).

Where are you getting this from?

Regardless, I don't think there's a political or public appetite in re-visiting self-defence laws or property rights (with or without advocacy from firearms owners). My concern is that adopting that as a focus will backfire.

I'll give you that the legality of non-lethal stuff like various sprays (which are currently illegal to carry for the purpose of protection from people) could change if there's a particularly motivating and public incident.

[u/drain-angel → u/April_Ethereal]

Where are you getting this from?

Violent crime/Public Safety? https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210727/cg-a001-eng.htm (On the rise since Trudeau became PM)

CA CCW? There's a CA map of CCW counties that date back to 2004. If you look at the 2009 map vs the 2022 map you can easily see the difference.

A rash of armed carjackings in the GTA, Downtown Vancouver having multiple incidents of people being chased with needles, and women being followed by broad daylight (which provoked a conversation about knife and pepper spray carry) are just recent headlines to boot.

The thing is also that there is recent political precedent that supports this besides Harper's expansion getting little pushback - last year Alberta's Justice Minister asked Ottawa to revise the criminal code to permit pepper spray for carry (and it got shut down) and as far as I can see from what little discussion it seems to have bipartisan support.

Of course, this still doesn't explicitly pertain to firearms and as I've said I personally don't know how it'll work (for carrying firearms outside), but if we can easily see home defence (and less-lethal carry) be legally protected instead of the current situation ($$$$ in court only to be acquitted), I'd personally see that as a win for the firearms community.

As for property rights, a poll comissioned by the Canadian Constituion Federation has seen 92% support for amendments in support of property rights. I have severe doubts that either of these angles (home defence & property rights) have political pushback - I can see where the concern is when we're talking about open carry or CCW but that's just my personal opinion.

[u/April_Ethereal → u/drain-angel]

I don't doubt that there's "little opposition" for some changes with respect to property rights or even minor self-defence stuff, I do doubt that it's a meaningful motivator for people to change government / vote differently.

With respect to the violence stuff the statscan graph is what I'm talking about. Here's another one from the same statscan article that showcases a wider time period: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210727/cg-a002-eng.htm We're not experiencing a breakdown in public safety / crime wave, nor are we generally (beyond a few percentage points / outliers) less safe than any point in recent history (especially compared to the 80s-00s). Media coverage of particularly egregious events like carjackings just increases people's awareness, but generally don't contribute to or represent a meaningful overall trend.