Canadian Gun Control on the Internet

Apparently the gun registry fiasco was the first major Canadian scandal to play out on the Internet, and Canadian gunnies were more adept at using it to get their message out:

The Internet allowed average Canadians to express their outrage about the cost and complexity of the gun registry, she said.

But it also allowed a minority to hijack the issue, sometimes using mistruths, said Flumian.

“Particularly, the anti-fire arms registry lobby was very adept at getting their message out,” she said Monday. “It went viral.”

I see more evidence around these days of Canadian shooters online, so maybe this can be a good vehicle for making some progress.  Of course, the only Canadian gun blogger I know of is this guy, and he lives in Maryland.

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Next Steps in Canadian Gun Control Reform
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  3. Canadian Long Gun Registry Repeal Passes House

11 thoughts on “Canadian Gun Control on the Internet”

  1. But remember that blogs are only one part of new media. They are not a be-all-end-all of new media organization or outreach. Bloggers are not nearly as important as they want to think they are. :)

  2. “Of course, the only Canadian gun blogger I know of is this guy, and he lives in Maryland”

    Believe me.. Maryland is almost Canada when it come to gun rights.

    Otter

  4. Otter,

    I’ll take exception to that. :) In Maryland, I can own AR-15s and standard capacity magazines. I can own handguns with only a waiting period. I can keep my handgun available for self-defense. I am not required to lock up all of my firearms and ammo and keep them separate.

    Yes, Maryland is a craphole on gun rights. But all of those things I can do or own here I can’t in Canada or are heavily restricted.

    You can own an AR-15 in Canada with only a “Restricted” permit. Falls under the same rules for handguns. Same goes for many semi-auto rifles that we can own here without issue.

    I might despise Maryland but it is gun freedom compared to Canada. Virginia (my original stomping ground) might as well be another planet to a Canadian gun rights advocate.

    Even with Maryland’s annoying gun laws, all they are are annoying for the most part. One of the reasons I can’t see myself returning to Canada is giving up the firearms freedoms I enjoy here regardless of where I live. Only New Jersey, New York and Illinois really compare to Canada in terms of gun rights and I won’t move to those places either.

  5. Hey Matt,

    Your points are well made and taken. My comments were a little tongue in cheek. Having said that, Maryland is more restrictive than a lot of other states (but not the worst, i know).

    I’ve always lived in MD and it’s the little things that Maryland does that are getting to me. Things I’d didn’t even realize were restrictions before before doing more reading on line or talking to my friends that live.. for example in NH or Vt.

    I have an AR as well. Of coarse I had to wait my week before I could pick up the lower receiver (after my BG check). 15 days later I missed a sale on a HK USP I was looking at because I had already purchased one restricted weapon in 30 days. Restrictions other states don’t make.

    My AR Mags… yes I can own 30 round mags… but I can not buy or take possession of them in the state. Hello Va. gun shows.

    CCWs? No chance in hell :)

    I like Maryland for a lot of reasons, it’s where I choose to live. Politics and gun rights are not among the reasons for that.

    It’s no Canada though :)

    Otter

  7. Sebastian,

    Thank you for the link! In honor, I know what I am going to do for tomorrow’s post. Even though I never owned guns in Canada, my best friend does and I think some cultural education might be in order. How about a post describing Canada gun laws?

    You’ll love the fact that the long gun registry you refer is the SECOND registry for long guns implemented. Canada has had full gun registration on long guns since the 1970s. The database was never maintained even though every dealer sale went to the government (would be equivalent to our dealers sending 4473s to the ATF)!

    I’ve known about gun registration in Canada as normal and standard since I was a child and learned what guns were.

    The registry that has gun owners there up in arms (pun intended) is one designed to force gun owners to provide the information the government and their bureaucrats had never bothered to maintain and put the onus on the gun owners to comply. We know how well THAT has worked out now don’t we? :) As a result, Canadian gun owners were less than thrilled at having been forced to tell the government themselves what they owned when the government should have already known as well as comply with new restrictions that didn’t exist.

    If you think the boondoggle of the long gun registry up there is fun, gun owners here will be looking for heavy objects when they learn about all the fun restrictions that apply to gun ownership and the tiered licensing system that exists in Canada. It makes the pain in the ass that is NICS here seem downright pleasant by comparison.

    This should be a good exercise. It’s how I manage to stay sane in Maryland because what I left behind now seems downright draconian. Once you get used to freedom, it is really hard to go backwards. On gun rights or anything else.

  11. “And he won’t be a Canadian much longer anyway.”

    Actually, that’s not true. He’ll always be Canadian. But he will be both a Canadian and an American soon. As he pointed out in a post a while ago, as is the case in most other countries, becoming an American will have no effect on his status as a Canadian citizen.

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