Editor:
We are being lied to (again).
The federal Liberals have recently changed the gun laws and are telling everyone the new rules will make us all safer. Unfortunately this is a load of nonsense.
Anyone who thinks it through will see the changes are a farce and will do nothing to curb gun violence, since only legal and vetted gun owners are the target of the new measures.
Instead of making changes that only affect the people following the rules, why don’t the Liberals focus on the illicit gun owners who are the root of the problem?
As easy as it is to pass a bill which bans certain firearms or freezes the sales of handguns, it would be just as easy to legislate mandatory minimum sentences for any violent crime where a firearm was used in the commission of an offence.
Imagine if a gun-toting gangster was facing a minimum of 15 years without parole, if convicted. This would certainly give the police and Crown prosecutor a useful tool in their toolbox.
I am just as anxious about gun violence as the next person, but I also think it is counterproductive to claim the recent changes make anyone safer when really the government’s announcement simply makes for a good photo op and sound bite. It seems so obvious, but legislation keeps heading in the wrong direction. What am I missing?
Ted Murray, Surrey