Canadian Government Disagrees With UN Global Gun Control Measures

© By Othmar Vohringer

According to a story in Ottawa Citizen the Harper government has “thrown a wrench into negotiations toward a United Nations arms trade treaty”. The “wrench” is that Canada opposes the inclusion of hunting, sports rifles and related ammunition from the inclusion of the UN’s proposal of a strict international gun control law, camouflaged as the Arms Trade Treaty. According to that law hunting and sporting rifles would be summarily classified as “assault rifles”. Furthermore the UN Arms Trade Treaty would like to see strict control and registration network of conventional arms. A little published fact of the treaty also would be that it would become unlawful for people to use firearms to defend themselves against violent criminals.

The Canadian diplomats proposed that hunting rifles and other sporting arms are excluded from the draft. “Canada would like to see language in the ‘principles’ section that explicitly recognizes that there is a legal trade in small arms for legitimate civilian uses, including for sport, hunting and colleting purposes,” read the communiqué. Canada proposed the following wording be added into the draft: “Reaffirming that small arms have certain legitimate civilian uses, including sporting, hunting and collecting purposes.” Canada also proposed that ammunition and high volume items are excluded form reporting requirements.

As can be expected the gun control advocates argued against Canada’s proposal with the usual rhetoric. Kenneth Epps, of the Canadian Arms Control Project, said Canada’s move is hampering efforts to forge a comprehensive global arms control regime. Yes, you read that right, he did say "a comprehensive global arms control regime". “The problem is that once you introduce exceptions, others will do the same,” Epps said.

Epps also said, “If weapons are being used to kill civilians, or for criminal activity, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a sports rifle or a military rifle. From a humanitarian perspective, all firearms need to be controlled, and that’s the bottom line.” Controlling all firearms, even outlawing them for civilian use, sure didn’t help England, Germany and a few other rabid gun control countries to make the streets any safer. Criminals in those countries still have firearms and the disarmed people are reduced to defenceless victims, but that is exactly what the UN wants. In a statement the UN said that only soldiers and law enforcement should be in possession of firearms. Where this can end we see everyday in the news about countries that are ruled by despots, killing defenceless people by the thousands. I am of the same opinion as my father when he told a German why Switzerland is peaceful, free and enjoys a low crime rate. “An armed nation is a peaceful, polite and above all a free nation.”

Read the full article here.

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