In Canada, calling someone a Liberal is different than here. They have an actual Liberal Party, after all, so it’s not just a label that gets slapped on people. They willingly take it upon themselves.
And historically, it’s been the Liberals of the Great White North who are the people who take guns away from law-abiding citizens. It’s kind of the same here, with gun control being a small-l liberal position, but it’s not universal here. There are a small number of pro-gun liberals in the United States.
There are also apparently pro-gun Liberals in Canada.
And unsurprisingly, there’s also an urban-rural divide on the issue.
A Kamloops Liberal candidate diverted from the party’s recent gun crackdowns.
Speaking at a forum for local candidates, Iain Currie said new and more stringent gun laws don’t work for non-urban Canadians as he recognized that sentiment falls outside the typical party line.
“I recognize the Liberals — the government has not done a great job in classifying firearms, because they have understandably but unfortunately taken the perspective of — this isn’t being broadcast in Toronto, I hope, or Vancouver — tea-sipping urbanites,” he said at the April 22 election forum.
It’s a position the Liberal candidate took as a “shot across the bow” to past Liberal gun policies, which saw hundreds of models newly prohibited since 2020 and the introduction of a buyback program, both applying largely to handguns and “assault-style” firearms.
Currie said he would be one of the “most rural” MPs in Parliament west of Toronto if elected to represent Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola, and he would bring that perspective to the government.
“I think the best way to reform that, to ensure politicization doesn’t creep in to offend lawful gun owners for whom a gun is a tool, a connection to land, a connection to family, is to send someone like me to Ottawa, who has that perspective and can have a seat at the table when these things are being discussed,” Currie said.
Now, don’t understand Canada’s electoral process enough to know if Currie is going to be part of Parliament or not.
However, what I do know is that he’s actually encapsulated a lot of what we see down here. The American “tea-sipping urbanites” favor gun control, in part because they have large police departments and trust that they’ll be able to respond to any call quickly. So, they think that gun control would make it harder for criminals, and they’d still be safe behind the police.
But even if that were true–it’s not, but for the sake of argument, roll with me here–it doesn’t do a damn thing for the person out in the country in a county with three sheriff’s deputies, only one of which is on duty at any given time and is on the other side of the county when you hear glass breaking in the middle of the night.
For Currie, I’m glad to see that at least some Canadian Liberals weren’t completely off their rocker when it comes to guns. If only he were simply the voice of the party on this issue. Then, maybe, folks up there wouldn’t be worried about still more idiotic gun control laws coming down the pike at some point or another.
Read the full article here
