(Ron Gray, Christian Heritage Party candidate, questions Conservative candidate Chuck Strahl during a meeting at the Best Western Wednesday. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS) Posted on 01/14/2006 8:46:45 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
Handgun ban proposal draws more than 400
(Ron Gray, Christian Heritage Party candidate, questions Conservative candidate Chuck Strahl during a meeting at the Best Western Wednesday. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS)
By Robert Freeman The Progress Jan 13 2006
It was billed as a non-partisan event to send a message to “whoever wins” the Jan. 23 federal election. But Conservative MP Chuck Strahl, who’s running for re-election in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding, clearly reaped the political benefits as guest speaker at a “special action” meeting called by the Chilliwack Fish and Game Protective Association in response to the handgun ban proposed by Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Nearly 400 people packed the Best Western meeting room Wednesday night to vent their spleen about the proposed ban, with Strahl fielding questions on how a Conservative government would meet their concerns.
None of Strahl’s political opponents attended the meeting except Christian Heritage Party Leader Ron Gray and Marxist-Leninist candidate Dorothy-Jean O’Donnell. B.C. Wildlife Federation executive director Tony Toth, also a guest speaker, said the proposed handgun ban is a “damning admission” that the $2-billion long-gun registry doesn’t work and shows “contempt” for all legal firearm owners.
“The truth is very few guns used in the commission of crimes are registered,” he said. “The problem is not the the lawfully registered guns, the problem is criminal gangs and drugs.”
He also suggested that it is not just gun owners who should be concerned about the ban.
“We want to stop this now so there are no other law-abiding citizens that are harassed ... the way this handgun ban has focused on us,” he said.
Agassiz resident Dannie Mancuso said he feared the ban is the first step in a move to take away all firearms from Canadian citizens, a method historically used by fascist dictatorships.
“In Canada we have been experiencing a slow erosion of our British Common Law and Charter Rights to own and operate firearms,” he said. “The real agenda seems to be prohibiting private citizens from owning guns.” Another speaker, who said he lost his son while awaiting life-saving surgery, wanted any money saved from scrapping the long gun registry spent on health care.
Chilliwack resident Warren King, a former corrections officer, drew loud applause from the crowd when he suggested the government “revisit” the issue of capital punishment.
Chilliwack River Valley resident David Lamson, noting a recent study that showed B.C. police officers are being hamstrung by the red tape brought on by the Charter of Rights, called for a “Charter of Responsibility.” “If people are responsible, you don’t have as much need for (protection of Charter rights),” he said.
Other speakers called for tougher immigration policies to deport those convicted of serious crimes, denying parole to those who have violated parole conditions in the past, and sending convicted criminals to work farms to provide food for the needy.
After the meeting, Wimpney said he was happy with the turn-out and the “breadth” of issues raised at the meeting.
The Chilliwack club is a “microcosm” of society,” he said, and likely represents many of the views of non-members.
The club will hold a similar meeting in 60 days and is setting up a new website to provide up-to-date information on the issues.
“This is the start, not the finish,” Wimpney said. Strahl said after the meeting that the message he heard from the crowd, and the one he’ll take to Ottawa if re-elected, is that citizens here are “ready to get tough on serious crime.”
“There’s not a lot of sympathy for criminals, and less so for violent criminals and repeat offenders,” he said, adding that a Conservative government would “come down like a ton of bricks on the illegal use of firearms.”
I did a Google search and found that Chilliwack is in British Columbia.
Some Canadians Get It.
LOTS of Canadians get it. Basically, imagine what this country would be like if California had ONE-THIRD of the population. That's what Ontario does to the country. Quebec is even worse.
The prairie provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan), however, are filled with good souls.
ADSCAM: Click the picture-
Go to "comments," go to "last," and work back for the latest links, quotes, quips, charts, and other useful information about the upcoming Canadian elections.
Remember, the sitting "Grits" government ( Liberal, what else? ) clings to power after refusing to step down- they lost a "no confidence" vote.
The Canadian Blogs have led the way investigating, exposing, talking about, and keeping before the public the "scandal a day" nature of Canada's corrupt, incestuous, nepotic ruling class.
You really need to read all of it to see how bad 13 years of "liberal" government can be.
Read it all, get sick, get mad- and if you are Canadian, go vote.
Be sure to visit our Sister Site, Free Dominion:
Great post!
Thanks for looking- it's appreciated.
Canada Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
But this is impossible! The Canadian healthcare system is a model for the rest of the world!
No, that's what TORONTO does to the country. If you think the feds are bad, you should see how the lunatic fringe has hijacked our city council and school boards for the past three decades.
Exactly - and even a Conservative majority likely will come without a single Toronto MP representing the government...
Too late for some of us in Ontario...
I used to live there. Nice place, but very, very Dutch. Every single shop in town seems to incorporate a windmill into its sign or logo.
Makes me wonder if it is a result of the mass exodus of commies from this country during the draft-dodging 60's and 70's.
Canada has no electoral college or senate to prevent the large provinces from dominating the rest of the country. Technically Canada has a senate, but it's members are apppointed by the prime minister - not elected by the citizens of each province. I'ts just a rubber stamp for whatever the leadership of the majority party wants to do.
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