Thanks Kate for your take on Cukier the High Priestess of Canadian Gun Control.
She doen't speak for many farm women I know either.
She may not know it but basically she speaks mostly for the lefties in MSM and in cities.
You can bet the farm on the fact she will be on TV within twenty minutes of a shooting pushing poverty and lack of money for basketball courts.
Same old crap.
Geez Kate, I wish you could take her on in TV rebuttal, but that never happens in Canadian TV, it's ALWAYS Wendy Cukier and always with the last word!

It would be great to see Kate debate Cukier... any media types reading this blog?

Speaking of Canadian traditions, Cukier herself is basically a publicly-funded advocate:
http://www.yorku.ca/comcult/frames/staff/profiles/cukier.html

Funny the way the bureaucratic state contrives to hire people who argue for more bureaucracy. I wonder how many advocates on the other side of the debate get paid a professor's salary to put forward their views?

I was born and raised and live in Toronto. My dad came from a long tradition of deer hunting and varmint killing on a New Brunswick farm. I love what you just said Kate. These people like Cukier, don't just speak for women, but they presume to speak for all people as leftists are want to do. How does she know what is necessary in a part of the country and a way of life she knows nothing about? What does the French citizen Dion know about the Wheat Board? For that matter, what does a french speaking academic know about English speaking Prairie farmers?

What they know is socialism. And they would foist this one size, one world fits all ideology on everbody, unless we fight back. And not just fight back, but fight back to annihilate their toxic ideology. You are doing a great job of that. So are many of the people commenting on your blog. Reason and truth must will out. Keep up the good work.

A merry Christmas to all.

I'd like to feed "Kook"ier,some of the squirrels I've shot,tails and all!I too am of the "gentler" sex,have a little short 22,that is great for a varmint gun.I spend majority of my time home alone,as my hubby works away,live very rural,and know how to load a gun and shoot if I have to.Between my BIG dog,and weapons,I feel quite safe here!We have had a lot of trouble with b&e's around here,but let one s.o.b.just try coming in here,and I would shoot first,ask later!I work hard for all I own,and won't give it up without a fight!More women need to speak up to counter that big yap Kookier..she does NOT speak for me!

Yes the "shooting her mouth off" comment is quite telling. The journalist who wrote the article simply couldn't resist getting their own smart alek shot in.
No, the MSM isn't liberally biased oh noooo.

They are, however, complete scumbags.

Quick thought,

is it easier to kill five people in a split second with a car (I dunno, like driving into a market place) or with a gun.

It's close, but its probably easier to do it with a car, why with reloading/and aiming ect.

Yet the thought of handing the keys over to a sixteen year old barely raises an eyebrow,

but if some farmer wants to own a gun he's treated like a suspected criminal.

If i can correct one comment, the Ruger Mini 14 was 15 shots and noe under our regulations is 5 rounds.
But would love to see a discussion, no bebate between Wendy and Gary Maseur, sorry for the spelling but this gal has to be set stright.

having not fired a weapon in quite a few years, i am not qualified one way or the other to offer a comment on the subject, but i will add this....we are over-run with deer in eastern ontario...collisions with deer at a multi-year high....yet, the moonbat, anti-gun, anti-hunting crowd scream louder than ever....jerk-offs riding bikes in toronto have no idea what goes on outside of their city.....same on the whole water thing...if i hear another moonbat go on about us running out of water i will surely scream.....our lakes are overflowing, the ground is so wet, ponds are to be seen in any low-lying field, and my father-in-law's sheep well is actually bubbling over....honest....we should be selling this stuff to the yanx....oh wait, that would make me a fascist.....

I happened to pick up an older edition of a Vancouver paper a few days ago.

In the first week of December there were three companies in Vancouver who were picked up on alleged firearms offenses.

One of the companies was lawfully registered by the "Cukie group" to import/sell any manner of highly restricted firearms specifically for sale to the movie industry for props. Go figure!

After an investigation and an audit, there were something like 1,980 firearms that were "unaccounted for". Not sold to the movie industry but believed sold to the underworld in the lower mainland with of course no records to show where. The other two businesses were apparently fronting for the main one re sales.

We have all manner of people in the Prairies/BC who are dutifully registering our .22s and even signing so carefully for the purchase of a few shells. Why should we even bother. The Cukie Group doesn't even have the moxie to keep a business like this under routine police surveillance with periodic audit/inventories taken to ensure compliance.

I have to wonder if we are ever going to be able to get ourselves on pathway of common sense where the good guys are in control.

No one has mentioned that this trustee is not only a woman, a gun owner, a sport shooter, but is also a member of the NDP. Can't remember if she is on the executive or what, but she is very active in the party. When will taliban jack evict her.

She doesn't speak for me either, Kate.

This assinine idea that all women think alike is a leftist fairy tale. No basis in fact at all. In fact, a lot of the people I disagree with most are other women. So, Wendy Cukier, stuff that in your pipe.

I've never held a gun, let alone fired one. But I don't go along with the leftits' view that no one should be allowed to own and use a gun. Lots of responsible people own guns and should be allowed to.

The leftist lobby only ensures that honest people are left defenceless while outlaws and gangstas are let loose to shoot 'em up all the time.

How can you get any Cukier?

Excellent post, Kate.

In regards to a debate between Kate and Cukier, I only have two words:

CAGE MATCH!

Merry Christmas to everyone on sda's

Canadian traditions, Canadian values, etc., etc.,.Whenever I see or hear these buzz words I can almost guarantee that what will follow is something I am completely against. When I was a kid we got a great laugh out of the fact that our city cousins believed us when we told them that chocolate milk came from brown cows. Now I find myself angry that people who know so little about the country outside their own little world, think they have the right to speak for me and tell the world that "this" is what I think.

I got my ammunition from Al's gun shop in Hamilton.

the clerk related the story to me (around the time the gun registry was still rock's wet dream of getting into the pmo) about how wendy herselfs shows up with a pistol wanting to get it serviced.

wheres the transport permit says he

what permit says she.

etc etc

the woman doesnt know shit about handguns or any respect for reasonable regulations and she wants to dictate terms to those who do.

Wendy and her ilk will never understand that many of us headed off to the bush after school with guns over our shoulder and pockets full of shells, passing old ladies that said with a smile "how are you boys?".Sadly not many girls hunted in my town (maybe their fathers knew us too well).
Times have certainly changed , along with the freedom and the responsibility that once led to a child's peaceful life, which I would have to say we had in spades compared to many kids today.

It's interesting to note that in jurisdictions that increase gun restrictions, gun crime goes up, not down.
"Twenty-six percent of English citizens -- roughly one-quarter of the population -- have been victimized by violent crime. Australia led the list with more than 30 percent of its population victimized.

The United States didn't even make the "top 10" list of industrialized nations whose citizens were victimized by crime."

www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21902

There is a serious problem on the rise here. The question is; is the Left simply in denial or are other factors at play here?
Wendy usually takes credit for founding her GC organization, but it or organizations of the same name (how do you register multiple organizations with the same name?) were started by Green Peace operatives decades ago during the Cold War. Are we on to something here?

Merry Christmas Kate and to All.

Biathlon Range
The Olympic Sport of Biathlon – which combines skiing with shooting...-

Myriam Bedard vs W. Cukier:

.. and they're off....-

Notice the "clever" headline of the Globe article? "BC trustee won't conceal her love of guns". From the article:

"If arming to self-protect worked, the U.S. would be safe and it's not," Wendy Cukier said in a telephone interview.

Well isn't that a nice little loaded, pre-conceived and vacuous pile of dung? By what criteria is the US not safe, and should we tell the people making about 15 million entries each year into the US about it? The continual knee-jerk responses of this cow are wearing very thin.

"It's an absurd comment. It's completely contrary to Canadian traditions."

What is this supposed to mean? Again vacuous, empty rhetoric. What's absurd is the little grasp she has of Canadian history.

"It has no basis in fact, and for someone who is associated with schools to be making those comments is particularly alarming, especially a woman."

Heh. I can't add to what Kate has said. Picture Kramer's reaction after Jerry says "catfight" to him. :)

Sorry Bollocks, but that story has become urban myth - at least about it being Wendy. It wasn't. It was a well known woman-about-town in Hamilton, but not Wendy.

If the Toronto yuppie crowd that is so adamant about "gun control", would lobby TO city hall, they may be able to enact a city bylaw forbidding the use or possession of firearms in city limits.

Washington, D.C., and New York city have both done this. Unfortunately, they have some of the worst gun crime statistics in the U.S.

I'm sure Gary Mauser would love to debate Wendy Cukier on an open line radio show, but I doubt very much if Cukier would accept the invitation.

Gunney99, do you know if Dr.Mauser has ever attempted to get Wendy Cukier into an open debate?

Can a member of the "Great Unwashed" get access to an audit of the Coalition for Gun Control? I believe this organization receives funding from the Federal Government.

If so, it's about time the taxpayers knew how the money is spent. Like SOW, and so many others, can we trust that the money is spent in fulfilling its mandate, or burned up on a fat act bureaucracy?

Merry Christmas to all.

Kate,

You big fake. Ladies have kilt more gophers by driving over them than shooting them.

I admit it. I've driv over a few.

Well said Kate, The women that I grew up with were familiar with firearms and also with the idea that should the need arise, they could and would defend themselves if need be. Mind you most of them men that I grew up with would have jumped Gharbi and beat him to death.

If Guns Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Guns.

Frankly its jerks like CLARENCE HANSON who should stop shooting off his big fat piehole or he will end up with his foot well inserted in it

inttenched.

It ain't just your guns they are after boys n' girls. they've got their sights set on your car too.
phantomsoapbox.blogspot.com/2006/12/black-box-data-admissible-in-court.html

Just remember, people too stupid to be trusted with guns are FAR too stupid to be let out alone in a car. Big Brother wants to ride along, and what BB wants, BB gets.

There really isn't any bottom to this hole. Incrementalism just keeps nibbling away, an inch here, an inch there...

Wendy is one of the scum of the earth in my mind.

I have worked across a table with Wendy, and she is one person I wish we could vote off the island.

She plays on a tradegy in Montreal to gain access to government funds to tell us what to do.

Failing an ability to vote her off the island, I ask the federal government to take every step to eliminate funding to her anti-rural crusade.

I am sick and tired of arogant urban academics telling us how to live in rural Canada.

here, on the outskirts of town, dreams seldom come true.

Please tell me again where this woman gets her money from??

I had half hoped that the gov't cutbacks had dropped Wendy into oblivion, but I guess I was wrong.

As long as she keeps her face in front of a camera in Ontario, she is obviously still getting money from this cash cow somewhere???

Enough of the free ride already!

Apparently every year on december 6th they have a memorial service at ryerson university for the young ladys that were murdered by gamil gharbi. The piece i read said some students are asked to come forward and speak their feelings on the issue.
One of the students that came forward this year (a young lady) said this
"Even today we cannot begin to deal with issues of violence. Special interest groups, such as gun control lobbyist's have hijacked the memory of these young women for their own political ends. It wasn't guns that took these lives, it was a derranged criminal. We all need to look at the problem, not look to blame others"
Wendy Cukier is a proff. at ryerson as well as head spokeswoman for gun control. Apparently she was there for this young ladys speach and turned a couple of shades of green!

the media would have you believe most men are like the quebec french surrender monkeys that were there with garbi.

of course in "Canadian Tradition" all of us at the sight of a gun would hide behind the law, the constitution and possibly even Taliban Jack Layton or Scooter Brison because without the government we cant face anything ourselves.

I was unsurprised when this story proved to have no legs. It was pretty much a single day news item here on Van. Island and rather than having the socialist hordes attacking (after all, she is one of their own, even if an embarassment to them), it was one of our own Liberal (whom I supported because I believed they were really conservative)MLA's attacking her for being a poor role model for our provinces tender children.

All I could say was, "you go girl". Maybe this will be a step in her evolution into becoming a conservative herself.

My parents came to this country because they would be free to pursue their dreams free from goverment interference. If these people want to live in a socialist state return to Europe. As for "Canadian Traditions", what happened to Strong, hard working, independent and freedom loving ? When will people in Toronto understand that socialism isn't a "Canadian Tradition".

I'd like to know when they are going to declare a special day for all the men in this country who have been murdered. After all, the number of men murdered FAR outweighs the number of women.

Horny Toad

Hey Kate. My Liberal MPP here in southwestern Ontario looks a bit like that dead gopher up top. Kin you come down here and shoot our varmint? He's runnin' our Hydro bills through da roof but they done took our guns away.

Don't make it a head shot, tho. Make 'im suffer the way we have.

Well said, Kate, and Merry Christmas to you.

Both my wife and her Mom ( before aging wore her down ) had to be crack shots- living in the country, they were "varmint control" at their feed store.

One of my favorite pictures of my own Mom is her standing on a dock with a double-barreled shotgun in on hand, and a brace of ducks in the other.

I suspect your Canadian traditions ( the real ones, not the phony spin designed to deprive you of things ) are not much different than ours.

One of ours is "Pioneer Women and farmwives"-- the men were expected to handle some of the rougher chores, but they could not always be around to do it- so the women did. Including "predator control," four-legged and two-legged.

Remember, just hold your fire to you see the whites of their eyes.

I keep reminding some of my friends in this very rural, and very well armed, deer-hunting, duck-hunting, grouse-hunting area, when they fret about the prospect of total gun control and total control by liberals, of this fact. If, or when, it were ever to evolve into a civil war between the liberal left wingers and the conservative right wingers, guess which group has the guns. And guess which group knows how to use them.

Also to be considered; if it was to get totally out of hand, are the big guns in the military basically liberal or conservative?

So this sprouts a basic question. Do these people EVER think: "H-m-m-m-m, how far can I push those with the guns, and how far can I degrade their basic freedoms, before they push back? Where is the line that I should not cross?"

Nah, they don't think...

Another bail of tea into the harbor! Er-r-r-r-r, what's that supposed to mean?

If its okay for everyone to own guns as long as they dont use them badly, then should it not be okay for every nation to pursue nuclear weapons? Seems to be the same line of thought...

Has anyone ever interviewed the male survivors of the slaughter. Where are they now, what are they doing. Many stories have been done on survivors of tradgedies, such as plane crashes etc, and it seems that many of them feel guilty. In cases of accidents, they had no control of if they survived, but those men that did nothing but hide had full control of their actions. What else have they hid from during the years. I always said that women supposedly wanted equality, to be treated the same as men, but when men finally said ok, and treated them like men, they ran to human rights courts etc and cried they were being sexually harassed. Men have killed men for years, so finally a man killed women, told off color jokes in front of them, put up their girlie calendars in front of them, swore at them and so many other things men do around men. I am sure there are many men and women posting here that can remember the days men treated women with respect, opened a door, gave up a seat and chastised any man that used foul language in front of women. They did it because it was the right thing to do, not because some feminazies said they must. It is groups like SOW, and others that have turned this generation of women into idiots. And to think dion wants 103 of them in the House of Commons. Women don't vote for women in large numbers, ask Martha.
On a lighter side, my grandson has been counting the sleeps till Santa, like millions of others, and when he took 2 naps in one day he couldn't figure out why Santa hadn't come.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

Maybe Wendy Cukier and Rosie Abella could go on an overnight campig trip together...somewhere in the woods northwest of Victoria.

Kate you hit the nail on the head. Wendy certainly does not speak for the women in my household. As a matter of fact my wife and son joined my daughter and I at the range yesterday. We were there trying out my 16 year old daughters new 9mm Glock 17 handgun that she got for Christmas. Being a vicitm is never an option in our family. She is planning on being a lawyer and rest assured when she does she will be working hard to RETURN the legal right for all Canadians to defend themselves when required.

Hey old Hack, you must be a journalist (hence the name, "OLd Hack"). I would also expect you are a journalist given your support (in other postings, for lefty thought). But most of all I think you are a journalist because your postings are quite dumb.

Anyone who wants to equate the private, individual ownership of a hunting rifle with development of nuclear weapons is a bit of a shallow thinker. Go back to writing Britney Spears stories "Old Hack" they're more your depth.

Regarding the gun control issue. To put it simply, I am buying a gun. I'm taking the test soon and will be buying one in the new year.

At this time I'll buy one in the *LEGAL* manner but I also intend to make the contacts to enable myself to buy one in the *ILLEGAL* manner. This way if control regulations become any stricter I will still be able to buy one.

I don't give a damn what the government, the media, the civil service (including police) or the pressure groups like or don't like.

I will buy one and *OWN* one because I WANT ONE. I need no other reason.

Inane reactionary caterwalling like this is what reminds us that the extremists that populate the anti-gun cult are not for gun control but gun prohibition. By extention, they want total civil disarmament and forced pacification in the face of violence. They hold the dystopian ideal that NO violence is justified....not even defensive violence. They see no immorality in disarming a civilian in a world where police cannot stop criminals from attacking him. A case of total civil/social dyslexia.

The core of the philosophy is driven by an irrational motivator ( fear) and irrationality is the primary product of its public policy mewlings.

I grew up in a Canada where all my family had at least one gun in the home, my (most) schools had a rifle range and armoury where all the males had to qualify as marksmen (this was the late 60s folks)Our teacher explained this was for our own knowledge of defense and defense of the nation. Canada had no gun laws and local police organized youth shooting clubs to compete and stay out of trouble. In my city 2/5 teens were in some level of target shooting activity.

There were NO school shootings or gang wars or "drive bys" in my Canada where the firearms culture was long established and prevalent. This is the heritage and reality of traditional Canadian "gun culture".

When the authorities and media (urged on by these utopian prohibitionists) started a campaign of fear mongering and paranoia that demonized firearms and their responsible and utilitarian use in civil society, we created a generation of young people cultured on fear and deprived of any real personal or civil responsibility. Political and ideological witch hunting and psychological indoctrination took the place of parental and community involvment in a kid's development of civil ethics. The results were predictable.

I will not allow my kids to be victims of a dystopian system...they have been raised around firearms, know how to handle them responsibly and how to use them in the proper circumstance and what to do when they see one being used carelessly or criminally abused...they are essentially "fool proofed" from becoming gunshot victims and the comfort my wife and I feel at this is enormous.

A government that doesn't trust you with a gun is also a government that does not trust you to vote correctly either. Civil disarmament is the playground of criminals, utopian fools and despots. I don't intend to a victim of any of them.

Some of us are becoming concerned that the Conservatives are backing down on the oft-repeated promise to get rid of C-68.
My MP, and 2 other area MPs, told me that the goal was to get rid of the whole thing, and return to the "FAC" system run by the police.
Of all the promises made (and kept) by this government, getting rid of C-68 is the most important, IMHO.
They had better keep this promise...Or they will lose the next election. Ask Mulroney how conservative voters react to broken promises...

John,

Whos Britney?

"Anyone who wants to equate the private, individual ownership of a hunting rifle with development of nuclear weapons is a bit of a shallow thinker."

Nuclear weapon. Gun. Same concept, different amount of power. Sovereign country. Individual Rights. Same concept. Different power.

If you really did give it any thought, you d realise the similarity...

Both provide the owner with a degree of power and prestige. Both act as deterrents. Killing a gopher and testing a bomb both serve as symbols of expertise and taelnt, and endow a degree of pride and prestige on those who ve achieved them. Both kill.

A society which has individuals who own personal arms is no different than a global society of nations who have nuclear weapons. Its really just a matter of scale - nukes are bigger to us, but frankly when someone we knows dies at the hands of another, it hardly makes a difference as to whether a nuke was used or a hunting rifle.

Oh and nope, I m not a journalist. And while I may not be intelligent, I havent given up my logic, common sense and reason for partisan rigidity.

Labels are for cans, John. Refute the arguments on a logical basis if you have the ability. Show some depth in your thinking. Calling me a lefty or righty is about the same as calling me a widget.

Old Hack I suspect you *ARE* or *WERE* a journalist. "Hack" is a self deprecating nickname journalists use for themselves on the internet. You can deny it if you want but other postings written by you that I've read tend to reinforce my belief that you are or were in the MSM.

As far as refuting your "oh-so-logical" comparisons of hunting rifles to nukes, no I don't think I'll bother with that useless exercise. No arguement I would ever make would convince a left wing nut like you. So, considering it's Christmas eve and I have lots to do I think I'll just leave it alone.

Now, regarding your question "Who's Britney?". I'm surprised you'd ask. You've seen enough pictures of her on that porn site you frequent.

Mad Mike:
You realize of course that our present Government is a MINORITY.
A law to repeal the long gun registry would not pass.
Old Hack:
To follow your analogy, If a person threatened in public to kill someone or a group of people, he would not be able to own a gun. That is our present law. So are you saying its ok for Iran to have nukes in spite of the fact that they call for the destruction of Israel?

Come to think of it, I know a couple of gophers I'd like to nuke. I didn't realize widget(hack) was talking about pesonal nukes; right on hack, keep up the good logic.

Ild Hack sez: "Both provide the owner with a degree of power and prestige. Both act as deterrents."

>>By that twisted logic every cop is a sociopath with phallic/power issues to salve by carrying a gun. Whether you want to be responsible for your safety or not, ultimately it is someone with a gun who has to watch over you...seems petty to rationalize your own fear of guns by demeaning the efforts of more stoic men who have to take up arms to protect you or who decide to take responsibility for their famile's safety themselves.

"Killing a gopher and testing a bomb both serve as symbols of expertise and taelnt, and endow a degree of pride and prestige on those who ve achieved them. Both kill."

>>There is no rational equivilence there. Spoken like a concrete rancher who never had to cope with a gopher infestation attacking his crops...or losing live stock to coyotes and cats. Lord I get sick of these ignorant self centered illusionists who think that their situation is everyone's situation.

One interesting tidbit I came across the last time I ran some numbers on this issue; since 1993, the Canadian murder rate has dropped by 6.8% (from 2.19 to 2.04); to get that drop, we spent somewhere around $2 BILLION dollars (the actual figure is still unknown), and prohibited millions of dollars worth of private property. Over that SAME 12-year period, the AMERICAN murder rate dropped by 41% (from 9.5 to 5.6), but they got their drop by doing nothing more than treating their responsible adult citizens like responsible adult citizens; during those 12 years, 12 more US states passed laws allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns for self-defence, AND the Clinton "Ugly-looking Gun Ban" sunset. If we're to believe the gun prohibitionist's arguments, these things should've led to an INCREASE in the US murder rate, and certainly not a 41% DECREASE.

Hey, Hack:

So, if you don't want a gun, don't get a gun. Why would it bother you if I have a gun?

I'm old enough to probably be your grandfather. I handled my first gun when I was 10 years old. I was taught by a next door neighbor, who was a police officer and who took me to the range on his qualifying days.

Except for predators I've shot, I've eaten everything else I hunted. I've never threatened anyone with my guns, and I've never pointed one of my guns at anything I didn't intend to shoot. OTOH, if need be, in defense of myself, my family, my country, and yes, even you, I could use the guns in a defensive manner. I have trained for that.

Now... what would you rather have as a neighbor; me with some guns in my closet, or me with a suitcase nuke in my closet? If you can equate the two then you have a very real problem.

Wendy Cukier should spell her last name "Kookier". Given that this lunatic is a professor of Information Technology and the Associate Dean, Academic, Faculty of Business, Ryerson University, I have always wondered about the enormous cost overruns....almost all of which resulted from "Information Technology" problems. Maybe the whole gun registry and this lunatic should be investigated.

A Toronto 'youth' was convicted in the 'Good Samaritan' murder case. He and a friend attempted to rob another youth, who escaped and sought help from a man relaxing at an outdoor cafe on Danforth Road. The man argued with the would-be thieves who then left, came back with a gun and waited in ambush for him. They then shot him to death in an alley.

The 'youth' originally charged with first degree murder was given 18 months probation after having served 18 months already. He was also cited on his apology to the victim's family.

I reckon because the government, the court system and the police will not uphold the law; because judges have more compassion for cold-blooded killers than for victims - the signal is clear - the public is on their own and therefore it's time to arm ourselves.

Oh, and BTW Yoop, moonbats can equate anything with anything. Once you get rid of all rational thought, all logic and all morals - you can do that and more.

It is quite amazing the depth and breadth of support that I've received over this story, as well as the upset it has caused. Thanks Kate and others for not being afraid to discuss the issue of guns in Canada - as so many seem to find it such a taboo subject. It is after all possible to be a firearms enthusiast and a left-winger !!

My father lives in LA and he has the coolest living room. He has two German anti-aircraft guns from WW1 on the wall. He only fired one of them once and he says the recoil hurt his shoulder for two weeks! (Back then it didn't take a lot to shoot a bi-plane....the anti-aircraft gun is more like a high-powered rifle today and he had to have the shells custom built). He also has two old school Smith & Wessons. He is the most law-abiding, decent citizens I know. But if any socialist tried to take his guns away, he'd be a 77-year-old rebel in a second. By the way, nobody has ever robbed his house. He has an NRA decal on the front door.

I'd love to know how Sharon did it, I tried last year and was told I didn,t qualify.It,s great to see a woman and an NDP woman at that on our side.It will be hard for Wendy to go on the CBC and try to turn her into a knuckle dragging redneck.I love it ,maybe LAW ABIDING gun onwners in this country have a chance after all. Lane

I was going to make a fairly long post, but since this is so far down the page, I'll just make a comment or two.

Most gunfights take place at a distance of 8 to 12 feet.

If a woman is threatened by someone 8 feet away who wants to hurt her, rape her, or kill her, then what in the hell is she supposed to do if she is unarmed?

We're not talking here about a situation involving a threat 4 football fields away, which she could run from. We're talking about a snarling presence in her face and coming to get her.

No one can ever really know how they'll react when adrenaline hits their system. However, if this woman is able to get her gun out and point it, she has an enormous chance of living to tell the story to her grandchildren. If she doesn't, she's almost certainly dead meat.

I frankly am completely appalled at the number of accounts I see of women who would have been able to live and go into therapy if necessary, but who instead wind up as a chalk outline provided by the ministrations of society.

And that is what society provides, you know, they'll make a nice chalk outline around your body and investigate your murder. They won't arrive on the scene until after the deed is done.

Frankly, when someone is trying to murder you, it's not about society. It's personal.

You know, rape and murder are pretty nasty, ugly, horrible things for someone to do to another. And if some politician keeps a woman from saving her life so that some piece of unspeakable scum can preserve his in the face of his awful deeds, then that politician runs a Naze death camp on the basis of sins of omission. You don't have a society. You have a death cult with yourself as the victim.

Sorry if this is too unpleasant a post for Christmas. I started to give a few tips for handling a firearm in crisis situations, but I guess I'll settle for this rant.

I was pleased to see Sharon's ability to stand and speak, and equally appalled at the instant slurry of denigrating comments from the militant left. Speaking of Toronto and Jamaica, how can we continue to live with the freedoms we used to enjoy if the gun criminal psychotics from jamaica continue to populate the Gangs of Toronto ? If anyone reads the Jamaica Observer and the Jamaica Gleaner (est 1834) every week, they would see what a chithole this failed state has been turned into, notwithstanding the fenced in resorts with the AK-47 armed guards on the permimeter.
If you take a holiday you should be able to go to town without getting killed, and you know, same thing if you stayed home in Canada. Wendy and the cult of the left are nothing more than dangerous mischief makers who belong to that phylum of those who would pervert the foundations of our society...because they can.
As to that Old Fart's nuclear weapons... America now has first strike doctrine Old... bring 'em on. We'll all burn together in the end and it will be because Liberal Carter lost Iran and Liberal Clinton didn't crush Osama and tribe when they had them on the ground, in a nice tight little circle. Again, leftist dithering as opposed to rightist decisiveness makes all the difference. Decisive action got this country established, not collegial consensus-building exercises.... ask bernie Lord.

"It is quite amazing the depth and breadth of support that I've received over this story, as well as the upset it has caused. Thanks Kate and others for not being afraid to discuss the issue of guns in Canada - as so many seem to find it such a taboo subject. It is after all possible to be a firearms enthusiast and a left-winger !!"

What disturbs me most in this whole gun story is the fact that whether you are for or against gun control it should be able to be discussed. I happen to for gun ownership but those who are against it are like the pro-abortionists-there is only one valid side of the story. For John Les(B.C. cabinet minister) to say the vile things he said about Sharon Gegson and gun ownership is disgusting.

Horny Toad

Here is a few good reaons wy rural people need guns

First, I had a rabid skunk on my property this fall.

Second, I have rats in my straw stacks.

Third, I have coyote that want to kill my lambs and kid.

Fourth, I lost $1,000 dollars worth of gasoline last week to a thief.

For rural people, guns are essential elements of our existence.

Urban idiots like Wendy Cukier have never had to defend their houshold against animals with rabies. When you face a foaming mouth animal, you really appreciate why firearms were created.

If Wendy want to ban firearm owernship within town limits, ok. Forn rural people, firearms are about protecting our helath and wealbeing.

Myself, Culkier, and guns.

In 2002 I worked my entertainment job in Toronto. I had no firearms, not a whole lot of immidiate interest in them, but a thourough working knowledge of them, both recreationally and professionally through the years.

I fired my first proper rifle, an FN-FAL, as a 15 year old Army Cadet. Enjoyed it a lot. Enjoyed shooting a lot of paper with .22. Enjoyed shooting in the military later. But now was out, and working, not thinking much about it. Living in downtown Toronto.

In 2002, my father gave me a subscription to The Walrus for Christmas. New magazine, Canadian, good to give it a go. What I wasn't expecting, was the junk mail. Suddenly it seemed my name had been sold off to some sort of clearinghouse of madmen. David Suzuki and his global warming was seemed willing to sacrifice many, many trees in the pursuit of a donation to save my life.
The NDP was suddenly mailing me brochures. It was interesting. The kicker, however, came when I received a large glossy envelope exclaiming, (in caps) "YOUR LIFE AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY IS IN DANGER Please Open." I thought it was odd to get such a threat by ad mail.

It didn't seem like the envelope itself was the threat, so I opened it up. The literature claimed, and I don't think I'm off much, in the large print, "Gun Violence Costs Society Over $6 Billion Annually...." The THREAT was that Paul Martin might toss the registry, and that the GUN LOBBY was advising him to do so, and if this happens (which I would strongly support), MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF YOUR CHILDREN would then be in jeopardy. They then wanted to know how much would donate $50, $100, $250, $500 or other, and credit card space, in order for the government to know how important womens lives are, That the registry is still cheap as 'GUN VIOLENCE COSTS SOCIETY $6 BILLION A YEAR' (yes, $6 Billion, society?).

I was full of WTFs? This junk mail was TOO much as it was basically a threat. How did me getting the Walrus for Christmas lead to THIS trash in my slot? I had to know more!

So, like inviting 7th Day Adventists for tea, I wrote a pleasant letter to the address listed on the junkmail, 'The Coalition For Gun Control' (What!?? WHo!?) and forwarded it to the email address, their president, a Prof Wendy Culkier (the use of Prof, when most I know don't write Dr., really gets my curiousity).

I expressed my surprise at their figures, not realizing gun violence was as terrible or expensive as it must be and could they point me to the studies or reports these statements are based on so I can read more on the matter.

They replied with...

Nothing.

No reply. Not surprised. Though I was busy digging my way past Mothers Against Drunk Driving mailers, I did called the 'Coalition' once to indicate my letters hadn't been returned.

Nada.

But other than NOT send this kook my cash, what else could I do? The answer was obvious. Buy a gun! My wife, less than excited, but when I explained I wanted to make sure MY kids could have a firearm someday, she relented.

So, I googled firearms training in Toronto, made a few calls, and took the tests that evening with a great instructor. 30 days later, I had license, with the restricted qualification, and was waiting on the pistol I'd always wanted. A great 9mm Browning 1935. Fabulous. Always enjoyed shooting growing up, had grown away from it for no other reason than I didn't really have much of a chance to shoot.

Thanks to Culkier, I joined a gun club, now have my IPSC Black Badge, so I can compete, and have a couple of times so far. Great fun. Great people.

I do thank Wendy, and her bag of hammers scare skills, for encouraging me back into the shooting sports.

So now I have a gun at home. Hows that? Great! My best looking piece of insurance. It's secured behind a keypad, but I can get to it if I need to. My wife is familiar with it as well and has shown she can hit what she aims at, and well! If they offered use of force training here and authorized carry regulations like other nations, she'd have one.

It's laughable that our current laws make it unable to list 'protection' as a reason to own a firearm. That said, she doesen't have to worry about winning a fist fight with an intruder in OUR home. Likely to happen, no. But hey, it's insurance.

She SHOULD be allowed, if she so desired to carry a small concealed pistol when she walks on the woods trails here, where women have been attacked, and yes, we have a dog that she takes. Were it at least known that women (and..) COULD be carrying an equalizer, all women benefit, carrying or not.

Culkier, I didn't tick any of the 'suggested' donation amounts, definitely not the $500 box, or the other. To those who do support you, I suggest you question where your money goes, and weigh it against providing support to ideas that may bear some fruit in protecting society from those who shouldn't posess firearms, a pretty straightforward idea.

Then, use the savings to purchase a firearm, it's the Canadian thing to do. A canoe and a cooey in every home!

Finally, is the likes of Culkier to imply that Gregson would suddenly turn into a murderous thug or lunatic because she has access to a firearm? Get real. It's possibly liabel, it's definitely insulting to everyone. Get off the handouts and do something useful with your time.

So where did Culkier and her band of merry socialist useful idiots and professional snake oil salesladies get us? Canada now has a dubious list of ~1/3 of the firearms in Canada. It cost $2billion. It continues to cost tax dollars, and costs the goodwill of some of the most solid members of society. It has never solved or prevented a violent crime. It HAS to go.

Let's hope it does, and please, newscasters, no more non-sense from Culkier, giving her your airtime to lie and tell bafflegab meaningless statistics discredits you.

And folks, buy a gun! Shoot safe though. Firearms are fun, and safe, and Canadian, and may SAVE THE LIFE OF YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN.

Merry Christmas.

"I'm sure Gary Mauser would love to debate Wendy Cukier on an open line radio show, but I doubt very much if Cukier would accept the invitation."
Tony Bernardo of CILA and the CSSA (Canadian Shooting Sports Assoc. http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/) has 'debated' Wacky Wendy before on a call-in show on AM 640 in Toronto. Tony is a brilliant speaker and Wendy was pretty seriously, ahem, shot-down. She won't willingly go up against him again in open debate, I'm pretty sure. Then again, she doesn't want to go up against ANYONE in honest debate. She hasn't a leg to stand on and she knows it.

Yeah like when the gun control freaks were going around with the piles of shoes of kids supposedly killed by guns well what about those kids that died of other things like bicycle accedents or the died becuase of AIRBAGS in cars

If you want to know how your name gets on some junk mailing list, and how long it takes, just misspell it someplace or use MS instead of Mrs, or fill in your last name in place of your first and vice versa. Amazing. Takes about 2-3 weeks. The next thing you do is forward all the junk mail in some pre addressed and stamped envelope to somebody. Make sure you black out the tracing numbers on the envelope, and go for it, buy a stamp and send it back. And, they have to open them because you may have included a cheque.