Hi. I’m Hugh Culliton. I’m a teacher, Navy vet, firearms owner, hunter, and responsible Canadian. I’m new here to DeanBlundell.com, and for my first article, it was suggested that I do something safe, innovative, and uncontroversial.

That’s excellent advice, but like Dean, I’m an idiot who enjoys walking where angels fear to tread, so let’s wade into the septic tank of the current and pending federal Canadian Bill C-21 and the increasingly problematic, politically incendiary mess the federal government has made of what was originally a sound idea. Pro-firearm folks are furious, and anti-firearm folks don’t think it goes far enough.

#BillC21 doesn’t just ban hunting rifles.. it freezes the sale on all restricted handguns which means I’ll never be able to own a flintlock pistol. @marcomendicino says this law is needed to keep people safe. Do you feel safer now? #ImwithCarey #CCFR pic.twitter.com/P6y2UMuB98

— Rafael Gomez ᕋᐱᐅᓪ (@Raf_Gomez) December 4, 2022

I can see the logic in both camps, so perhaps the best place to begin is by pissing off everybody equally and looking at the pros and cons of the current dog’s breakfast. This is my critique of both sides of the debate. You can decide if we can’t find some reasonable common ground where we can all build something like a fucking sane national policy that protects and balances the rights and needs of all Canadians.

My argument is this: Canada requires effective firearms legislation to maintain good order and safety, and firearms ownership is a privilege, not a right – it has never been and never will be. The legal, reasonable needs of legal firearms users must also be respected. However, universal bans or punitive restrictions on legal ownership, such as the shady amendments slipped into this legislation after it was tabled, will not contribute to this goal. While we don’t need Mini-14s, M-14s, ARs, hi-cap mag capable mil-spec auto-loaders, and the weapons initially put in the C-21 list as prohibited (sorry fellow gun owners – it’s true), as the legislation stands now with the amendments recently added, it becomes stupidly, self-defeating, idiotically, draconian and thus doomed to failure (sorry anti-gun folks – this is also true).

Despite the challenges of some people who think the US 2nd Amendment applies north of the border, we have always controlled civilian access to firearms and will continue to do so. Thus, to live in Canada, we (all sane Canadians – not the Klown Klanvoy Express) all accept there are legitimate restrictions on our complete liberty to do whatever the fuck we want. This is called “adulting” – realizing that our needs and actions impact others and that we need to consider their equal rights the same as they must ours. Our goal is peace, order, and good governance – not everybody for themselves. None of us are the Platonic center of the universe, so let’s take toddler-level unfettered rights without responsibilities off the table.

https://crier.co/news/no-canadiens-legend-carey-price-is-not-working-for-the-conservative-gun-lobby-2/

Yet this goes both ways. Canada must also respect the fundamental reality of civilian firearms ownership in this society, So we need effective legislation addressing our community’s vitally clear and present public safety

requirements. Every person in Canada has a fundamental right not to be shot – this is the law of the land. But this goal can be achieved without becoming an onerous burden that infringes on the lives of the other law-abiding Canadians who use firearms – professionally, recreationally, and for sustenance – daily without ever doing anything unsafe. Anti-gun folks – the legitimate needs of firearms-owning fellow Canadians – must also be respected. Despite the hype, we have a crime problem in Canada far more than a misuse of legal firearms problem. There’s a very fundamental difference. Indeed, legally acquiring, owning, and using firearms in Canada is HIGHLY regulated. The training for civilian use is better than anywhere else in the G-20. We are already doing this well. Are there exceptions? Of course, but denying we don’t already have strong, san, sane legislation to disregard current law.

However – with C-21, and given the recent amendments, the overwhelming majority of firearms targeted under C-21 now do not, nor will ever, pose a threat to any Canadian citizen. The arbitrary limits on bore diameter and classification of, say, the Ruger No one and Grandpa’s antique 8-bore shotgun as prohibited because some guy wound a .460 Wetherby Magnum barrel on this single shot rifle and/or it exceeded 10,000 joules energy, – is stupid, punitive, and simply evil law. Such firearms have never been used in a crime, are not suited to anything other than hunting/target shooting, and, given their expense, are piously stored carefully and used safely. The recent amendments in C-21 – in addition to the types which I agree entirely should and must be removed from the civilian market – and yes – handguns – belies a complete ignorance of firearms – willful or otherwise of their use as well. Thus what was originally a laudable public safety measure has become a usurious attempt to “get rid of all guns.”

Considering the original C-21 (and yes, I’m personally affected by this), outside of combat simulation shooting competitions, there are no practical civilian applications for either handguns or box-fed, detachable magazine-capable auto-loading mil-spec weapons that can’t be done just as well (if not better) with a repeating, lever, pump, or single-shot/break-action firearm. Having owned, re-barreled, and used the Mini-14, M-305, and AR-15, as well as using its CF C-7 cousin, I can say that they are very effective at what they do. They are accurate and capable of long-duration sustained fire; 30 rnd mag can be quickly changed. In combat, accept no substitute.

My kids and are licensed firearms owners. We enjoy target practice at our local club. This is a family sport and we enjoy multiple ways of target shooting. Bill C21 threatens our family sport. I am not a criminal nor a threat to society. I support the #CFFR #SayNoToC21 pic.twitter.com/VGsfe2DC31

— hosanna (@hosannavaughn7) December 4, 2022

WRT Handguns: I LOVE shooting them! They’re FUN, and I’m rather good at them. BUT: I was trained that handguns are used to “acquire” a rifle. That’s a military application. Save for particular jobs like trapping (already highly regulated) no one can legally hunt in Canada with them. We can live in Canada just fine without either handguns or mil-spec weapons. It sucks as it impinges on my hobby, but for the greater good, I’m willing to give them up. My pursuit doesn’t trump another’s right to life. But anti-gunners – also remember that the vast majority of crimes committed in Canada with firearms are weapons smuggled in that were NEVER legally owned in the first place.

WRT the anti-gun full-on pro-Bill C-21 “Ban ’em all” folks, you are equally emotionally invested in this argument as the extremist lunatic, “2nd Amendment for Canada/ NRA-North” crowd. If you don’t understand how the proposed legislation impacts firearms because you don’t give a crap about weapons, you are also speaking from a place of ignorance, leading to bad laws for everyone. If you wish to participate in the debate, please educate yourselves – all of you – about the reality and views of others. The vast majority of Canadian shooters are not the lunatic fringe you see in the media. The overwhelming majority of firearms crime in Canada is committed with already illegal weapons – primarily handguns – smuggled into Canada illegally from the US. C-21 might make you feel better, but the amendments will cost money and not improve your safety one iota.

So what is the point? There are reasonable arguments on both sides of the equation, but as Canada has a split personality when it comes to guns, this gets lost in the noise. Concerning firearms ownership, the reality of the urban Canadian is vastly different from that of a rural Canadian. I get that, and that’s the divide with considering.

I grew up in the bush north of Young’s Point, Ont, and learned to shoot when I was 10. Every day I was in the forest, I carried a rifle or shotgun and was expected to contribute to the freezer. Whatever I shot, I was responsible for doing it ethically, cleaning and eating. All meat in the pot is squirrels, porcupines, groundhogs, deer, bunnies, and grouse. Grandpa and dad were real-deal old-school bush pilots, and firearms were tools to be respected and mastered. At 8, I learned from Grandpa with his Cooey .22 single shot. He’d hand me a round; I’d load and shoot at the can 50 yards away. If I missed, I’d get a not-so-gentle kick in the arse, an excellent Catholic admonishment, and be told to do it right next time. (Lessons: Always know your backstop, ammo’s limited, pick your shot, and don’t miss because a suffering animal is your shame). For the last 42 years, I’ve owned, reloaded, cast my bullets, and patched my rounds. I collect and shoot as a significant hobby. I can safely say I greatly enjoy firearms, the mysteries of how they work (and why they don’t), and how to get the most out of them. I’ve owned ARs, Mini-14s, Rosses, Mausers & single-shots, and I often hunt with an 1863 Snider-Enfield.

However, having taught and lived in urban Canada, I also know how foreign this experience is to what urban Canadians deal with. On this side, too, I have some bitter experiences, with my eldest son surviving a school shooting when he was in Gr 10.

I will never forget the dread gripping my heart as my legs turned to rubber when I got that call about what was happening in his school. We were fortunate, and no one was hurt in that one.

That. One.

Firearms used illegally or irresponsibly are tremendously dangerous and do leave permanent damage. Far too many Canadians have not been so fortunate. There are perfect and sound reasons why people despise firearms. The law must respect them and their reasoning. We do NOT have – nor do we need a right to bear arms in Canada. Do you want to defend your home from intruders? I recommend a baseball bat – not a shotgun: (better in close quarters in the dark, won’t kill your neighbor’s children WHEN you miss through the wall, and is MUCH easier to use at O-Dark-30 when you’re sleepy, confused and frightened, AND won’t kill your kids because – for it to use it for defense, it must be stored illegally.) Back to the law.

Many people without experience with firearms scoff at arguments pro-gun folks make about their necessity and their views on the essential technical details. They completely misunderstand the nature of firearms as they have limited interest in them. But in this argument, we also find ignorance. Firearms are a fact of life in Canada. This technology has been here since the 1500s and will be in the future regardless of federal legislation. Banning firearms will not make them disappear. Pandora’s box is well and truly open, firearms tech hasn’t changed much in 200 years, and anyone with Gr 12 high school shop training and access to such equipment can make a functional firearm. Magazines for auto-loaders are a bit more tricky, but not impossible. Banning ammo is likewise a fool’s errand.

As with any dangerous technology – firearms are open to misuse – they are a fundamental necessity of life for many Canadians – especially the original peoples- and are safely used to feed families daily. You might not like hunting and vociferously disagree with it, but this is a fact of life for many Canadians that we must respect because we are all in this together.

In Canada, we used to be good at navigating a good policy course through the rapids and rocks of the extremes on all sides – threading the needle to meet the best needs of all Canadians. That’s what we need here. The changes to C-21 are not only unproductive to the stated goal but also self-defeating as they are attempting to accomplish an impossible goal that will harm the needs of good honest Canadians. We need an effective firearms policy. We do not need to ban firearms.

We CAN find a middle path if everyone’s willing to listen to each other honestly.