Justin Trudeau doesn't like guns. He really, really doesn't like guns. It's a normal gut reaction for urban progressivist politicians that relies more on their innate instinct than on any kind of data. .Canada does not have a problem with licenced, legally-acquired firearms. The federal government, inexplicably, does not keep tabs on the origins of guns used in the commission of crimes, but Toronto Police does. According to its chief, Mark Saunders, 82% of firearms used in crimes are smuggled illegally from the United States. It's probably not a stretch to assume the statistics are similar in other parts of Canada. .The Liberals know well that their national "freeze" on legal firearms sales and transfers will do nothing. But they also know well that its good politics to ape the American culture wars and pretend that the sale problems plague this land. .Banning and restricting legal firearms in Canada is just good politics for them. By-and-large, left-leaning Canadians do not own guns. Civilian firearms ownership has become a clear marker of culture wars and political tribal allegiances in North America. There are exceptions to the rule, but as a rule only right-leaning Canadian civilians own guns. .Progressives are aghast anyone who isn't a police officer or soldier would even want to have one. They generally define the right to own or carry a firearm as someone who "needs" one, not someone who wants one. They generally view people who own guns are weirdo rednecks who probably harbour zombie apocalypse-prepper fantasies. .Rank-and-file Liberal and NDP voters can be forgiven their ignorance of firearms legislation and crime statistics. But Liberal and NDP politicians know better. They know their gun confiscation policies do little-to-nothing to stop gun crimes in Canada, but they do it anyway. .But if these politicians are going to credibly lead the anti-legal gun crusade, then they should lead by example. .To start, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should disarm his personal bodyguards. Everywhere the prime minister goes, he's surrounded by a squad of highly trained security officials, armed with high-end handguns..If guns are no longer necessary for Canadians, then surely the prime minister should go without the half-dozen or so handguns that protect him at all times. .Former Liberal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair repeatedly made clear in his Canada gun ownership is “not a right, but a privilege,” and civilians who use firearms to defend themselves, their families, or their home, should face prison time..If firearms are verboten even for self-defence of Canadian civilians, then politicians don't need them for self-either. Trudeau can order them to use their karate skills instead. .When I held public office in Alberta, I regularly received death threats; but since I was not a cabinet minister, I was not entitled to an armed security detail. To this, I began the application process for a special license to carry my own .40 cal S&W Bersa for self-protection. I figured, why cost the taxpayer a few hundred grand a year for a few armed guards when I can just do it myself? .I didn’t get far. There is almost no circumstance in Canada — even for public officials facing death threats — that would allow a civilian to carry a firearm for self-defence. In the end, I thankfully never needed it. Still, is it so outrageous public officials facing threats shouldn't be allowed to be their own security detail? When a mentally unstable Islamist terrorist stormed Parliament Hill in 2014, he used a .30 .30 Winchester Model 94 hunting rifle. I have a similar rifle (safely and legally) stored in my home. It looks just like the gun that your grampa kept mounted above the cabin door.The terrorist was specifically prohibited from owning or purchasing any firearm, but determined to kill he found a way. He cared little for any law written on a scrap of paper.As the gunman stormed Parliament Hill, MPs and Senators were at the mercy of armed guards to protect them. Thankfully, Parliament’s sergeant-at-arms shot and killed him before he could kill more than one, and injure three.Justin Trudeau was there that day, although he was not the primary target. As he sat under armed guard, was he wondering if the terrorist had registered his gun? Was he insistent the bodyguards around him should use jujitsu in the event that he broke into their room?.Farmers like Eddie Maurice of Okotoks, AB, do not have armed guards around them 24 hours a day. They don’t even have the police in range of an emergency call. They have to rely on themselves, and responsible firearms ownership to defend themselves, their families, and their property..While Justin Trudeau sat huddled behind a bodyguard on Parliament Hill, he was likely the most grateful man on Earth that reasonable people around him had guns, and were authorized to use them if necessary.
