THUNDER BAY -- Stricter gun control laws won’t stop tragedies like the shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School from happening, says a regional spokesman for an outdoors club.
The debate for stricter gun control was sparked following the mass shooting at a Newmark, Conn. elementary school on Dec. 14 that left 20 children and six adults dead.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the incident sparked calls for a ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 shots. The newspaper went on to say that Sen. Dianne Feinstein would introduce the bill next year.
MP Marc Garneau made similar remarks regarding a possible ban to semi-automatics.
John Kaplanis, executive director for the Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen Alliance, argues that Canada has had the strictest gun control regulations the country has ever seen, but ultimately that won’t stop tragedies from happening.
“You can legislate, law-abiding people such as farmers and hunters and that’s not going to change any of the bad things that are happening,” Kaplanis said.
“At this time it is a very difficult time for everybody including firearms owners and anyone who has children who go to school me included. However, it is not a time for firearms owners to proclaim that they need to fight for their rights.
"The flipside of that is I don’t think the gun control advocacies should be using this to further their own agenda but they are sadly enough.”
He added that it is up to society to look at why people with mental health issues aren’t helped.
It is far more difficult to deal with those social issues than simply legislate firearm owners, he said.
The laws only impact those that follow them and criminals will always find ways to find guns, he added.
MP John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay – Rainy River) said there’s room for improvements with Canada’s firearm controls.
He pointed out that there’s a number of prohibited weapons that people can still purchase through mail order across the border. He said there needs to be improve on border control and mailing regulations to ensure that rules are followed.
“There’s also a number of weapons that should be on the prohibited list,” he said.
“There’s a Chinese semi-automatic that with a little bit of home shop work could be made into a full-automatic weapon. I think those kinds of things need to be looked at carefully and put into categories were they belong.”
