Anyone that has heard of this trial knows that this is a huge victory for the right of Canadians to defend themselves.
-Wookie

CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION



TEAM CSSA E-NEWS - January 3, 2013


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ACQUITTAL! IAN THOMPSON IS ACQUITTED ON ALL CHARGES: Ian Thomson was jolted awake at 6:37 a.m. by the sound of explosions; outside his secluded farmhouse, three masked men were hurling fire bombs at his house while one bellowed: “Are you ready to die?” Mr. Thomson was not.

A former firearms instructor, he called out a warning, took one of his pistols, marched outside in his underwear and fired one shot into the ground and two into the trees in the direction of the men, who scurried away. He then called 911 and waited more than 10 minutes for police while using a garden hose to douse flames lapping up his front veranda. The officers did not bring him either help nor salvation. Mr. Thomson was soon arrested and charged with four gun offenses.

Mr Thompson obtained the services of noted firearms attorney, Edward Burlew L.L.B and on January 3rd, Mr Thompson finished his time in court. Justice Colvin rendered his 45 minute decision with an acquittal on all charges.

Congratulations to Mr. Thompson and Ed Burlew L.L.B. This case is extremely significant and Mr. Thompson's victory is a victory for common sense and freedom for all Canadians.

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COMMENTARY: Self-defence policy is the elephant on the shooting range

The Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) has studiously avoided engaging in the self-defence debate because the concept is widely misunderstood by anti-gun advocates.

We tend not to open the self-defence door when we are “in the room” with our elected representatives because many prefer to play, politics instead of seeking solutions. As responsible gun owners, we are stuck with that reality.

As a national organization that promotes the shooting sports, CSSA does not actively support paintball sports because it involves aiming a "firearm" at another person. We fully understand the attraction of war games and many CSSA members enjoy taking part in paintball events. But, to remain consistent with basic firearms safety best practices, the CSSA does not promote activities that promote aiming any projectile at a human being.

This philosophy belies our own “unofficial” belief that self-defence is a basic right for all free men and women. There is a perceived schism here for the CSSA, as defending oneself with a firearm could result in both pointing a gun at a human being when force becomes the only remaining option. That said, few would argue that defence of oneself and family is a primal right, the right to life itself. It is enshrined in Canada's constitution and British common law. It is so basic that it's accepted by all humanity, with the exception of people too vacuous to care about their own survival.

The right to self- defence has nothing to do with firearms. Firearms are merely one of many tools available to ensure a higher degree of efficiency when confronted by a pumped-up, intoxicated, testosterone-filled 25- year-old career criminal.

We are the first to admit that it’s unfortunate that the human condition evolved to the point where the option must be discussed, but changing the evolution of humanity is beyond our power or the scope of this commentary. This discussion is now necessary, but it comes too late for too many. When a public safety measure comes too late, surely we can conclude that its time has come.

The media and the anti-firearm groups are in a lather regarding the growing debate on whether schools should provide armed guards and/or administrators for our children. We need to remind them that a short two years ago, they thought it was a brilliant idea to put Toronto police into 50 schools as a result of recommendations made from the Jordan Manners inquest ( http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2009/06/29/toronto-officer-schools.html ). Has anyone noticed how well it has worked on passenger aircraft? Apparently, it is only a stupid idea when the anti-gun advocates don’t think of it.

The wrath of the anti-gun lobby is crashing down in the United States, and as we all know, its effects may be much in evidence on our side of the border, too. Responsible gun owners in Canada are already being unfairly demonized across the board from media talk-shows to private family gatherings. The anti’s are feeling their oats in the wake of the Newtown tragedy, and their quarry – however nonsensical – is us.

The knee-jerk nanny-statists demand the government keep them safe. In the case of firearms abuse, logic be damned. The outcry for redundant legislation has never been louder. No responsible gun owner wants to see firearms in the hands of criminals or the mentally ill, and most tolerate appropriate laws that purport to screen out those who appear destined to create havoc with guns.

Defending our children is the mandate of a responsible society and their defence must be allowed. Eradicating mass shootings cannot be achieved by writing laws that attempt to put the toothpaste back into the tube. All of the stock solutions put forward by the anti-firearms zealots have miserably failed. We have always contended that gun control is the only social policy where its total failure prompts an outcry for more of the same.

The solution we all seek to end violence against our children is outside this box.

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COMMENTARY: In search of someone – anyone -- to blame

Media speculation is hitting dizzying heights as reporters and columnists don the faux psychiatrist’s white coat to examine Newtown shooter Adam Lanza’s motives.

Nearly as much psycho-bumph has been released about his mother, Nancy, who was a sport shooter. Since it is impossible to libel the deceased, the media have been quick to dance on their graves. Too quick.

Nancy Lanza is a forgotten victim. By most accounts, she was a good mother who happened to be a firearms enthusiast and a sport shooter. In the collective eye of many of the nation’s op-ed scribblers, that made her a bad mother. As responsible firearms owners, we must remember that she was one of us, and there has been no evidence that she enabled her mentally ill son to go rogue. May she rest in peace.

Adam Lanza has been cast in countless media reports as garbage, as pure evil, as a monster, as a sub-human being. Mental illness is a very complex malady that is still largely a mystery to the medical field. Psychology is in its infancy and ill-prepared to offer solutions to the catastrophic deeds that can result from mental illness. Was this young man who took the lives of his mother, 20 children, six adults and then himself making a conscious choice? Was the decision to kill made by him, or for him? Adam Lanza was afflicted with his disease in the same way others are afflicted with cancer or Alzheimer’s. It will be decades before the mental sciences are sufficiently refined to comprehend what caused Adam Lanza’s bad wiring, let alone how it could be prevented.

There is nothing that can change what occurred on Friday, December 14. Condemning those who played a role in this horrific event may somehow soothe the public soul, but it misses the point. Nancy Lanza did not facilitate her son’s rampage, and Adam Lanza’s mental state was anything but “normal.” Someday, we can hope to discover what really happened and if it can be prevented.

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FROM A NEW MEMBER: Thank you for fighting the good fight for all of us vilified for enjoying shooting sports. I've been an Auxiliary Constable with the RCMP for five years now. In those five years my opinion has changed. I started with fuzzy memories target shooting .22's with my dad at the range, dealing with licenses and thinking that was well and good.

I recall talk about being issued side arms as Auxiliaries again, and thinking about how much more responsibility that would be. Now I've not only gotten my RPAL, but my father has updated from his POL to an RPAL and my mother has her RPAL as well. Now all of the laws and regulations just don't sit as well with me.

I deal with the poorly behaved members of our society and rather than have a bleak outlook on humanity, I've come out of it with a greater respect for the good in most people.

It just about brings a tear to my eye every time an older fellow mentions all the guns he owned but had taken away for the greater good. It pains me that Canadians suddenly were not to be trusted, especially not those of us born after certain dates.

I hope that in my lifetime I can look back on the ridiculous laws I swore to enforce and smile knowing that they no longer exist as we firearms owners are no longer vilified.

Lately we've all taken a beating with media reports painting us all with a terrible brush, but I hope we can all stand tall and proud together no matter what our backgrounds may be.

- Name withheld (BRITISH COLUMBIA)

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NY NEWSPAPER HIRES ARMED GUARDS AFTER PUBLISHING GUN PERMIT NAMES: A suburban New York newspaper that ignited a furor by publishing the identities of thousands of residents who hold gun licenses has hired armed security to guard its staff after receiving an intimidating e-mail, a police report said.

Among a "large amount of negative correspondence" that White Plains, New York-based Journal News has received since publishing permit holders' names was one e-mail in which the sender "wondered what would get in her mail next," according to a Clarkstown, New York, police report obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

The editor, Caryn McBride, told police the newspaper hired a private security company whose "employees are armed and will be on site during business hours," the report said. The guards are protecting the newspaper's staff and Rockland County offices in West Nyack, New York. - Reuters

(Editor's note: Why isn't it a stupid idea when the media thinks of it? See below too.)

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50 HIGH SCHOOLS TO HAVE POLICE PRESENCE (TORONTO 2009): Twenty more Toronto public high schools will each get a police officer on a full-time basis when students return to class in the fall, bringing the total number of schools with officers to 50, the police chief said Monday.

Last September, 30 high schools across the city were each assigned a police officer who worked full-time with students, and an additional 20 schools will each get an officer under the School Resource Officer program for the 2009-10 academic year, Chief Bill Blair said.

The program was the result of the Toronto District School Board's plan to increase school safety following a 2008 report on school violence by Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer, who headed a school community safety advisory panel established after the fatal shooting of Jordan Manners at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in May 2007.

The report made more than 100 recommendations, including buying sniffer dogs that would seek out guns in student lockers and other hiding places.

On Monday, Blair said having officers in schools has produced results, such as a drop in the number of criminal charges, but he said that's not the point of the program.

"We're not going to measure our success by the number of charges laid or drugs and weapons seized. The success of these programs is to prevent crime and prevent victimization," he said.

- June 29, 2009 CBC News

(Editor's note: Why isn't it a stupid idea when David Miller and Bill Blair think of it?)

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TEACHERS ACCEPT ROLE TO THWART FUTURE SHOOTINGS: Hundreds of teachers in Utah attended a six-hour gun-training course run by a firearm lobby group on Thursday; training they deemed necessary following the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six staff members dead. "If we have the ability to stop something, we should do it," said Jessica Fiveash, an attendee and elementary school teacher who learned how to use a 9 mm Ruger with a laser sight. Roughly 200 teachers received free lessons in West Valley City, as the Utah Shooting Sports Council had waived its usual fees. They applied for a concealed-weapons permits, submitted fingerprints and mug shots, learned how to handle their weapons and received advice for stopping a gunman in his tracks.... (CBC News – December 28, 2012)

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GLOBE AND MAIL ASKS CSSA ABOUT CANADA’S GUN LAWS: Although far less powerful than America’s National Rifle Association, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association serves a similar purpose and advocates many of the same positions.

“We support and promote all manner of shooting sports from traditional target shooting competition to modern action shooting sports, hunting, archery, and everything in between,” the CSSA says. “We are also very politically active at the provincial and federal levels in the fight to preserve Canada’s long firearms tradition, and the right of responsible Canadians to have unrestricted lawful access to firearms.”

Tony Bernardo, spokesman for the CSSA, believes the current furor over the Newtown shooting is largely misdirected, that there is grave risk of knee-jerk reactions that won’t solve the problem. In the emotional aftermath and media frenzy following the killing of 20 children and six adults, Mr. Bernardo says he has received death threats, and even long-time friends have accused him – as a gun-owner rights advocate – of being responsible. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Bernardo offered some insights.

Q. Canada has tough gun control laws; especially for handguns and military-style long guns. Should America follow that lead?

A. There are some things that the Americans can learn from Canada; most importantly, that feel-good measures don’t work. Such measures are unbelievably expensive but they don’t actually fix the problem. The lesson that can be learned from Canada is that mental-health care and social cohesion have more to do with the lower rates of gun deaths than gun control.

Q. Would Canadian-style gun laws have made a difference in Newtown?

A. Connecticut had a gun-control system in place not that much different than Canada’s. The firearms were all licensed and the owner was licensed and Connecticut has safe storage laws, that’s really not a lot different than here in Canada.

Q. There is a lot of debate about renewing the “assault” gun ban from the 1990s that has lapsed.

A. Although the AR-15 is a restricted firearm in Canada, it would not be if introduced today. The AR-15 is the most-produced gun platform in the world, there are variants of the AR-15 that are specifically designed for hunting, for target shooting. As a matter of fact the oldest sporting organization in North America is the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association and its primary competition rifle is the AR-15. Quite truthfully, the focus on the AR-15 as being an assault rifle is a misnomer.

Q. What specific elements of Canada’s gun laws might be usefully adopted in the U.S.?

A. The heavy scrutiny at the initial licensing stage in Canada is a good system. Another good thing is that our gun laws are federal and we don’t have a hodge-podge of laws from one state to the next. But even before the gun-control system, Canadians didn’t shoot each other with much regularity anyway; Canada is a pretty peaceful country.

Q. One of the fundamental differences between Canada and the United States is that handguns are widely and legally available in the U.S. and almost impossible for ordinary Canadians to own. Is that part of the reason for the huge difference in gun deaths?

A. No, that’s not the reason. In Canada, we have so demonized handguns that it is impossible to have a rational conversation about them. Even within Canada’s firearms community there are many who demonize handguns. Social conditions play a much greater role in [gun deaths] than the availability of the tool. We should be looking at the ‘why’ not the ‘how.’ If you remove this method of homicide, people will kill each other another way, and it’s not like you are going to stop people killing each other, it’s been going on forever. (Globe and Mail – December 20, 2012)

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Firearm Legal Defence insurance was not created by the CSSA, but you can get a great discount if you are an association member. Defending oneself in court can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months or years to resolve. Too often, the charge is the penalty -- even not-guilty firearms owners are plunged into debt. Do you ever worry that one day it could happen to you?

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*NOTE: Firearms Legal Defence insurance makes NO CHANGES to your existing CSSA coverage.

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U.S. GUN OWNERS PREPARE FOR THE WORST: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)—author of the federal “assault weapon” and “large” ammunition magazine ban of 1994-2004—has announced that on the first day of the new Congress—January 3rd— she will introduce a bill to which her 1994 ban will pale by comparison. On Dec. 17th, Feinstein said, “I have been working with my staff for over a year on this legislation” and “It will be carefully focused.” Indicating the depth of her research on the issue, she said on Dec. 21st that she had personally looked at pictures of guns in 1993, and again in 2012.

According to a Dec. 27th posting on Sen. Feinstein’s website and a draft of the bill obtained by NRA-ILA, the new ban would, among other things, adopt new definitions of “assault weapon” that would affect a much larger variety of firearms, require current owners of such firearms to register them with the federal government under the National Firearms Act, and require forfeiture of the firearms upon the deaths of their current owners...

For analysis of the new bill see: http://www.nraila.org/legislation/federal-legislation/2012/feinstein-goes-for-broke-with-new-gun-ban-bill.aspx#.UN31w7im37g.email (Institute for Legislative Action media release – December 27, 2012)

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LIBERALS IN U.S. PANIC AS THEY LOSE THE GUN NARRATIVE: When you argue for a living, you can tell how an argument is going for you. The evidence and my gut both tell me that the liberals have lost control of the gun control narrative.

Not for lack of trying – it was almost as if they were poised to leap into action across the political, media and cultural spectrum the second the next semi-human creep shot up another “gun free zone.” This was their big opening to shift the debate and now it’s closing. They’ve lost, and they are going nuts.

The evidence is all around that this is not going to be the moment where America begins a slide into disarmed submission through an endless series of ever-harsher “reasonable restrictions” on our fundamental rights. You just have to look past the shrieking media harpies to see what’s really happening.

Let’s start with the most obvious omen that this tsunami has peaked. President Obama thrilled his base by grandstanding at the memorial, and then promptly washed his hands of it by handing it over to a “blue ribbon commission.” Making Joe Biden its chairman was like staking a vampire through the heart, then hosing him down with holy water before burying his body beneath the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Why does Obama want this gun thing buried? While intensely popular with metrosexual pundits, coastal liberals, and cultural bigots slobbering at the opportunity to stick it to those banjo –strummin’, God-believers out in the hinterlands, gun control remains poison to Red State Democrats. Joe Manchin of West Virginia couldn’t resist some sanctimonious posturing, but clearly he heard enough from his constituents to sprint-back his heresy with a WaPo op-ed explaining how awesome the NRA is and how groovy gun owners are. He will never take sides against the family again...

So, the politicians’ actions have spoken louder than their words, but what of the media? We lawyers always say that when your case is strong, pound on the law and the evidence, and when your case is weak, pound on the table. The furniture is splintering in Liberalland.

Their post-Newtown strategy was always to prevent an effective response from the pro-gun freedom side by both rapid action and by demonization. But the holidays and the kabuki theater that is the fiscal cliff drama meant that legislative action, their Holy Grail, would have to wait. That gave people time to think and the gun freedom side the time to react.

Demonizing those who support gun freedom was always intended as a weapon to silence them. It was also critical that we, law-abiding gun owners, become the Other. By dehumanizing us and painting us as evil, it is that much easier to strip us of our rights.

But gun freedom advocates fought back. Using the mainstream media, conservative media and especially social media – we need to understand its huge significance here – gun freedom advocates countered liberals’ bogus “facts.” Media reports about “automatic” weapons were corrected, clownish statements about “high caliber magazines” and “large capacity round” were mocked. The struggle raged over millions of Facebook posts. The average citizen saw gun banners ask “When will America control access to weapons?” and then saw several experts among his or her friends post about the significant hurdles one needs to get over to get a gun. Truth bypassed the mainstream media and became a weapon for the side of fundamental rights.

The banners overplayed their hand, losing credibility with every distortion, evasion and smear. The cries of “Blood is on your hands!” failed to resonate – reasonable Americans just did not blame the actions of a single sociopath on millions of their fellow neighbors. And it did not help when third-string celebrities and wizened literary has-beens took to hoping gun rights advocates would be shot for daring to oppose disarmament.

The gun banners also counted on a narrative that portrayed a respect for the Second Amendment. They sought only “reasonable restrictions” – why, no one wants to ban or confiscate your guns! The problem was one of memo distribution – not everybody got that memo. Mayor Bloomberg was putting out that what few guns he might graciously deign to leave in the hands of the unworthy would be starved of bullets, while Governor Cuomo acknowledged that confiscation was one of the options. Oops. “Gun control” is a process that is designed and intended to lead to a total gun ban, and the banners are counting on people not realizing it... (By Kurt Schlichter – Townhall.com – December 26, 2012)

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COMING SOON: "Stick to your Guns" Fundraising Dinner CALGARY. March 29, 2013 at the Blackfoot Inn. Be there!

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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada's firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.

To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/membership.html

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CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION

116 Galaxy Blvd, Etobicoke ON M9W 4Y6

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