Nature and Nurture

[This is a response to Mark Franek’s op-ed on gun control]
Gun Control laws are ridiculous and not nearly enforced enough. I’d like to focus on our local brethren, the Canadians. Some of their restrictions include passing the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. Which is a comprehensive course that assures someone knows how to be safe with a weapon. With all the outrageous deaths from misuse of firearms in this country, this would definitely help. Also, Canada requires spousal approval for owning a gun, so no secret handgun can be kept in your drawer without your spouse having full knowledge and signing off on it. Owning or buying handguns, requires completion of the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course which is another course that ensures proper use. Another Canadian policy is, with a population of 31 million, a limit on possession of handguns to collectors, target shooters and those who can demonstrate a need of guns to protect their lives. This almost fully takes away the idea of “gangsters” or “hoodlums” having legal ownership of small guns. Although these examples make me sound like an avid and proud Canadian, I am merely showing an example of a country nearby. I’d go even farther with the laws in America and absolve guns completely. Go back to the days of swords and shields where a noble knight could ride his stead to the rescue of a madam or damsel in distress. I think policeman could have semi-violent weapons, but keep the guns locked up somewhere until the threat of a war. I may be a neo-hippy but I think this would solve a lot of the crazy emotional issues we’re forced to deal with on account of unneeded extremely violent assaults.