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Such guns “have one purpose and one purpose only and that is to kill people,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told a press briefing announcing the move.
Global Affairs Canada added in a statement that the ban for businesses and individuals was a temporary measure, set to “last until the national freeze comes into force,” which is expected to happen by the fall.
The announcement was welcomed by arms control group PolySeSouvient, which called it an “important and innovative measure that will undoubtedly slow the expansion of the Canadian handgun market pending the passage” of the handgun freeze.
Experts remain skeptical about the effectiveness of gun control measures taken by Ottawa, pointing to the smuggling of guns from the neighbouring United States as the real problem.
On Wednesday, the Canada Border Services Agency announced two major seizures in western Canada of “ghost guns,” which have no serial numbers and are difficult to trace.
Just like with gun control laws here in the United States, criminals are going to shrug off Trudeau’s backdoor gun ban because they’re not getting their guns through legal means in the first place.
Unlike the United States, however, there is no right to keep and bear arms in Canadian law, at least according to the country’s highest court.
“Canadians, unlike Americans, do not have a constitutional right to bear arms,” the high court stated in 1993, in a decision over the possession of convertible semi-automatic weapons.
“Indeed, most Canadians prefer the peace of mind and sense of security derived from the knowledge that the possession of automatic weapons is prohibited,” said the court.
The rights issue was tested again in the case of an Ontario firearms dealer and manufacturer.
Bruce Montague was charged with several weapons offences after police found more than 200 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition at Montague’s home in northwestern Ontario.
Montague didn’t renew the registrations on his weapons, convinced that he had a constitutional right to bear arms without government interference or regulation, despite the passage of Bill C-68, the Firearms Act, in 1995.
Montague argued that he had “a constitutional right to possess firearms for self defence” derived from the constitution of Britain.
He pointed to the preamble of the Constitution Act, 1867, Canada’s founding constitutional document, which in his view imported the English Bill of Rights of 1689, which states in Article 7: “That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law.”
Montague further argued that in 1982, this historical right was shielded from any ordinary legislation by section 26 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which reads: “The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed as denying the existence of any other rights or freedoms that exist in Canada.”
His convictions were upheld in the Ontario Court of Appeal and in September 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear a final appeal, without offering reasons.
We may see a lawsuit filed by one or more gun shop owner over the import ban, but I think any litigation hoping to undo the move is unfortunately going to face long odds in court.
I also doubt that Trudeau is going to stop here. When (not if) this ban fails to stop violent criminals from illegally using guns in violent crimes it’s likely that the prime minister will finally adopt what gun control activists in Canada have been calling for all along: an outright ban on the possession of all handguns. The Trudeau administration is already moving ahead with its compensated confiscation of so-called assault weapons, and Canadian gun owners are right to be concerned about a similar push to confiscate handguns from law-abiding citizens in the not-too-distant future.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” was a seminal piece of literary satire.
In 1729, the esteemed satirist Jonathan Swift anonymously published “A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick.” History has come to refer to this seminal work of satire as simply “A Modest Proposal.” His suggestion in the face of soul-crushing poverty in Ireland was that Irish parents sell their children to the rich for consumption as food. Dissecting “A Modest Proposal” was the only exercise in classical literature I undertook in high school that I truly enjoyed.
Swift penned this work in the face of cataclysmic destitution. Here’s an excerpt: “A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.”
This specific literary technique is a form of paralipsis. In crafting such an extreme example, Swift made the point that the nation’s priorities were badly askew. He used this essay to raise awareness of something institutionally rotten in the English culture of the era.
The Information Age Treatment
There is something comparably putrid about our own culture today. A shockingly large swath of our population has raised corporate self-flagellation to an art form. It’s not that our countrymen simply wish to enact change via the democratic process. That would be great. These woke Americans hate America like ISIS or al Qaeda might. They couch their grievances in the guise of social justice. Cops and traditional family values are the perennial targets.
Here’s a handy dose of reality. You may think we’re bad, but the entire planet is unimaginably worse. Yes, we’ve had our warts. We all agree that slavery was repugnant, and ours is hardly a colorblind America. However, we have made immense strides.
The stratification of wealth is as old as humanity. No amount of social engineering will ever change that. Social justice warriors are rendered combat ineffective over pronoun usage. We medicate our dogs for depression, while Ukrainians cower in basements hoping they won’t be crushed to death. It’s simply surreal.
Antifa presumes that there is some utopian ideal someplace where all men/women/undecided really are treated equally. That utopia simply doesn’t exist. ISIS straps gay people to chairs and throws them off of tall buildings. Scandinavian cities are racially segregated on a scale unimaginable in the U.S. The first woman to receive a driver’s license in Saudi Arabia did so in 2018. Thanks to their draconian hijab laws, Afghan women might now live their entire lives without feeling the sun on their skin. And the problem is America?
There is a reason the entire planet seems hellbent to come here. Compared to the U.S., the rest of the world simply sucks. It’s time modern Americans started showing a little more gratitude and a little less ill-informed indignation.
Get on your feet, you losers. Protest injustice with my blessing. However, protest the problem, not the country that guarantees your right to protest. Photo by Keith Allison via Unsplash
The Exchange
So here’s my proposal: Everyone protesting traditional American values should be bused to the southern border for a one-for-one swap. For every quasi-literate immigrant we allow into the country we supply one discontented social justice warrior in exchange. The militant progressives can then caravan down to Guatemala, while the dispossessed Guatemalans get to stay here. Now, I admit that Berkeley may find itself desperately short on sociology professors. However, that’s a chance I’m willing to take.
In return, we get a whole pile of poorly-educated people who don’t speak English. However, if we explain that assimilation into American culture is a prerequisite for staying here, they would likely be jabbering away in English toot sweet. They would also probably work their butts off so their kids and grandkids can eventually become doctors and lawyers as well. At least that’s the way it has worked in the past.
There’s a reason everybody on the planet wants to come here.
Photo by Charlota Blunarova via Unsplash
Ruminations
I grow so terribly weary of the incessant prattling about how ghastly it is here. Stop your whining. If you hate America so badly, the southern border appears to be wide open. Don’t let the screen door hit you in the butt.
Institutional abuse, racism, and corruption in America pale in comparison to places like Mexico, Colombia, Afghanistan, and the Sudan. Those griping the loudest have simply never been anyplace else. Plop the liberal arts faculty from Oberlin College down in Yemen and see how many are still breathing 30 days later.
Too many good Americans died to secure our freedoms, some of whom were friends of mine, to tolerate this. I tire of listening to these petulant toddlers scream. If you think capitalism is the problem and socialism is the solution then climb aboard, next stop … Venezuela. I’ll cover your ticket.
On the heels of our Supreme Court victory in NYSRPA v. Bruen, Governor Carney and his allies in the state legislatures decided to further infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Delawareans by signing H.B. 450 into law. NRA-ILA partnered with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and others and filed a lawsuit challenging H.B. 450 yesterday.
“[T]he State of Delaware criminalized possession, transportation and sale of common firearms used by law abiding citizens for lawful purposes—mislabeling them as “assault weapons” —making it a felony for law-abiding citizens to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear such arms, the lawsuit alleges. “The State of Delaware mislabels scores of common rifles, common shotguns, common pistols, and ‘copycat’ weapons with a misnomer of ‘assault weapons’—and bans all of them outright.” Not only does the bill fail to address actual criminal conduct, but it places the lives of gun owners and their loved ones in jeopardy by banning commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms.
This is the Fourth time that NRA-ILA has partnered with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association to challenge unconstitutional laws in Delaware. Back in 2014, we struck a policy that prohibited firearms in public housing. Then in 2017, we successfully struck to regulations that banned possessing firearms in state parks and forests. And in 2020, we struck a ban on hunting with semi-automatic firearms. NRA-ILA is proud to continue partnering with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is a reality in the Blue Hen State.
The case is captioned Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
- In the days of lace-ruffles, perukes and brocade
- Brown Bess was a partner whom none could despise–
- An out-spoken, flinty-lipped, brazen-faced jade,
- With a habit of looking men straight in the eyes–
- At Blenhein and Ramillies fops would confess
- They were pierced to the heart by the charms of Brown Bess.
- Though her sight was not long and her weight was not small,
- Yet her actions were winning, her language was clear;
- And everyone bowed as she opened the ball
- On the arm of some high-gaitered, grim grenadier.
- Half Europe admitted the striking success
- Of the dances and routs that were given by Brown Bess.
- When ruffles were turned into stiff leather stocks,
- And people wore pigtails intead of perukes,
- Brown bess never altered her iron-grey locks.
- She knew she was valued for more than her looks.
- “Oh, powder and patches was always my dress,
- And I think I am killing enough,” said Brown Bess.
- So she followed her red-coats, whatever they did,
- From the heights of Quebec to the plains of Assaye,
- From Gibraltar to Acre, Cape Town and Madrid,
- And nothing about her was changed on the way;
- (But most of the Empire which now we possess
- Was won through those years by old-fashioned Brown Bess.)
- In stubborn retreat or in stately advance,
- From the Portugal coast to the cork-woods of Spain,
- She had puzzled some excellent Marshals of France
- Till none of them wanted to meet her again:
- But later, near Brussels, Napoleon–no less–
- Arranged for a Waterloo ball with Brown Bess.
- She had danced till the dawn of that terrible day–
- She danced till the dusk of more terrible night,
- And before her linked squares his battalions gave way,
- And her long fierce quadrilles put his lancers to flight:
- And when his gilt carriage drove off in the press,
- “I have danced my last dance for the world!” said Brown Bess.
- If you go to Museums–there’s one in Whitehall–
- Where old weapons are shown with their names writ beneath,
- You will find her, upstanding, her back to the wall,
- As stiff as a ramrod, the flint in her teeth.
- And if ever we English had reason to bless
- Any arm save our mothers’, that arm is Brown Bess!
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The Winchester Model 64
Dave found a decades-old magazine article by the late Skeeter Skelton extolling
the virtues of the Colt Diamondback. He said the sixgun made a good trail companion,
and Workman concurs.
Discovering old writings by top handgunners in their day is always educational for many reasons. When I recently ran across some very old magazines from nearly 50 years ago in a corner office, the honest-to-goodness first story to grab my attention was by the late Skeeter Skelton extolling the virtues of — wait for it — the Colt Diamondback.
Here’s a dandy — in my humble opinion — little sixgun which some folks have wrongly disdained as being a little on the delicate side for reasons I cannot fathom. Reading his decades-old article, it appears Skelton didn’t share that opinion either, as he described this particular Colt as having “performed beautifully.”
“Properly loaded,” Skelton observed at the time, “the .38 Diamondback is good medicine for medium animals such as coyotes, porcupines, and javelina out to 75 yards or so.”
On a recent woodcutting trek, Dave was packing his little Colt
stoked with handloads. Ample horsepower for predators.
He said the Diamondback “is the epitome of light trail guns.” I’ve written essentially the same thing, and have come to really enjoy packing my 4-inch specimen along in the woods when a .38 Special might come in handy for potting a rabbit or putting the hurt on a coyote. I also knocked together an IWB holster for concealed carry.
More than a year ago, I shared the story of my Diamondback acquisition with readers. It happened the same week my mother passed more than ten years ago, and I recalled the transaction gave me something else to think about during a difficult time. Things like that get some people through.
As noted by the late Mr. Skelton, who I met briefly at the National Rifle Association convention in Seattle in 1985 — a pleasant fellow capable of carrying on a quick conversation in a noisy exhibit hall — the Diamondback was a “modernized, deluxe version of the Police Positive Special.” That gun “evolved” into the Detective Special, he wrote, and I’ve always considered the “D-frame” Diamondback to be a beefed-up Dick Special with adjustable sights and an eye-catching full underlug barrel topped by the vent rib to capitalize on the eye candy appeal of the legendary Colt Python.
Enhancing the visual appeal of the Diamondback was the full
underlug barrel with its Python-esque vent rib on top.
Empty, this sixgun weights only 28.5 ounces, and I’ll say with no misgivings it’s the lightest 28 ½-ounce wheelgun I’ve ever carried. Maybe it’s because the Diamondback (when is Colt going to reintroduce this gem?) is very well balanced.
Diamondback owners know this revolver has a shortened butt frame, around which the factory and aftermarket grip makers have wrapped some remarkably functional grips.
Many years ago, I worked up a .38 Special load using 4.7 grains of HP-38 pushing a 125-grain JHP at about 900 fps, initially to use in my 6-inch Model 19 Smith & Wesson, but it turns out this round works rather well in my little snake gun as well. Recoil is manageable, and with an ample sight radius, it is satisfactorily accurate for small game.
The ‘Bad Rap’
Maybe the bad rap about the Diamondback is that it won’t take a pounding with hot loads, and let’s be honest: some guys just can’t resist pushing the envelope to see how much of a “boom!” they can get out of a revolver.
I’ve known such people and they make me nervous because one never knows when one of their hot loads is going to disintegrate a handgun while I’m standing close enough to get hurt. I’m quite content with my mid-range .38 Special loads, which — based on my reading of Hodgdon’s Annual Manual — can also be produced with such propellants as AutoComp, Titegroup and CFE Pistol. I’ll be a happy camper if I can conk a cottontail for the winter pot.
Colt’s 4-inch Diamondback in .38 Special is a good shooter. Workman
ran three loads, including factory Hornady 158-grainers, and handloads
topped with either 125-grain JHPs or 110-grain JHPs all at 10 yards.
Let’s talk a moment about handloading for the .38 Special. Way too many people want that +P power in their sidearm when it’s a bad idea. A lot of older handguns don’t handle +P pressures, but one can load up completely adequate standard pressure loads that work just fine, thanks to modern bullet design and composition.
There are some sizzling loads, which push 110-grain bullets above 1,110 fps, and that kind of punch is going to immediately get so — or someone’s — undivided attention. One caveat here is that such loads, even within acceptable pressures, are going to have very snappy recoil, and I’m being polite. In a lightweight such as the Diamondback, recoil is no small concern.
My recommendation for anyone loading the .38 Special for older medium or light-framed revolvers is to consult more than one reloading manual. You will find several load suggestions and DO NOT EXCEED them.
Soon after acquiring his Diamondback, Dave replaced the factory
grips with a set of Herrett “Detective” grips that fit his hand perfectly.
Not long after obtaining my Diamondback, I pulled the factory grips and installed a set of Detective grips crafted by my friend Rod Herrett. These are superb grips for concealed carry and they fit my hand very well, and also help tame recoil.
Every ammunition company offers standard pressure loads in .38 Special, which will work just fine in the Diamondback or similar revolvers.
Charles Allan “Skeeter” Skelton was one of the premier gunwriters of his era. During his life, he served in the Marine Corps, worked as a lawman at various levels including a term as sheriff of Deaf Smith County, Texas. He was a masterful storyteller and having grown into early adulthood reading his articles, it was a treat to meet him back in ’85. Sadly, he passed on less than three years later, far too early for someone with his wit and wisdom. I would have dearly enjoyed spending more time chatting with him.
Stumbling across his Diamondback essay was a delight. He covered all the bases, including felt recoil, powder selection for handloads, his recommendation that the action be smoothed a bit, his dislike of the hammer size because it pinched his hand, and other points. He didn’t care for the factory grips, considering them too large for the size of the gun.
Raw data from the FBI/NICS system shows continued healthy traffic.
(Source: FBI-NICS)
Back to the Present
It’s always informative to see the monthly FBI/NICS check data, particularly because the numbers repeatedly demonstrate America hasn’t given up on the right to keep and bear arms.
According to data for April, the National Instant Check System (NICS) ran a total of 2,607,477 checks, though readers are reminded the statistic does not represent the number of firearms sold.
For that information, we always turn to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which invariably produces an “NSSF-adjusted” figure more closely reflecting the number of actual gun transactions that did occur. In this case, the NSSF-adjusted figure for April, according to Mark Oliva, public affairs director for the organization, was 1,359,908.
Any way one looks at that number, it is significant. Over the past two years, U.S. citizens have purchased a lot of guns. There is no small irony this surge in gun buying began as the 2020 election loomed and the Democrat in that race was very public about his plan to ratchet down on Second Amendment rights. Gun sales were fueled by the “defund police” movement, the summer of rioting in 2020 and an uncertain future. They stay healthy because Joe Biden has not abandoned his plan to curtail gun rights, and this summer may be his last opportunity to advance that agenda.
Fatal Error
When a man identified as Roman Rodriguez allegedly broke into the San Antonio, Texas home of a mom with three children inside, the last thing he probably expected was that this was the last thing he would ever do.
According to Fox News, the mom heard someone breaking in, and instead of panic, she became her own first responder. She reportedly grabbed a gun and shot the intruder twice in the chest. Police found him sitting in a chair in the backyard, and he subsequently died at a local hospital.
While other news agencies treated the shooting with some objectivity, the New York Post headlined its report thusly: “Texas mom guns down home intruder as kids sleep: cops.”
The final paragraph in the Post’s story: “The probe continues, but the unidentified homeowner is not facing charges because of the so-called Castle Doctrine, which allows a person to use force against an intruder who breaks into their home, News 4 San Antonio reported.”
In Memoriam: John Ross
John Ross authored what has become an “underground” classic novel, “Unintended Consequences,” more than two decades ago, weaving together a fantasy plot with actual historical facts relating to the gun control crusade in the U.S.
The 860-plus page novel grabbed the gun rights movement with a tale of resistance to government overreach. I finished the final ten chapters while stuck at an airport overnight in Michigan, grounded by a storm enroute to that year’s National Rifle Association convention in Charlotte, N.C.
I spoke only once with Ross, via telephone, at the time tracking down a rumor he was working on a sequel. As I recall, it was a pleasant, albeit brief, chat.
Ross passed away suddenly on April 29. He was 64.
Born June 17, 1957, he was a graduate of John Burroughs High School in Ladue in 1974 and attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1979 with a B.A. in English. He worked for the E.F. Hutton company as a broker for about ten years, and then took up full-time writing. According to a short obituary, he was a private pilot, firearms expert, instructor and activist.
April 21, 2022
Mike Sampson
In prior Gun Talk articles I’ve spoken of how glad I am to live in Arkansas, the Natural State. Now I have another reason.
An April article on msn.com noted that “The state with the worst gun laws is Arkansas. Its gun law grade in 2021 was F.”
In the article, I found that “To determine the state with the worst gun laws, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2021 Annual Gun Law Scorecard from the Giffords Law Center (led by former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, herself a gun violence victim), which assigned letter grades to states based on the strength and weaknesses of their gun laws and policies.”
And in looking at the Giffords site, indeed Arkansas is ranked 50th in the nation. Wyoming is 49th, Idaho is 48th, and my birth state of Missouri is 47th. I’ve lived in all four states. On the scorecard, 23 states share the F grade.
As Gun Talk readers might speculate, California has a number one ranking, but look at what is going on in that state with firearms violations and crime surge. For a real education about your state’s ranking, take a look at the scorecard site with the link above.
The article further defines Arkansas’ low ranking with the following:
“Arkansas is a ‘shall issue’ state, according to the report. This means that local law enforcement must issue a concealed weapons license to any applicant who is 21 years old and over, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and a resident of Arkansas for at least 90 days, among other such criteria. In 2021, Arkansas also repealed its law that required a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public. With this it dropped from ranking 12th worst in 2020 to the worst in 2021.”
Yes, Arkansas of one of 25 states that has conferred Constitutional carry on its residents, and for me, that gives each of those states a high ranking.
To clarify things, the article also says, “National laws have been impossible to pass because many people believe gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Gun regulations, therefore, are mostly enacted at the state level. Some states are very strict, while in others people can carry guns in the open.”
And all along I’ve been thinking the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment allow gun ownership. Leave it to the lamestream media to shatter my beliefs.
As the article continued, “Many states have very loose gun ownership rules. Those with stronger restrictions in place can do little to stem the flow of firearms from less-regulated states. One bill currently before the House Judiciary Committee, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would even force states with stricter gun laws to accept concealed carry permits issued in states with less stringent laws.”
I’ve written before about the benefits of reciprocity because I travel to other states, and my Arkansas CCW is honored in most states I visit. Wouldn’t national reciprocity be a novel idea for self defense?
I have said all along I believe if one is going to carry a firearm, training is a good plan, and CCW permit classes usually have an overview of state firearms laws as part of that training component. Knowing state firearms laws where you live and travel is a key way to stay out of legal trouble. Look at Handgunlaw.us or USCCA Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map & U.S. Gun Laws | USCCA (usconcealedcarry.com) for state information.
To help understand Arkansas’ ranking, my state also is first in eight other achievements that include:
· Creation of Walmart stores.
· Adding synchronized sound to film.
· Issuing “Obesity Report Cards” for kids in 2004.
· First U.S. female senator, Hattie Caraway, in November 1932.
· Installing school classroom panic buttons in 2015-16.
· Founding of Dillard’s Department Stores in 1938.
· Creation of Brown and Serve Rolls.
· Creation of “cheese dogs” in 1956.
While these achievements certainly add to Arkansas’ stature and history, ranking 50th on the Giffords national scorecard makes me glad my best worst state is doing its part to help me “Stay safe, be prepared.” ~ Mike
Mike Sampson
Mike now calls Northwestern Arkansas home, but has lived and worked in several states and internationally. He has been an independent contractor and consultant since 2006 specializing in risk management, emergency management and training, worked as a law-enforcement planner and technical writer with the Boise, Idaho, Police Department, and also worked as an outfitter’s guide.