02-06-2017, 03:26 PM
Some Canadians are wondering why their weakened gun control laws aren't being re-examined in the wake of the recent Quebec mosque mass shooting. They face many of the same challenges as the U.S., though on a much smaller scale.
Snip:
Much has already been written about the attack at a Quebec City mosque: Chilling descriptions of the sheer horror of the rampage, touching tributes to the victims, earnest reflections on the disturbing Islamophobia and xenophobia that seem to have inspired the attack, disgust at the role of talk radio and ambitious politicians in fuelling and exploiting the hate, and the relief at the outpouring of grief and solidarity.
But there are two words that have been painfully absent from the public discourse: gun control.
We don’t have official confirmation yet of the weapons used in the killings, but the Journal de Quebec says the suspect had a 9 mm pistol and a CZ 858 rifle, both of which are legal in Canada. (The mosque shooter’s weapon has been described in numerous media reports as an AK-47 assault rifle, a weapon that is illegal in Canada; however, the CZ 858 rifle looks almost identical to the untrained eye.)
The precise details are not that important.
(continued)
Snip:
Much has already been written about the attack at a Quebec City mosque: Chilling descriptions of the sheer horror of the rampage, touching tributes to the victims, earnest reflections on the disturbing Islamophobia and xenophobia that seem to have inspired the attack, disgust at the role of talk radio and ambitious politicians in fuelling and exploiting the hate, and the relief at the outpouring of grief and solidarity.
But there are two words that have been painfully absent from the public discourse: gun control.
We don’t have official confirmation yet of the weapons used in the killings, but the Journal de Quebec says the suspect had a 9 mm pistol and a CZ 858 rifle, both of which are legal in Canada. (The mosque shooter’s weapon has been described in numerous media reports as an AK-47 assault rifle, a weapon that is illegal in Canada; however, the CZ 858 rifle looks almost identical to the untrained eye.)
The precise details are not that important.
(continued)