Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dodged questions Sunday about whether he would repeal the federal government’s handgun ban, a measure brought in to tamp down on the diversion of legal firearms into the hands of bad actors.

Poilievre hasn’t said much during this campaign about what he would do with the Liberal firearms legislation he voted against while in Parliament, but he has blasted the last government’s “assault-style” firearm buyback program as a “gun grab” that he would scrap.

Gun control advocates say any legislation to curb the flow of firearms is a worthy measure to try and reduce incidents of crime and violence. Firearms rights advocates meanwhile say the Liberal suite of policies only punish lawful gun owners who play by the rules.

  • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
    101·
    2 days ago

    He wants to play to his base. Canadian licensed gun owners are overwhelmingly not the problem.

    US border porosity is.

    This is a wedge issue. Cons lock up the gun vote which is larger than you think, especially in rural areas.

    The Libs lockup the antigun vote popular in urban areas and especially Québec.

    Both parties have abandoned “good government” policies, with over and under reach respectively while ignoring the real issues.

    If you want to tackle gun crime, that 2 billion Fentanyl Czar and Hellicopter patrol needs to be chasing drugs AND guns. It’s the same people, using sthe same methods. We also need to build more prisons and jails so violent offenders don’t get the “commit another crime while on bail from the last one”.

    Libs and Cons need to stop playing wedge politics and do their duty to grounded, evidence based legislation that doesn’t flip flop and turn innocent gun owners into paper criminals or wastr money buying back legally acquired guns that were never used in crimes or by criminals.

    • sbv@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      31·
      2 days ago

      Libs and Cons need to stop playing wedge politics and do their duty to grounded, evidence based legislation

      This is the key problem.

      Canadian parties don’t come up with broad, well considered policies to solve a problem. Instead, they have a portfolio of individual policies designed to attract different demographics at election time.

      • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
        21·
        2 days ago

        Everything increases deaths in Canada. Cars, food, chemicals. Evidence based policy means you tailor the response to the problem. Legal firearms are a fart in a hurricane and doesn’t warrant the disproportionate bans and buybacks while ignoring the real problems of smuggling and crime, especially repeat criminals.

        • Sunshine (she/her)@lemmy.caEnglish
          22·
          2 days ago

          A whole lot of whatboutism. We should regulate things that are dangerous and not sit on our hands doing nothing. Canada is way better off without guns.

            • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
              11·
              2 days ago

              Ad-hominem when someone wants to take away your emotional support pistol? Not a good look.

            • Sunshine (she/her)@lemmy.caEnglish
              11·
              2 days ago

              The evidence shows that gun ownership is positively correlated with more deaths. Your selfish wants does not override everyone’s safety.

              A statistically significant association exists between gun availability and the rates of unintentional firearm deaths, homicides, and suicides. The elevated rates of suicide and homicide among children living in states with more guns is not entirely explained by a state’s poverty, education, or urbanization and is driven by lethal firearm violence, not by lethal nonfirearm violence.

              Source

              Pathetic response that sounds like a veiled threat.

              • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
                2·
                2 days ago

                sounds like a veiled threat.

                No. I want you to go away, for precicely these irrational associations.

                You cannot compare American gun juggling dipshit society, with Canadian licensing storage and usage regulations and a culture of general safety and collective cohesion.