PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.12.29
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Editorial/Opinion
PAGE: 24
COLUMN: Letter of the Day
WORD COUNT: 261

————————————————————————
——–

Letter of the Day Column

————————————————————————
——–

Our right to self defence

Re “Defending the use of guns” (Letters, Dec. 27): The stats used in
Brad Lemee’s letter came from Stats Canada and the FBI. (See
garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/2005/608.htm).

The USA had its worst crime problem in 1991.

That year they saw all rates of crime at their highest. Most Canadians
do not realize that over the last 15 years the U.S. murder rate has been
cut in half and all rates of crime plummeted to the current 30 year low.
Canada, on the other hand, has seen a rise in violent crime, including
murder.

The anti-gun crowd does not want Canadians to know that during this time
period, the number of States that passed some type of concealed carry
law almost doubled to 48 and the number of legally owned firearms
increased by 70 million.

The UK tried the opposite approach, banning most kinds of guns and now,
according to the UN, Wales and England are the two most dangerous
industrialized countries. They have the highest rates of victimization
– meaning you are more likely to be raped, robbed or assaulted there
than in any industrialized country.

Jamaica banned all guns from its civilians in 1970. After that all of
its crime rates increased and now it has the third-highest murder rate
in the world. According to Amnesty International, 3/4′s of those murders
are committed with a gun.

It is unjust to say that we have the right to self defence and not allow
us the means to defend ourselves. It is for that reason that the right
to self defence in Canada is illusory. In a free country, citizens
should have the right to protect themselves — and that shouldn’t be
dependent on whether or not their neighbours approve.

Jeff Gardiner Wellesley

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !