Re: home alarm systems are for sissys

[tourman <robercampbell@xxxxxxxxx>]

RHC: Frank, it's quite a different "mind set" south of the border
relative to firearms. It is one of those societal things that
differentiates Canada and the US. North of the border, we use firearms
for hunting and sporting purposes, and there is no right to carry for
purposes of protection. Unless you are a rare exception such as a
geologist working in the far north, a permit to carry is only
available to police officers, and only then when they are on duty.
This dates back to as far as 1874 when the RCMP used to disarm Montana
cowboys driving their cattle across the border to market up north. We
have a long tradition of treating sidearms with suspicion, and
ownership and use in Canada is severely restricted (ask me how many
permits I need to own and transport to various competitive meets
across North America).  Any firearm of any type in Canada has to be
stored in a safe manner, in an unloaded condition, so it never would
be available for personal protection. The ONLY place I am allowed to
carry my competition handguns in a holster is on the range (where it
is actually encouraged to maintain security against theft).

As much as I have a lot of mixed and somewhat confused feelings about
this business of carry for self defense, when all is said and done, I
prefer our system of control versus the free and easy access in the
USA. I just wish Canadian authorities would let up a bit on the
restrictions once you do go through all the shit to get approved. And
the continual stream of anti-gun bias from politicians and the left
wing press does nothing to make firearm owning Canadians comfortable
that one day they won't wake up and find themselves legislated out of
existence through some idiotic "feel good" piece of legislation. As I
said, I am quite ambivalent about the differences, but the strong
lobby in the NRA is a true blessing for our American friends. We could
sure use a bit of that political strength up here to keep the
political nut cases on their toes....


> Know what?  I simply don't understand the "need" some feel for having a
> gun in the house...  or in your case, several.   What is it about the
> 49th Parallel?  Is it like...  "crossing over" to the "Dark side"???  :-)