Harper sparks controversy by linking guns & personal securit

[Oscar]

Harper sparks controversy by linking guns and personal security

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Mark Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen Published on: March 16, 2015 Last Updated: March 16, 2015 7:27 PM EDT

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after years of cautiously linking gun ownership to farmers and duck hunters, now says firearms are needed by rural Canadians for their own security so they can shoot people who pose a danger.

But a spokesman for the Canadian Bar Association is urging Canadians to realize that they do not have an automatic right to defend themselves at home with a gun, and could end up facing criminal charges if they do so.

Harper’s comments are being promoted by the Conservatives’ election campaign manager, who says she is “proud” of how Harper said gun ownership is “important for safety for those of us who live a ways from immediate police assistance.”

The Conservatives are distributing emails to supporters about Harper’s recent remarks on gun ownership, in part to raise funds, and also to spread allegations that the opposition parties would restore the long-gun registry.

Harper’s unusually blunt remarks have already sparked a political firestorm that could carry through to this year’s election campaign.

On Monday, the National Firearms Association (NFA) applauded Harper for making a statement that was “long overdue.” The association said all Canadians — rural and urban — should have a clear right to use firearms to defend themselves against an intruder who breaks into their home.

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Related

Harper rejects accusation of 'vigilantism' over gun comments
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Harper taking flak from legal experts over rural gun-justice remarks
[ http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/ ... ce-remarks ]

[Oscar]

Harper taking flak from legal experts over rural gun-justice remarks

[ http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/ ... ce-remarks ]

AUTHOR/DATE (ADD)

EXCERPT:

Ontario’s former attorney general is accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of irresponsibly counselling Canadians to commit a crime by using guns for their own security.

In an interview Tuesday with the Citizen, Michael Bryant said the prime minister has completely “misstated” the truth about Canada’s laws by linking gun ownership with the right of rural Canadians to use firearms for their own safety if police forces aren’t close enough to respond.

Bryant’s assessment of whether Canadians have the automatic legal right to use a gun to defend themselves was echoed by other legal experts and a spokesman for the Canadian Bar Association.

Those experts threw cold water on the so-called “castle doctrine” that some people say allows Canadians to protect their homes. Moreover, they noted that unlike in the United States, where there is a constitutional right to bear arms, Canadians have no such right.

“It’s not Canadian law,” said Bryant, who was attorney general in the provincial Liberal government from 2003 to 2007.

“It’s vigilantism. People are going to find themselves facing the criminal justice system and being charged with serious crimes if they decide to follow what the prime minister is suggesting.”
Bryant expressed concern that people will assume incorrectly that they have a right to use their gun in self-defence at home.

“Canadians should not listen to the prime minister on this one at all. Resort to common sense. We don’t live in the wild west. We live in a country of law. And we have a criminal law that puts enforcement and protection in the hands of police, not in the hands of citizens.”

“He’s just wrong under criminal law, under constitutional law and it’s just incredibly reckless of him to do that,” said Bryant, who is part of the Coalition for Gun Control.

“People assume that the prime minister does not counsel criminal activity. But that’s exactly what he’s doing here and I would imagine that the police are pretty upset about it.”

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