[Alexandros]

This article really sums up well what I and many other Canadians think of the American gun culture. After I was done laughing, I then read his original letter, which is also below.

If everyone else around you had guns, and you didn't - of course you'd want one to protect yourself from them. And so the gun buying domino effect. Now imagine if hardly anyone had guns! Would you still hang onto this paranoia?

If it works for Canada, why can it not work for America?

Does it not seem stifling to you to be constantly concerned about this kind of thing? Wouldn't it be much easier on your stress levels if you could walk out unarmed into the streets or enjoy the comfort of your unarmed home and simply NOT CARE?

Most of 33 million Canadians go unarmed - why aren't we all dead yet from not being able to defend ourselves? Don't say it's because everyone doesn't have to worry about the other 32 999 999 gunless Canadians....

Originally Posted by http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/nosehillgentlemen+Kalamazoo+police+officer+letter/7054368/story.html

Yes, Walt Wawra is a real person. No, the letter we published from him Tuesday, about the “confrontation” he and his wife had with two Calgarians in Nose Hill Park, was not a hoax. The fact that so many readers have written in, or posted comments online, wondering if it was for real, speaks volumes about the cultural differences between Canadians and Americans. It gives the lie to those who say that Canadians are no different than Americans.

Wawra, who lives in Kalamazoo, Mich., is a police officer. While on a recent visit to Calgary, he and his wife, Debbie, were approached by two young men on a pathway in Nose Hill Park, who asked the Wawras if they had been to the Stampede yet. When they asked the question a second time, Wawra moved between the men and his wife and told them he had no need to talk to them. He said they looked “bewildered.” The parties then went their separate ways.

In his letter, Wawra said it felt strange not to carry his off-duty handgun in Canada and added that he thanked the Lord they didn’t pull a weapon on him. No benefit of the doubt given the young men, no thought that they might have just been trying to be friendly.

He also complained about Canadian gun laws, saying that in Canada, only the police and criminals carry handguns. Yes, that’s true, and it’s probably one of the reasons when there’s a dispute over a parking space in Canada, nobody dies from bullet wounds as a result.

Wawra’s mindset is what America’s gun mania has produced. How paranoid and how very sad.

Wawra wrote that he speculated the men did not have good intentions. He claims the men spoke in an “aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner.” Menacing? A question about the Stampede is construed as a menace? Or, as someone commented on the Herald’s website: “... for asking if you had been to the Stampede? Since when is that grounds to be dead?” Another commenter wrote: “I can see why they were frightened. If you rearrange the letters in ‘been to Stampede yet?’ you get “a beset potted enemy’.”

Most likely, the men noticed something about the Wawras that indicated they were tourists, and were trying to make conversation. Maybe they themselves were enjoying the Stampede’s centennial celebration and wanted to let these tourists know that their visit to Calgary wouldn’t be complete without a day at the Stampede. The fact that the young men looked bewildered by Wawra’s response indicates that their intentions were indeed friendly ones and that they were quite puzzled at being rebuffed.

Wawra did not return my call requesting an interview Tuesday afternoon. Too bad. I would have liked to ask him why an American visitor to Calgary would treat a friendly encounter in a city park here as if it were a midnight stroll through a drug-dealer infested alley on the south side of Chicago. One can only stand open-mouthed at the knee-jerk mindset of suspicion, fear and loathing on the mean streets — which is so ingrained in Americans that they can’t leave it at home when they visit another country.

Americans argue that they need to carry guns, because having a concealed weapon makes them feel safe. Their thinking seems to be that at any given moment, they could be under attack from the very next person they meet on the street, and they’ll need to shoot in self-defence. Whereas, when you walk down a street in Canada, you don’t assume that you’re at risk of being suddenly assaulted or killed. You just see ordinary people going about their day and you give their motives no further thought.

And so, Americans, unaware of just how sick their handgun mentality is, continue to fight like crazy to prevent any kind of handgun-control legislation from being implemented. A 9 mm handgun, purchased legally, was the weapon of choice in Oak Creek, Wis., on Sunday when six people were killed and three more wounded by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple. One might argue that if the worshippers had carried guns, they could have killed the guy first. But sitting in a temple armed to the teeth while listening to a sermon about brotherhood and peace is ridiculous.

“Many would say I have no need to carry (a handgun) in Canada,” Wawra wrote. “Yet I have a unique perspective based on years of police experience. The perspective (is that) the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be allowed to protect himself if the need arises... My perspective proved true a few days ago for my wife and I.”

It doesn’t seem to have occurred to Wawra that the need didn’t arise in Calgary, and that if he’d been carrying a handgun, two people might now be dead because they asked him if he’d been to the Stampede.

As an American who is also a Canadian citizen, all I can say is, thank God I live in Canada.

Original letter

Originally Posted by http://www.calgaryherald.com/Nose+Hill+Park+confrontation+makes+visitors+feel+u nsafe/7050028/story.html

I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.

Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be al-lowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: "Been to the Stampede yet?"

We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"

I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know - it's because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.

[Town Heretic]

Originally Posted by Alexandros

This article really sums up well what I and many other Canadians think of the American gun culture.

And I think I can speak for Americans when I say note that any country almost torn apart over its own language isn't really in a position to lecture anyone else on having their national act together.

Canada, land of a thousand "Why's"...

After I was done laughing,

It's the Mounties, isn't it?

If it works for Canada, why can it not work for America?

The French feel the same way about berets.

Does it not seem stifling to you to be constantly concerned about this kind of thing?

Said someone concerned about and commenting on another country.

Wouldn't it be much easier on your stress levels if you could walk out unarmed into the streets or enjoy the comfort of your unarmed home and simply NOT CARE?

My state could take over your country in a fortnight.

Most of 33 million Canadians go unarmed

Sure.

- why aren't we all dead yet from not being able to defend ourselves?

From what? Angry French? Though that bread can be deadly.

[MrDeets]

Originally Posted by Town Heretic

And I think I can speak for Americans when I say note that any country almost torn apart over its own language isn't really in a position to lecture anyone else on having their national act together.

Canada, land of a thousand "Why's"...


It's the Mounties, isn't it?


The French feel the same way about berets.


Said someone concerned about and commenting on another country.


My state could take over your country in a fortnight.


Sure.


From what? Angry French? Though that bread can be deadly.

He's lucky Texas doesn't invade Canada. He wouldn't have time to put his bottle of crown back in the bag before it was over...

[The Berean]

Odd, even Dudley Do-Right carried a gun?

.

[Shelli]

Originally Posted by Town Heretic

And I think I can speak for Americans when I say note that any country almost torn apart over its own language isn't really in a position to lecture anyone else on having their national act together.

Canada, land of a thousand "Why's"...


It's the Mounties, isn't it?


The French feel the same way about berets.


Said someone concerned about and commenting on another country.


My state could take over your country in a fortnight.


Sure.


From what? Angry French? Though that bread can be deadly.

Did you know that chatty and bouncy little retorts mean nothing within a discussion?

Women and feminized males think their quick little emotional reactions to what other people say is the "best way"" to express themselves because women and feminized males can only use their personal feelings to "figure things out."

Were you raised by a woman ... ? I think you were. It explains how you think, and it explains your ... peeky little half glasses ... Lol.

[zoo22]

Originally Posted by Shelli

Did you know that chatty and bouncy little retorts mean nothing within a discussion?

Women and feminized males think their quick little emotional reactions to what other people say is the "best way"" to express themselves because women and feminized males can only use their personal feelings to "figure things out."

Were you raised by a woman ... ? I think you were. It explains how you think, and it explains your ... peeky little half glasses ... Lol.

Long walk, short pier, deep water.

[Ed Walton]

I don’t have a concealed-carry license.
I do enjoy shooting; either breaking targets, or punching paper; it doesn’t matter.

The doctrine that all crime will come to an end, if I turn in my firearms; is an outrageous lie.

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by Alexandros

If everyone else around you had guns, and you didn't - of course you'd want one to protect yourself from them. And so the gun buying domino effect. Now imagine if hardly anyone had guns! Would you still hang onto this paranoia?

Paranoia?

That is funny.

If it works for Canada, why can it not work for America?

Does it not seem stifling to you to be constantly concerned about this kind of thing? Wouldn't it be much easier on your stress levels if you could walk out unarmed into the streets or enjoy the comfort of your unarmed home and simply NOT CARE?

Most of 33 million Canadians go unarmed - why aren't we all dead yet from not being able to defend ourselves? Don't say it's because everyone doesn't have to worry about the other 32 999 999 gunless Canadians....

You do realize that guns are not the only weapons in existence, right? In fact, the objects used in most homicides in the US aren't even classified as weapons and anyone can buy them.

[jgarden]

Windsor goes two years without a murder while Detroit has one per day
28/09/2011 8:30:00 AM

..... The murder-free period stands in contrast to Detroit – just across the Ambassador Bridge – which has averaged about one homicide a day so far in 2011. Granted Detroit is four times the size of Windsor, but 260 is a long, long way from zero.

.....So how can two places so close together be so different? It can't be something in the water: the two cities share one river.

..... The average person walking down a street in Windsor is very unlikely to be carrying a gun. There's no need to "protect" yourself with a gun when so few people around you are armed.

..... Police officers in the U.S. should hope a few thugs don't start carrying bazookas, or everyone will want one.

http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/coffee...r_day/f6022a9f

Not a single homicide in over 2 years - what is Windsor doing wrong?

[Saved.One.by.Grace]

Originally Posted by jgarden

Not a single homicide in over 2 years - what is Windsor doing wrong?

Obviously, the criminals in Detroit need to move to Windsor.

[SilenceInMotion]

Originally Posted by Saved.One.by.Grace

Obviously, the criminals in Detroit need to move to Windsor.

Or maybe just cowboys. After all, America didn't start off as a haven for criminals, people such as yourself just had a fascination for being armed and it *backfired*. Should I say- they *shot* their selves in the foot? Maybe., jumped the *gun* on social liberties?

[This Charming Manc]

Outright lie, guns are by a factor of five the biggest murder weapon in the USA, they account for 68% of all homicides.

Post reliable stats to back up your claim, or take it back.;

Why do Christians feel the need to lie to try to justify there right to carry guns ?

Originally Posted by Lighthouse

You do realize that guns are not the only weapons in existence, right? In fact, the objects used in most homicides in the US aren't even classified as weapons and anyone can buy them.

[vegascowboy]

Originally Posted by This Charming Manc

Why do Christians feel the need to lie to try to justify there right to carry guns ?

Why do you feel the need to give up your liberty at every turn?

[This Charming Manc]

I don't find the liberty of being 25 times more likely to be murder by a gun one worth keeping .

Also i have never had that liberty so, I am coming from a slightly different position.

Originally Posted by vegascowboy

Why do you feel the need to give up your liberty at every turn?

[TomO]

Uh, Yeah...Thank's for your input Canadia.