American Tourist Scared of Canadians Wants Gun

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  • liss125
    liss125 Posts: 77
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    This letter was published in the Calgary Herald. It was written by an American cop who freaked out when 2 Calgarians wanted to offer him passes to the Calgary Stampede on Nose Hill, a public park on a big hill in Calgary. This is his letter:
    +++
    "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.
    +++++

    My sister and my nieces and nephews walk on that hill all the time. It's a neighborhood park where everybody is friendly. I am SO glad that this feral man didn't have his gun on him.

    My question is, do you think that he was behaving normally? Do Americans carry firearms with them when they go hiking in public parks in case they encounter strangers who might talk to them?

    http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/09/walt-wawra/

    That cop is an idiot. if he ran through the inner city streets where I do my running, he wouldn't survive 20 yards without the need to blow off someone's head with his 38 special. I really and truly despair for America.

    He really does sound like a ding-dong. Perhaps he is a cop in a really shady neighborhood, which makes him a little paranoid. But I would think, after the fact, he would realize he had overreacted. Not this guy, he's going to write a pointed letter, detailing this heinous situation where two guys talked to him :)
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    Assuming the letter was serious ...

    1. The man was a cop for 20 years. He reads people and their behavior much differently than the average person. It's what he is TRAINED to do. Perhaps there really was something about the behavior of these people in particular that troubled him.

    2. He was a visitor, not a native Canadian. He wasn't familiar with that area or the people in it. Cut the guy some slack, and don't act like you all don't make judgments about America and Americans ("Oh, are you guys all running around with guns everywhere??!?!)

    3. People are murdered in Canada all the time ... just as frequently as in the U.S., as has been pointed out in this thread. Just because they aren't all gun-related murders doesn't mean they don't happen.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    Wow. I live in one of the biggest city in Canada and never felt in danger even running at night. I might live a sheltered life but I can't understand the need to have a gun on you.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.

    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Actually, know why I'd hate the gun laws in Canada? Bears. Big, hungry, mean *kitten* bears.

    funny thing the gun murder rate is 1/3 that of the US but the general homicide rate is the same....hockey sticks? yep

    Knives, people, watch for the knives. You don't need a permit to carry a knife. St. John's has a story daily about someone robbing with a knife. Eh, maybe it's different elsewhere since Newfoundland is based on fishing.
  • amallia921
    amallia921 Posts: 51
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    I dont care, what country or state you live in. When some walks up to you and then steps in front of you so you cant get by and then starts talking aggressively, I would think they dont have good intentions. Seriously this world is not a safe place. Every country has crime, rapes, murders, and etc. Personally, I want my concealed weapons permitt. And why does everyone think people from the USA are gun happy? We just live in reality, knowing not everyone has good intentions. Always better to be safe. then sorry/
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    Sounds like he should have stayed at home in the US where it's nice and safe and everyone carries guns but no one gets shot.
    Oh, that's right - they do get shot.

    He should still have stayed home.

    The top three states for gun murders are New York, Texas and California. Yet, New York and California have some of the tightest anti-gun laws in the country. Proof that gun bans DON"T prevent gun crime.

    The people who are committing crimes with guns are typically not legally carrying/owning them. So why would we take away a good form of protection of people who DO own them legally and use them responsibly.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    switzerland1.jpg
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    You know what... Considering Kalamazoo has a higher than the US average crime rate, it doesn't surprise me that this guy is trigger happy.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Sounds like he should have stayed at home in the US where it's nice and safe and everyone carries guns but no one gets shot.
    Oh, that's right - they do get shot.

    He should still have stayed home.

    The top three states for gun murders are New York, Texas and California. Yet, New York and California have some of the tightest anti-gun laws in the country. Proof that gun bans DON"T prevent gun crime.

    The people who are committing crimes with guns are typically not legally carrying/owning them. So why would we take away a good form of protection of people who DO own them legally and use them responsibly.

    Washington D.C. and Oklahoma City both have (had?) similar population sizes... Washington D.C. had more gun related deaths per capita during their "ban" than Oklahoma City did without one.

    I know that I need to learn how to use a gun and when the time is right we will be teaching our children, because only out of education can respect be had for the tool. It should be no different than learning how to drive a car before going onto the streets.
  • mmarcy7
    mmarcy7 Posts: 227 Member
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    I am from MI and have a friend here who is originally from Canada who just told me about this, and how he is a laughing stock in Canada. I would say yes it is typical American cop behavior, but that doesn't mean he isn't an embarrassment.

    The crime rate is no worse than it has been in past, everything is just sensationalized by the media.
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
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    Get yer comments in before the inevitable thread locking, amirite?

    Being alive is a fatal condition:


    statistically in the U.S., you have a 1 in 35, 714 chance of being killed with a handgun

    Cut Copy Paste Dept.
    Chance of dying from any kind of injury during the next year: 1 in 1,820
    Chance of dying from intentional self-harm: 1 in 9,380
    Chance of dying from an assault: 1 in 16,421
    Chance of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585
    Chance of dying from any kind of fall: 1 in 20,666
    Chance of dying from a gunshot wound: 1 in 35, 714
    Chance of dying from accidental drowning: 1 in 79,065
    Chance of dying from exposure to smoke, fire, and flames: 1 in 81,524
    Chance of dying in an explosion: 1 in 107,787
    [/b]

    souce http://www.conservativecommune.com/2012/08/perspective-are-firearm-murders-a-significant-statistic/
  • akoivisto
    akoivisto Posts: 141 Member
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    The crime rate is no worse than it has been in past, everything is just sensationalized by the media.

    Darn tootin'!
  • mmeddleton
    mmeddleton Posts: 100 Member
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    Lawfully carrying a concealed weapon is similar to carrying a spare tire in the trunk of your car. You don't see too many people pulling out the spare tire and waving it around at anyone that they happen to come across. It only comes out when you really need it. So, there's really nothing to be afraid of from the person who is lawfully armed. Those that are armed, but not lawfully so are another matter entirely. Most people don't have a need for a spare tire on a daily basis and have never even used their spare tire, but yet they still carry one. Even though the spare is rarely if ever used, it would be helpful to be proficient at changing a tire should the need arise. Same principal with a concealed weapon.

    People that go through the trouble to get a concealed carry license are the least likely to commit crimes of any type. Statistics on this are readily available for anyone with access to Google and 30 seconds of free time. Chances are that unless you live in Chicago, New York City, Washington DC or some other really "safe" city, you walk past legally armed people all the time and would never know it. The armed people you might run across while hiking in a park here in the US are far more likely to save your life in an emergency than to cause you any trouble. If there is no emergency, you would never know they were armed.

    Someone in this thread mentioned that it would really be unlikely for two men to cause any trouble to a couple out for a walk and minding their own business. I would like to live on your planet. Since I don't, I carry a spare tire. :wink:

    I don't know whether to believe the letter the OP displayed is real or if it is a "plant" to help Canadians feel morally superior about their defenselessness, but it doesn't sound like anything any LEO I've ever met would write. If it was real, and I really am skeptical, the officer probably had a pretty good reason to feel he needed a weapon and didn't articulate that too well in the letter.
  • AtticusFinch
    AtticusFinch Posts: 1,263 Member
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.

    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Actually, know why I'd hate the gun laws in Canada? Bears. Big, hungry, mean *kitten* bears.

    Did you mean boomerangs? That poster was from Oz
  • AtticusFinch
    AtticusFinch Posts: 1,263 Member
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    Lawfully carrying a concealed weapon is similar to carrying a spare tire in the trunk of your car. You don't see too many people pulling out the spare tire and waving it around at anyone that they happen to come across. It only comes out when you really need it. So, there's really nothing to be afraid of from the person who is lawfully armed.

    It's not really the same thing is it? Most people are 'reasonable' human beings, but there are degrees of reasonableness, everyone has off days, and we all make bad decisions - some more frequently than others. How many people were bludgeoned to death last year with a spare tyre?

    Most Americans I've met have been polite and lovely people. Would I be happy to learn that some pack a concealed weapon? Absolutely not.
  • KarmaxKitty
    KarmaxKitty Posts: 901 Member
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    I'm American. I read the posts about the women in Canada running at night and got instantly jealous. Unless I'm with a group of friends, we NEVER go out at night. Maybe to check the mail.

    And I've just come to automatically assume that everyone I don't know is carrying some form of weapon. I live in the South...gun culture is religion somehow. I spent a lot of time in europe, so NONE of this makes sense to me, even so many years after returning to the States. Guns, baseball bats, hockey sticks, frisbees, people, water...there's so many causes of death already. =.=
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXzFp1lshBE
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    There is no doubt that the differing attitudes on guns mark a real cultural difference between Canada and the USA. But then, the Canadian constitution is about peace, order and good government, and not as exciting as the American Constitution, which is almost a religious document state-side (cultural difference #2).

    In the UK, the police don't even carry guns! The world is an interesting place.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I ran at nose hill park a few times last month. (I'm American).
    I loved it. And felt totally safe.

    This cop kinda scares me. :smile:
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Lawfully carrying a concealed weapon is similar to carrying a spare tire in the trunk of your car. You don't see too many people pulling out the spare tire and waving it around at anyone that they happen to come across. It only comes out when you really need it. So, there's really nothing to be afraid of from the person who is lawfully armed.

    It's not really the same thing is it? Most people are 'reasonable' human beings, but there are degrees of reasonableness, everyone has off days, and we all make bad decisions - some more frequently than others. How many people were bludgeoned to death last year with a spare tyre?

    Most Americans I've met have been polite and lovely people. Would I be happy to learn that some pack a concealed weapon? Absolutely not.

    In some areas it's necessary to conceal carry (or just carry period).... Just because you never know what might happen and police can only be so many places at once. Concealed carry licenses come with a fairly high level of training, so I am less concerned about those that have concealed carry licenses than I am about seemingly sane people that stockpile crazy amounts of ammo and automatics. Around here we are constantly hearing/reading stories about drug and human traffickers (and ICE raids on drug rings with major connections to Mexico and farther south)... it's the nature of where we live... in some cities we get gunfire from across the US border and it is almost literally a dog eat dog world. Where my parents live (and many of my friends) it takes the police over 15 minutes to get to my parents house... maybe less IF a State Trooper just HAPPENS to be nearby, but in the years that my family has lived out there I have only been stopped by a State Trooper once (and that was still a good 15 minutes or so from our house and have only seen them pass by on the major Rural Highway (known as a Farm to Market road in these parts) a handful of times (I can seriously count the number of times on one hand) and I'm sure the rest of my family hasn't seen them too many more times than I have... I would rather meet someone with a CHL, than someone that does not.

    But then hey, I live in Texas... and even "my florist has a gun". But that doesn't mean we ever want to use it for anything other than shooting tincans and paper.

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