Reply #66: no, you don't

[iverglas]

I was sorry to read about the 13 year old and his death. A tragic incident. I now have a better understanding of your views on firearms.

My views on social/political issues are not determined by my personal experiences. I'm an educated, intelligent adult, and my views are a product of a wide range of factors and my examination of all of them. If an incident such as that -- the death of a child I had never met, several years before I heard about it -- were determinative of a person's views on firearms, then everyone in the world would share my views. Or maybe it's just me who can't separate personal experience from public policy.

The specific issue in that incident was the complete failure of the child's father to secure the family hunting weapons. Yes, I do strongly advocate legislation imposing strict requirements for safe/secure storage. I would no matter what.

Take a couple of hours some time and travel on down to the range merely to watch and meet people.

No, really, the people don't interest me. Not a team sport! If it were, I wouldn't be interested. I wouldn't expect to have any negative impressions of the range (particularly since environmental health requirements here in Canada are extremely stringent), or the people, who would likely be mainly white-collar workers who vote for the Liberal Party, given my urban environment and the nature of the facility. Now, if I were in Alberta, things would be different.

And no, really no chance I would buy a firearm. Ranges here have everything you need, for hire, and I don't know that they have facilities for storing members' firearms, so that would just be a nuisance. I oppoes the present policy that allows sports shooters to store handguns on their own premises, so I wouldn't be doing it!