[…] National Telegraph […]
Written By Wyatt Claypool, Posted on April 11, 2020
The issue of firearms rights and regulations is fast becoming one of the crucial topics in the Conservative leadership race.
The National Firearms Association (NFA) has been interviewing CPC leadership candidates to get some clarity on where they stand on firearms issues and policies.
NFA President Sheldon Clare explained to The National Telegraph, “The NFA has been heavily engaged in lobbying efforts for decades. We invested heavily in the federal election, as reported to Elections Canada. Our recent survey of CPC leadership candidates has brought firearms rights issues to the forefront.”
On March 26th, the NFA released surveys they had conducted with the verified candidates asking them questions about their stance on various firearms issues, including the removal of current firearm regulations. This effort has injected awareness of firearms issues into the Conservative leadership race; firearms regulation is sometimes viewed as a background issue in Canadian politics.
On top of surveying the candidates on what they believe concerning firearms, the NFA also invited each candidate onto their podcast, NFA Talk, where candidates were able to clarify their answers to the survey.
Clare explained that this survey process is being done in part to create awareness around firearms issues that often fly under the radar.
“Our effort is fully engaged in educating politicians and the electorate about the failed Liberal gun control of licensing classification, and registration of firearms.”
So far, Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan have been interviewed on the show by NFA President Sheldon Clare, Ontario Director Jordan Vandenhoff, and Executive Director Charles Zach.
In Sloan’s interview, he was better able to illustrate his liberty affirming view of firearms ownership, in his own background with firearms and casual trap shooting.
Sloan, when asked his opinion on the entrenchment of property rights in Canada being applied to firearms, said he supports extending it to firearms; however, “… a variety of things have been read into the charter that are not actually there, yet property rights still languish to this day.” This situation is the root of many firearms issues.
On the use of firearms for self-defence, Sloan said, “To me, this is one of the most important issues with firearms ownership, I think an individual’s right to defend themselves ought to be sacrosanct – if there is anything that can take away enjoyment in life, it is the feeling of being unsafe….it’s important to make sure we have the means to protect and defend ourselves.”
Lesyln Lewis, on the other hand, as a Toronto based lawyer, demonstrated her understanding of the issues of firearm owners, despite coming from an area of Canada where gun culture is somewhat subdued.
Lewis admitted, “I am still learning the intricacies of all the different classifications, and it is quite confusing, to be honest, and it will probably take me time to understand it, but I would think that review of the classification system would be warranted.”
Lewis said, regarding the repeal of various firearms laws like Bill C-71 and Bill C-68 (1995), among others, that the purpose of the law “…is not to protect people against criminals because criminals don’t follow the law, it is really to (control) law-abiding citizens…When we are dealing with an individual’s rights to property, …limitation is put on that.”
The NFA will be continuing these talks with Conservative leadership candidates as well as elected officials to raise the awareness of Canada’s politics to the issues of gun owners.
Sheldon summed up the NFA’s mission, saying, “The Firearms Act fiasco needs full review and real change, and we want leaders who will lead and not accept the status quo, or merely offer platitudes and minor tinkering with bad laws.”
The NFA has pushed the issues of firearms ownership and regulation into the forefront of the leadership race, and if successful, may make firearms an federal issue in the next election.
Wyatt is a student at Mount Royal University, where he is the president of its Campus Conservative club. In his writing, he focuses on covering provincial and federal politics, firearms regulation, and the energy sector. Wyatt has also previously written for The Post Millennial.
[…] National Telegraph […]
A well written report. Thanks for your effort. It raises awareness.
[…] National Telegraph […]
November 11, 2024
September 27, 2024
Can it really be called a podcast without an RSS feed?
Sloan and Lewis, while making the right noises, are not likely to win the leadership race.
I don’t hear O’Toole calling for a complete overhaul of the Firearms Act, and MacKay refuses to answer the NFA survey at all.
MacKay seems most likely to win, but he is the very definition of a Red Tory.
In short, the CPC continues it’s leftward drift, and will not be getting my vote. Why vote for a party that is indistinguishable from the hated LPC?
Had the CPC fulfilled Harper’s promise to re-write the Firearms Act, I’d still be a member, still be donating, still voting for them.
My support goes to the PPC these days… at least until the seemingly inevitable breakup of Canada.
Some sort of Wexit is more and more appealing every day.
If you want to waste your vote, then go with the PPC who did not even garner one seat last time out to the polls. Do not get me wrong, that party appeals to me, but after wasting time, energy and money with Reform over 20 years ago I am done with supporting third parties that will never form a majority government. By the way, I went so far as to run as a candidate. The C68 issue was the main driver for me, and if I had been elected I would have been loudmouth on the Hill who could not have been silenced even by my own party on the gun control issue. It was not to be……………
At this point, I am working on forming an anyone but MacKay motion. He would do well to know that I was originally supporting him because I do not feel that a candidate with any hint of social conservatism is electable. However he blew it big time with his stand on the firearm issue. As I have said before, based on decades of observation, that the firearm issue goes hand in had along with social conservatism. This is because the Liberals/lefties have claimed gun control as a social issue.
For anyone who thinks that western separation is going to occur you are dreaming. First off you need to elect different provincial governments that what you have now. Secondly, you need to cleanse the Liberals and NDP voters from your cities. They exist, and all you have to do is look at past federal elections and that mind blowing NDP win in Alberta. They are just voting CPC now because even their Liberal Party has cut them loose as expendable, and they are upset when it has affected them financially with job losses. The jerk Liberal MP I ran against in this riding was right about one thing – people only care when it affects them in the wallet. He said that with regard to gun control, and should have added that gun bans without compensation or minimal compensation garner no interest from the general public.
So, I will be supporting Lewis this time around. If MacKay or O’Toole are elected leader then the party can forget about me come next election. My CPC MP, who is a personal friend whom I have known since he was a small child, will not be happy. I have been a loyal worker and donor. Last election I gave the local riding and national the maximum amount.
My other plan to escape this Liberal cesspool is to head south where I should have gone decades ago as a young business degree graduate. I am an old geezer now with too many ties (financial and otherwise) to this leftist social experiment and economic backwater known as Kanada.
One thing is for certain, I am not turning any of my guns into a corrupt Liberal federal government.