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Trudeau claims Canadians can’t use guns for self-defense: ‘That’s not a right that you have’

June 11, 2022 | | Print Article

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing growing backlash for claiming in contradiction of the facts that Canadians do not have the right to use a gun for self-defense.

He made the claim during an appearance Wednesday on the far-left “Pod Save The World” podcast as he outlined the differences between American and Canadian gun culture.

“We have a culture where the difference is guns can be used for hunting or for sport shooting in Canada. And there are lots of gun owners, and they’re mostly law-respecting and law-abiding. But you can’t use a gun for self-protection in Canada. That’s not a right that you have in the [Canadian] Constitution or anywhere else. If you try and buy a gun [and] you say it’s for self-protection, no, you don’t get that,” he said.

“You get it for hunting. You can get it for sport shooting. Take it to the range. No problem, as long as you go through our rigorous background checks. But there’s a difference around the culture. And one of the things that we’re seeing with the debate in the states is you get more and more of the American style, you know, right to carry, self-defense arguments filtering up through the more right-wing communications channels,” he continued.

Apparently, the desire to protect oneself from potential intruders, rapists, murderers, etc., is a “right-wing” phenomenon.

Listen from the 9:15 mark below:

The self-defense claim prompted backlash from Canadians who, unlike the prime minister, are actually familiar with the nation’s laws.

Look:

What is illegal is for Canadians to buy and carry a weapon for the purpose of self-defense.

“In Canada it’s illegal to carry a weapon for the purpose of self-defense. And according to the Criminal Code, a weapon can be anything designed, used or intended to cause death or injury or even just to threaten or intimidate another person. Since that’s pretty much anything, the legality of what’s allowed in your pockets hinges on intent,” according to The Coast, a newspaper based out of Halifax.

“If you’re carrying a blade to open a can of apple juice at a picnic, then you’re fine. If you’re carrying a blade to open a can of whoop-ass on a potential assailant, then you’re in trouble. Same deal for pepper spray, which you can carry to protect yourself from rabid canines but not from overzealous exes. Likewise for tasers, stun guns, batons and probably ballpoint pens.”

But this, it appears, doesn’t mean you can’t spontaneously use the gun you are carrying for hunting to kill someone who suddenly attacks you.

“You have the right to defend yourself but you can’t be carrying pepper spray or knives or guns for that purpose. If your intent to carry these weapons is to either defend yourself or to harm someone, you could be charged with carrying a concealed weapon,” Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Pierre Bourdages explained to The Coast.

It’s a bizarre requirement, for sure, but it’s still not the same thing as Trudeau had claimed. But the fact that he views things differently does seem to speak to the type of man he’s demonstrated himself to be.

The podcast was recorded nine days after the embattled Canadian prime minister proposed a ban on the sale, transfer, and importation of all handguns nationwide.

Continuing his podcast remarks, Trudeau then celebrated his past gun control actions and vowed that his latest proposal will also get “passed.”

“Since we got elected seven years ago, we’ve been steadily working on strengthening gun control. … Two years ago, we banned all military style assault weapons. … We keep adding to that list of banned assault weapons. And just a few weeks ago, and we’ve been preparing this legislation for months, we moved forward on a total freeze on handguns,” he said.

“So when this legislation passes, and it will pass … we will we have the votes, we will eventually get it passed, hopefully sooner rather than later. And then it will be illegal to buy, sell, transfer, import handguns anywhere in the country. We’re basically freezing the market, and that will make a big difference.”

Vivek Saxena
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