Paris Attacks Show How Gun Laws Get People Killed

13 Nov 2015

2 min read

Tonight’s attacks that resulted in more than 120 deaths around Paris show how restrictive gun laws get people killed.

France has laws against murder. And yet, a group of killers broke those laws and went on a rampage.

Tougher laws against murder won’t stop murder.

Likewise for guns.

France has some of the most restrictive firearm laws in Europe. You aren’t allowed to buy, transport or shoot a gun without a license and registration or authorization. You aren’t allowed to own more than 10 cartridge magazines per firearm. You aren’t allowed to own more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm. You must carry the payment receipt for each firearm you are transporting.

You aren’t allowed to run around the street with a gun and shoot people. You aren’t allowed to storm a concert hall and massacre the audience.

And yet, that’s what happened in Paris tonight.

Murderers don’t obey the law. Terrorists don’t obey the law. Neither do rapists, thieves, drug dealers or home invaders.

No matter how many authorizations, background checks, controls, licences, limits, permissions, permits, registrations, regulations and restrictions we put into our laws, criminals just don’t care.

Restrictive gun laws get people killed because people falsely believe the laws make them safe.

They don’t.

Actually, it’s worse than that.

The very people who might protect us — private citizens who spend hundreds or thousands of hours developing their judgment, their skill and their knowledge about firearms, shooting and the law — do obey the law. And in Canada, as in many countries, laws and policies prevent civilians from being armed. Our guns must be locked in a safe. Self-defence isn’t a legitimate reason to buy guns.

Besides creating a false sense of safety, restrictive gun laws fail to disarm the bad guys, but they do disarm the good guys.

As tonight’s massacres across Paris reminded the world, restrictive gun laws get lots of innocent people killed.

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