If you are a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I have little tolerance for misinformation and outright falsehoods seen in either media reports or uttered by the government. Further, I become even more frustrated when something untrue is said of the Liberal party and the party does not respond.So, it was nice to see a letter to the editor penned by Ignatieff and directed at Margaret Wente, who, imo, wrote the most inappropriate screed on the gun registry and more specifically on the Montreal Massacre.
Buried in her column was this:
The gun registry has been written off as useless – by the Liberals.
As a columnist, she is entitled to her opinion, but as the saying goes she is not entitled to her own facts.
Apparently, the Liberal party is no longer going to sit back and allow such distortions to just sit out there. Perhaps the addition of Donolo has prompted this shift and if that is the case, then I say well done.
Here's what Ignatieff had to say:
Gun registry not ‘useless’
Margaret Wente’s claim that the Liberal Party has “written off” the gun registry “as useless” (Montreal Massacre Death Cult - Dec. 8) is incorrect. Liberals have always been strong supporters of effective gun control and we believe in the importance maintaining a registry that includes all guns. It is a vital part of protecting public and police officer safety, used by police 9,000 times a day and supported by Canada’s Chiefs of Police.
As the Day of Remembrance for the tragedy at l’École Polytechnique reminds us, gun control is also essential to preventing violence against women. Far from Canada’s gun registry being useless, there has been a decline in all types of gun deaths since the registry was brought into force, and it’s been used to refuse or revoke over 16,000 gun licences. For all of this, the registry costs less in a year than the Conservative government has spent on partisan advertising in the past few months alone.
Working alongside police and women’s groups, the Liberal Party is fully committed to maintaining the gun registry and ensuring Canada has smart, effective gun control.
Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
17 comments:
Wente is an American who married a Canadian - maybe she's ammuned to guns and violence.
I don't read her anymore - I think she's a little twisted.
Can't say I read her often. I generally just skim her stuff, but when I saw this the other day, I saw red.
Just glad to see the Lib's reacting to the lies.
"Working alongside police and women’s groups, the Liberal Party is fully committed to maintaining the gun registry and ensuring Canada has smart, effective gun control."
I don't understand. Why, then, did Ignatieff allow a free vote on doing away with the Registry recently? The way it's going it looks like it will be disbanded. There were more Yeas than Nays. Can anyone explain?
I think the hope is that they can do something at committee.
Good questions penlan... The schizophrenic actions and utterances by the Liberals is a reasons why I have little faith in them.
I think the hope is that they can do something at committee.
Projecting or to you have facts on this?
c_wtf, neither actually. Going by memory. I recall something like that being said at the time.
Here you go
Thanks for the link KNB. I truly hope they can "fix" this so that the bill doesn't pass in the form it's now in.
The fact that you are a Liberal suggests you have no problem with falsehoods and misinformation.
Amendments are not all that is needed here. A public relations campaign that shows the benefits of the registry is vital if it is to survive. So far the CPC and the NRA have controlled the message.
Anon @ 9:58 a.m.
The fact that you are a Conservative suggests that you have no problem with falsehoods & misinformation & the continual lying from Harper, Mackay, & the rest of the Con caucus.
Ignatieff let it caucus vote as they please.
That is not the sign of a leader who
"always been strong supporters of effective gun control and we believe in the importance maintaining a registry that includes all guns"
Actions speak louder then words Mr. Ignatieff
No prob penlan.
Gayle, I would agree with you and hope that a strategy is being developed. It's a steep hill, but not insurmountable imo, especially if we work with police, etc.
There are only 8 Liberals who have supported the 2nd reading of the bill. That's about 10% of caucus and they were voting as their constiutuents would want. Has there ever been a whipped vote on a private member's bill?
Regardless, it would have passed anyway. Harper had enough support from Layton's team with a third of the NDP caucus voting in favour of dismantling the gun registry.
The 8 Liberals who voted for it do not sit on the committee. Don't know about the Dippers, but I think a majority of the committee are gun control/gun registry/pro-police supporters.
Your quite right Ted.
I just checked the committee list and as it stands, the NDP member is Comartin who is pro-registry and all Lib members are pro-registry.
RuralSandi said...
Wente is an American who married a Canadian - maybe she's ammuned to guns and violence.
Okay, I'll bite: 'ammuned'?
Wow...where to begin?
How about "used by police 9,000 times a day"? A blatant distortion of the truth, since it is tied into CPIC and therefore accessed every time someone is pulled over for a traffic violation or has their name run through a routine check.
The "Chiefs of Police" are all political appointees who will say whatever their bosses tell them to say, so no help there either.
"Refuse or revoke" 16,000 licenses? How many were actually revoked (because anyone refused could have one within hours anyway in any major Canadian city)?
Oh, and this little gem:
"...there has been a decline in all types of gun deaths since the registry was brought into force."
This is my favorite, since gun deaths had been already been declining for a decade BEFORE this useless political exercise came into effect. In Canada AND the United States!
You guys are hilarious. But hey, don't let little things like facts get in your way...
Post a Comment