The whole Canadian Lego Glock snafu somehow zipped past me without really piquing my interest until I read the mention of it over at Blunt Object's blog. That was the first time I read that the whole fracas, SWAT team and all, was caused because some invertebrate in a nearby office was Gladys Kravitzing through the window and saw that our future SWAT team tackling dummy had in his hands what looked like a pistol.
Not "...had what looked like a pistol and was pointing it at people."
Not "...had what looked like a pistol and was pulling on a ski mask."
Not "...had what looked like a pistol, and a dozen sticks of dynamite taped to his L.L. Bean hiker's vest and was hollering "Allahu akhbar!"."
Nope, he just had a pistol in his hands.
Apparently the mere sight of a gun, not even being used in any kind of hostile manner, is enough to provoke panic sweat and jittery 911 calls in today's Toronto. One can imagine that when the cops showed up with their heaters, the caller completely lost continence.
One has to wonder how such a toothless creature musters up the towering courage it must require to emerge from under the covers in the morning and scurry to the bathroom without having an OHIP-paid psychiatrist waiting in the john to help talk him through the trauma.
Toronto, remember. Lots of people only know of guns what they see in the news, and that is gang A shooting up gang B because it is their turn in the rota that night.
ReplyDeleteJim
Don't discount the possibility (probability?) that the caller was, in fact, NOT frightened at all, but rather was thrilled at the opportunity to stick it to the Right.
ReplyDeleteYup, yet another score for the media's demonization of guns and the people who have them.
ReplyDeleteSome Russian guy named Pavlov might have some intererst in this if he weren't dead. Can you say "Conditioned Response"?
I did the English thing we talked about, and got 2/3 hits. Will blog it this week.
ReplyDeleteAnd the clueless comment of the week goes to the thug's mother: "Martinez's mother said, 'I want justice... That was my beloved son. I want to know why the cop didn't shoot him in the leg or something.' "
ReplyDeleteBecause it's not his job, perhaps? His job is to stop the threat as quickly as possible, and your sainted offspring just took four rounds and was STILL fighting.
One can imagine that when the cops showed up with their heaters, the caller completely lost continence.
ReplyDeleteOf course not! The cops are authorized, qualified, and highly trained professionals!
From the article: Meanwhile, the sheepish neighbour appeared in the window holding up a message on Thursday: "Sorry," he wrote. "It looked real."
ReplyDeleteI'd either offer to show him how a real one works with a trip to the range, or grin and reply, "I know ... isn't it great?" just to see if he wets his pants. Maybe tack on a "BTW, nice underwear last night", just to drive home a point about peeping toms.
Well, the Mayor of our fine city is a bigot and is doing all he can to shut down any ranges in the city and our police chief is targeting owners who have let their PAL expire http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/2009/09/Security_violated_by_CFC.html
ReplyDeleteThe general attitude here is that if you own any guns you are a criminal or one step away from going on a shooting spree and can't be trusted.
This story shows why I close my blinds when I clean my guns.
More people who believe that the ability to do harm equates to the intent to do so. I hate that mindset.
ReplyDeleteCanadians+ Bed-wetting+ Fake guns that look scary real= Pure comedy. Seriously, is anyone surprised by this?
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a diaper because I have to, but because they are just so much more convenient.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with what the caller did or the laws regarding guns in Kanada, however, if the gun WAS real, mere possession of it in the man's office would have been a crime and therefore the caller would have been justified in calling the cops.
ReplyDeleteNo pointing, ski mask or dynamite required to commit a crime in the Peoples Republik.
If you are not home cleaning the gun or at the range shooting the gun or in your car transporting the gun, in a locked steel case, to or from the range, then your gun had better be in it's POLICE approved safe in your house, or you ARE committing a crime in Moscow on the Great Lakes.
Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteIf you liked that, you'll love this paintball markers junk-on-a-bunk display from the other side of the country.
I'm still amazed the cops even responded to a call like that. I guess Cali actually does have further to fall.
ReplyDeleteI like to clean my guns in the backyard on a sunny day. Several neighbors and a whole park can see me do that.
Johnny Law has not come a calling.
Timmeehh _does_ have a reasonable point. Handguns are "restricted weapons" in Canada, meaning that in addition to getting special permission to obtain them, you _also_ need to get special permission to transport them--a separate permit for each _route_ you plan to take. The permit to take your handgun from home to Bruce's House of Maple Syrup and Guns doesn't allow you to take it from home to Nigel's Hockey Rink and Shooting Range.
ReplyDeleteSo even if the Toronto police _would_ issue a license to buy a handgun, and even if they'd _then_ issue a permit to transport it from a home to an office (which I doubt), it'd still be unbelievably rare for anybody to go to all that trouble. A gun in an office in (most of) the US is a non-issue. A gun in an office in Canada _could_ reasonably be interpreted as a signal that something bad's about to go down.
Antique Mall in NW Ohio has some decrepit and non-functional muzzleloaders or pre-18 junkers hanging out here'n there in dealer booths. Includes a percussion shotgun with NO locks and a solid bar of rust with wood stock fragments attached.
ReplyDeleteSome anonymous pants-wetter calls a complaint in to the Mall and says they found the guns to be frightening and felt threatened by their presence, when shopping there.
Prohibition on open display, and 'locked in a glass case' mandate handed down to the offending terrorist-dealers.
Some gun folks pointed out that NONE of the proscribed articles could be loaded or fired, including the klunker antique ca'tridge guns with no firing pins.
"Well, that doesn't matter. To be safe, the guns have to be locked in cases."
Right..."with a whimper, not a bang."
J. t R
Re: Matt G
ReplyDeleteMe too, and I have my own way of dealing with any I meet... I mention I can kill a man with my bare hands in *tilts head, unfocuses eyes and starts counting aloud* ways. Sometimes I exaggerate slightly by including ways I know of, but don't know the exact how(like the classic neck breaker, however I know other ways of breaking necks), but I run out of fingers to count on even without the exaggeration.
If you want to make them think, make them consider how many ways they know, then ask if they're dangerous and should be locked away.