To the Editor;
At the beginning of this Coronavirus thing, sales of firearms “spiked” in this country.
One of the reasons given is it would give hunters the tools to harvest their own meat. Well, fair enough there.
But this just involves a very small percentage of Canada’s citizens. If we all went hunting, the “game” would disappear overnight.
One gets the impression that many of these fun “fanatics” (I can’t call them gun owners because I am one myself — a gun owner, that is) have watched too many zombie apocalypse movies. They really believe that those who contact COVID-19 will turn into a drooling monster out to eat someone’s brains, hence the need for assault rifles, etc.
Actually the virus has the opposite effect especially on us older people. It’s very hard to go off and ravage the countryside when you are literally choking to death!
Or is it as Charles Adler said in a conversation with an Albertan gun lover, I guess you need a half-dozen assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition to shoot a duck?!
Oh! We want to target practice. Well, what’s wrong with the good old .22? This was the weapon that a number of us used — the .22 — for target practice to keep our shooting skills up on the offseason!
Also, the .22 was good for “varmint” hunting, unless of course, one needs an AK-47 or an M15 to blow a gopher out of its hole. Better take along a flamethrower or two just to make sure.
Some of these gun owners have obviously slipped into that survivalist mode. This means that if a dire emergency arises you don “camo,” arm yourself to the teeth, hunker in a bunker and blow anyone who approaches you to bits.
Shoot first and ask questions, or just don’t ask any questions, one might say!
It has been pointed out that in an emergency, cooperation is the key to survival and we Canadians can pat ourselves on the back in this respect during this virus epidemic. Though not the “top,” we’ve done a pretty good job.
For an example of how not to do it, just look south of the border at all those gun-toting “freemen.”
Of course, it’s always possible that a herd of zombie brain-eaters will come charging down the hill?!
We’ll have to deal with that when it comes!
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.