Op-Ed: Liberals Target Handgun Imports to Distract from Rising Crime

 

August 10, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Barrhead, AB: The Liberals are at it again. Last week they announced a ban on handgun imports, effective Aug. 19. This is a massive distraction tactic by Justin Trudeau in response to his failure on issues of justice and crime.

The oft-ignored reality of violence and crime is it stems from a much more serious issue, specifically the Liberals tacit support for the Defund the Police movement. We know crime is on the rise while government institutions like the justice system and police seem to be incapable of curbing rural crime and urban violence. The Liberals’ failure to confront violent crime and condemn it with the gravity it demands only emboldens criminals as well as the Defund the Police movement.

First, the Liberals must recognize it as an issue of morality. Securing justice relies on a judgement of morality. We want our justice system to judge things as right and wrong. The Liberals love to moralize about the environment, immigration, and healthcare. What the Liberals seem entirely incapable of is calling out crime, whether theft or violence, as immoral or wrong. They are happy to talk about the wrongness of being a licensed firearms owner. However, rarely do you hear Liberals using language about the morality of the crimes, especially when it comes to rural crimes. Instead they talk on and on about circumstances and root causes while doing nothing about it.

Secondly, the Liberals tacit support for the Defund the Police movement has the psychological impact of signaling to both criminals and neighborhoods that the actions of the police are the ones that ought to be scrutinized. As a result, criminals operate without fear of consequence and people don’t report crimes because they believe the police are unable to do anything. The police have a tough job and need political and public support to do it. They need to be recognized as the heroes they are. It is the criminals that need to be the ones under scrutiny and their crimes deterred.

As violent crime continues to rise under the Liberals, it has come at the expense of everyday Canadians who are being victimized in their own communities. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, Canada’s homicide rate has risen significantly under this Government, peaking in 2021 with numbers not seen since 2005.

Conservatives stand ready to restore the public’s trust in institutions. There are few things less important than the federal government’s responsibility to ensure Canadians can live in peace and security in their own neighbourhoods.  We will call out evil when we see it and give Canadians their neighbourhoods and communities back.

Arnold Viersen, MP

Peace River – Westlock