Gun group backtracks on protest at massacre site
MONTREAL • Amid swift and widespread outrage, a pro-gun lobby group backtracked Tuesday on a plan to hold a rally at a memorial site for the 14 women who were killed at École Polytechnique in 1989.
A spokesperson for the group said on Facebook the event will be held elsewhere Saturday.
The earlier announcement by Tous contre un registre Québécois des armes à feu (All Against a Quebec Gun Registry) that it would hold a rally at Place du 6 decembre was roundly blasted by politicians of all stripes, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.
Saturday’s protest will be held four days before the 28th anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.
Earlier on Tuesday, Guy Morin, vice-president of the pro-gun group, defended the event as a way of reaching out to groups like PolySe Souvient, an organization comprised of survivors of the Polytechnique massacre and members of victims’ families.
That group and its members have been targeted by gun lobby members online, but Morin said he wants dialogue.
“We want to show that we’re open — we want to extend a hand to groups like Poly Se Souvient and those who want stricter gun control laws — and find true solutions,” he said.
“For 28 years, people in favour of gun control have taken this event to push their agenda, which in the end only serves to reduce the number of guns in the hands of honest people.”
Trudeau took to Twitter to slam the original plan.
“A needless and cruel provocation,” he said. “No matter the debate, no matter the argument, the families of Polytechnique victims should come first. May we always honour their memory.”
Plante also tweeted her disapproval.
“The pro-gun demonstration at the commemorative square of the Polytechnique massacre shows a lack of judgment, but also an unacceptable lack of respect for the victims of this tragedy and all women who are victims of violence,” she said.
Quebec’s registry is being closely watched by groups outside the province who fear it could be duplicated in their jurisdictions.