Glad to be home from the U.S. — and safe

Do you feel personally safe? If you felt threatened would you call the police and expect them to be helpful? Or would you feel you had to take things in your own hands to protect your family?

Recently my wife Ellen and I took a family driving trip through Chicago Illinois, Missouri, Texas. Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Iowa. Never saw a gun the whole time. Never worried about it either. Yet everywhere we went the newspapers, television, or people were talking about guns and violence.

On St. Patrick’s Day we were invited by my brother in law to go to a party. It was an evening with wonderful food, decorations in a fabulous home in the hills near Scottsdale Arizona. Most of the people present were from the Chicago and Wisconsin area but have winter homes in Arizona. The men sat at one table and the ladies at the other. Still do not know what the conversation at the ladies table entailed but at the men’s table it landed on the issue of guns and violence particularly in the schools. There was a full spectrum of beliefs expressed by these men who were friends for over two decades and said it was special to be able to talk openly about their views. The group had a full spectrum of opinion. From the pro gun advocates to those wishing to regulate more effectively the use of high powered military weapons. No one wanted to take away the Second Amendment of the American Constitution that protects the right to bear arms.

As they discussed the Parkdale, Fla. shooting where 17 were killed they asked me when was the last school shooting in Canada. I said it was most probably in Montreal at Dawson College a decade ago and that we had just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the horrible shooting at Ecole Polytechnique. They were credulous that it was so long ago since they have a shooting every week

One of the gun advocates looking at his smart phone said hey while we have more than 300 million guns in the U.S. it says here that per capita Canada has more guns then the U.S. Someone asked how many homicides were committed by guns in the U.S. Our table researcher said that in 2016 over 11,000 in the U.S. and then he said in Canada it was 185. Actually in 2013 in the U.S. homicide deaths by guns was 11, 208, Firearm injuries 73,505, suicides by guns 21,175 accidental deaths by guns 505, undetermined deaths 281. In summary of the over 2 million deaths 1.3 per cent were related to fire arms.

In America you are 70 per cent more likely to die at the end of a gun then a Canadian is to die from a car accident. It is three times more likely in the U.S. to die from gun violence. The suicide rate by guns is twice as high as Canada. All this came out in the discussion.

So I asked the men “Do you feel you have a safe society?” I asked this because I feel we do in Canada but keep hearing that the USA has to secure its borders and must protect itself against others. One gun advocate stated that he and others fear for their safety and they just don’t trust the government. In fact after most mass gun violence the sale of guns goes up in the U.S. because people fear more violence against them personally and also fear the government will take away their rights to own guns..

Others at the table said that there are more than 15 million AK15 type weapons in the U.S. and the police now should have these weapons in order to be able to cope with the more armed criminals. Yes the answer was more weapons in the hands of teachers and police. Others expressed despair at the idea that living in the U.S. has come to such a state but did not feel that there was the political will to do anything about it.

They turned to me and asked why were there so many fewer casualties in Canada. Now I must admit that I am just not an expert in this area but I said.

In Canada I feel safe and believe the police will act to protect me and my family. I would not hesitate to call for help. I do not feel that I need to have weapons. In fact I would feel less safe if they were in my house. Now I am a white male who lives in an affluent neighborhood. I recognize that not all Canadians feel safe .

Last week police were called to a domestic scene in the USA and they shot at an unarmed man in his backyard 20 times. He simply had a cell phone in his hand and was distraught. It reminded me of the shooting of the man on the bus in Toronto where an officer unloaded his weapon while other officers were present. That officer was charged and found guilty of excessive force by the courts. In Canada we expect that police will attempt to de-escalate situations and use all means before resorting to lethal action. In the U.S. it appears that de-escalation is not the preferred option. So many police have shot first then investigated. And despite clear excessive use of lethal weapons have been not found guilty.

When I have had the opportunity to visit South Africa I see a society that has its citizens hiding behind steel gates and walls. That is in fear of violence breaking out. Citizens are not quite sure what is worse the neighborhood gangs or those armed soldiers who might come to intervene. They have safe bunkers built into their homes. Is the U.S. headed this way? The political rhetoric certainly is extreme. The arming of America is occurring at the individual level but also at the national level. They just passed a Federal Budget that had $700 billion more for the military so that they could increase spending significantly on more nuclear weapons. Yes they certainly need them. They only have a nuclear stockpile equivalent to the rest of the world. Oh I can hear it now. But the Russians have this new cruise missile that can carry a nuclear weapon. Please do we really think we are going to be safer with the U.S. having more nuclear weapons in the hands of their leadership.

I love my family and friends in the U.S., but I am sure glad to be home and safe.