I treated victims at the École Polytechnique massacre. I am also a gun enthusiast
Opinion: There are over two million firearms owners in Canada from all walks of life. Many are my colleagues in the health professions
Author of the article:Gregory J. Mosdossy, Special to National Post
I am an emergency physician working at both academic and community emergency departments in Ontario. I was recently asked to sign a petition in support of a National Day of Action organized by the Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns (CDPG) to ban “assault weapons” and handguns. This recently formed organization is not representative of a majority of physicians or health-care workers and I feel the need to respond with an alternative perspective.
In the early 1990s in Sudbury, Ont., I took care of an eight-year-old boy who was brought to the ER with a shotgun wound to his midsection. He had been playing with the teen next door, who had pointed his father’s improperly stored and loaded gun at the child and pulled the trigger. In spite of our best efforts, the young child did not survive. This case, and the boy’s mother’s resulting advocacy, were part of the stimulus for the 1995 Canadian Firearms Act that put into law our current method of storage, transport, categorization and licensure of firearms.
I was also present at the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989. At the time I was chief resident in the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at McGill. Fourteen promising, young, high-achieving women were killed and 13 others were injured by a deranged misogynist. I entered the premises with a paramedic crew and pronounced a number of victims dead on scene. I then helped to extricate and transport some to the Royal Victoria Hospital. I had a two-year-old daughter and a seven-month-old son at the time, and I slept on the floor of their room for six months afterward.
I have had two relatives commit suicide, one by handgun.
I have also owned rifles since I was 12 and have in the past decade become an avid hunter and competitive pistol, rifle and shotgun enthusiast. My wife and two of our three adult children attend competitions in Canada and the United States. I am also a qualified Range Officer with two pistol shooting disciplines (IPSC and ICORE) as well as with the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA).
I have owned rifles since I was 12 and have in the past decade become an avid hunter and competitive pistol, rifle and shotgun enthusiast
Given the above, I think I have something to offer on the unfolding debate. And it’s not something my colleagues in the CDPG want you to hear.
The term “assault weapon” is bandied about in the public domain with a less than clear understanding of its meaning. A military assault rifle is different from the various semi-automatic sport and hunting rifles in that it has fully automatic fire and high-capacity magazines that are banned/illegal and virtually unavailable in Canada (Canada has a five-round limit). With the exception of some individuals who owned now-banned weapons prior to our new laws being introduced in the 1990s, no one in Canada today can buy such a rifle. Calling for their banning isn’t just superfluous, it’s misleading. They’re effectively banned already.
No one in Canada today can buy such a rifle. Calling for their banning isn't just superfluous, it's misleading
Handguns, for their part, are a staple of the hunting and shooting sports/collectors in Canada. Firearms owners must undergo safety training and testing in two stages with references, a background check and licensure (a so-called RPAL: Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licence) if successful. The process can take several months or more. Once licensed, the RCMP runs a background check every 24 hours on an ongoing basis. The individual must join a range if they wish to shoot a handgun. Collectors must consent to an on-site inspection of their storage arrangements. Most ranges have separate mandatory safety courses. The firearms licence is required for all ammunition and firearms purchases and must be renewed every five years. Restricted firearms can only be transported to a range, gun store, gun show, out of province or the border with special permits.
Firearms laws in Canada are some of the most stringent and comprehensive in the world. Statistics show that we are a very safe country with low baseline crime and suicide rates that have been steadily dropping, with peaks and ebbs, over the past four decades. The recent statistics that some have used to counter those data are parsed from specific geographical areas and interval timelines with biased manipulation to suit the purposes of interest groups.
Firearms laws in Canada are some of the most stringent and comprehensive in the world
There are over two million firearms owners in Canada from all walks of life, many of them women and youth. Many are my colleagues in the health professions. These same colleagues are often reticent to speak up in support of the shooting sports for fear of institutional, public and political retribution. A few have spoken out in an attempt to correct a host of misconceptions. Media coverage is vastly skewed in favour of the dramatic and sensational, which drowns out voices of reason.
I understand that some trauma caregivers, particularly with CDPG, have reacted with understandable emotion to the violence they have witnessed on the job. I have seen more than my share. I have seen the horror and touched the horror. I have felt the abyss of sorrow at the senseless loss of young, productive life. But this movement to ban certain firearms is an emotional response that stems from a lack of information and a distorted view of firearms. When firearms are used for violent purposes, someone has broken the law. When firearms are used for suicidal intent, someone has not received the care they need and the support to distance themselves from the firearm. These are the issues that need to be addressed, not an ineffective and largely redundant blanket ban that targets innocent law-abiding individuals.
This … is an emotional response that stems from a lack of information
As an avid practitioner of the shooting sports, I am committed to preserving its legacy for coming generations. As a physician, I have made a lifetime commitment to saving lives. I have personally and professionally experienced the effects of the illegal and suicidal use of firearms. I support only reasonable and thoughtful approaches to curbing injury and death due to firearms. This petition and the call for a ban are neither.
— Gregory J. Mosdossy is an emergency physician in the Emergency Department of the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario. Please share this.
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