No Open Carry In Calagary :(
 

A letter to the local paper from a visiting Michigan cop:

I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.

Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be allowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: "Been to the Stampede yet?"

We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"

I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know - it's because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.



Much hilarity on Twitter ensued....

Better stay out of Canada Walt, it's dangerous, scary place.

As a resident of Edmonton which is a three hour drive north of Calgary, I feel bad you that to had to experience a negative encounter such as this. Being a policeman you likely projected a superior attitude which the two dudes likely could not handle. It was great that nothing came of it. Conversely if you were in the US where there are more guns and if you had a concealed gun in a similar situation and they had a gun/guns would the outcome be the same?

Fortunately nothing came of it. Normally the violence in our cities involves, knives, fist fights etc but guns can still be involved. The last supposed violence I "experienced" was back in 1984 and some drunk idiot was hanging out of a half ton truck and wanted a fight. He got out of the truck and followed me.While he was falling over cars at a red lite, I went into Macdonalds and he decided I was not worth pursuing.

I feel safer because tourists aren,t allowed to carry guns here. I would feel more threatened by Mr.Wawra as he took the agressive stance in the meeting described above.

ummm......you come up to my wife and i aggressively and you are going to meet your maker......and i doubt he's canadien......

I have to take Mr. Warwa's side in this. A firm attitude like that they were not expecting. It took them off guard and they backed off. Problem solved.

Hey They were walking in a park in broad daylight in a city famous for it,s stampede. like asking them if they have been to Disney World yet. I wasn,t there but it hardly seems agressive to me . Still glad tourists aren,t armed.

so what is this stampede? and why would it be so important for them to ask about it aggressively to someone they didn't know?
and comparing it to disneyworld isn't probably the best analogy lol

The calgary stampede is a big rodeo type event. It lasts about a week I think. It has been a tourist attraction in Calgary for decades held every year if not like Disney world then maybe like a superbowl . Lots of tourists were in town and asking someone if they have been to the stampede would be a normal greeting in Calgary during the stampede.

That is the way life is. Mr. Warwa is with his wife. Unless she has a black belt, then he is outnumbered. Perhaps our culture is different from the US but Mr. Warwa is taking a defensive approach. I don't let strangers get within my comfort zone. Each person chooses to behave in a certain situation. He did the right thing because he had no idea what the intention of the two youths were.

Good ole boy Walt - a suspicious/over-zealous??? AMERICAN cop - overreacts to a couple of Calgary yahoos trying to be sociable during Calgary's big party & becomes the laughing stock of Canada. I understand he is planning to write another letter explaining himself. Don't bother. We got it.

BTW . . . bring your gun across the border & you can now get a 3 year paid vacation. :D

Ian

If I was a policeman, I think that it would be a case of conditioned response. I think that it is a tough job. It is a mindset. We have a friend who is a policeman. Never see him smile yet. He is a married to a policewoman. They don't even lock their doors. With two glocks in the house, I guess there is no need to.
Mr. Warwa does not need to reply. He has lots of support. I rate the police up there with the medical profession. Thank you for keeping your people safe.

And if he had a gun would he have brandished it to intimidate them? Just standing his ground you know. Here a police officer has to file a report every time he draws his gun whether used or not
Mr Warwa is not here as a police officer but as a foreign tourist. Does Florida or any other state allow visiting foreigners to carry concealed weapons? Perhaps a security detail for a visiting dignitary but an ordinary tourist I doubt it. Some states don,t even recognise the validity of a carry permit from another state let alone another country

Same here. There are just enough wacko's in this world that gun or not, they very well might try to do something silly. England banned pistols, so now the criminals carry guns... guess they forgot that they are banned. As well now they have banned having a knife in your pocked. I grew up with a pocket knife and will prolly die with one in my pocket. Whats next over there? Cricket bats or kitchen knives? You CANNOT legislate safety!

Law abiding citizens should have the ability to protect themself and as the officer mentioned above, the police cannot be everywhere all the time.

"When seconds count, the police are minutes away"... you guys who have let the Govt take your weapons away from you are betting your life on this.

At least America still has the 2nd admendment... for now.

Most Canadians don,t want guns here. I also repeat we don,t want armed tourists either. It,s not a question of the gov,t taking them away.

I think Mr. Wawra should behave himself and watch his attitude, especially when in a foreign country.

He should have replied "Stampede, yeah, having some beers first then I'm part of it."

Just like the Spartans, Canadians trained their children to be tough.
From the time of birth, they are fed spaghetti made of razor blades and barbed wire.
Elementary school fight involving claymores and handheld 105mm howitzers were actually quite common, but because they are so tough it usually ends in little more than paper cuts.

By the time they reach adulthood, most Canadians have lost their eardrums from concussive shock.

Eh?

Both my kids will have their black belts at 16.

I certainly have concussive shock. Even though I spent my first 7 years south of the 49th. ;)

Ian

True story:
Went to summer camp in Canada one summer in my youth.

Black flies the size of small mice would swarm in the woods.

Raccoons would push open doors barricaded by rocks the size of basketballs, tear open backpacks, eat a whole pack of oreos, and excrete on someone's sleeping head.

Campers would stay awake with hockey sticks to wake up, turn on lights, and beat aforementioned raccoons to death.

Lighting cans of OFF or any other flammable container was commonplace.

Had a pycho metal-head suddenly chuck a bowie knife 15ft across the room and imbed itself an inch into the bunk between my legs (the only 'merican).
He went back to playing cards with a group.
Their conversation didn't change.

Favorite pastime was getting a group to jump on the top bunk until it collapsed.

Councillors would have belly-flop contests off the high dive for fun. Repeatedly.

Canada is slightly crazy.

Just an FYI,, Canada lead the world in deaths by hockey sticks..

Whew. Last I heard, we were only #1 in beaver molestations.

Ian

Being in Calgary and being asked if you have been to the Stampede yet is like being in Michigan in November and being asked if you got your deer yet.

The Stampede is the Superbowl of Rodeo.

The kids probably had extra tickets to the Stampede and were going to offer them to the tourists for free but his hostile attitude threw them off.

Canada has gun crime but most of it is from illegal guns smuggled in from the USA.

They were mentioning this on the radio the other day.... Yeah... the guy seems a bit nutty. He probably didn't know what the stampede was, and thought the guys were high.

Here's a letter to the editor that is even more shocking. This nut is from Canada.

PM complicit in climate, shootings - thestar.com

Where you from PK? Let me guess.... LOL

Funny thing is John, that the Canadians I know and work with, and I used to work with the largest employer in Canada (Bombardier) the vast majority of them were very against the Govt once again sticking their noses in their lives, especially when it came to firearms.

My copilot is Canadian, one of the girl's I am going out with is Canadian and both of them have CCW permits and they carry most of the time. Guess you do not know them because they feel 100% opposite from what you post above...

With gun permits of all kinds in Canada at about 1.9 million (data from an official RCMP site) and a population around 35 million . It appears MOST Canadians don,t want guns.
Is your copilot,s CCW issued by Canada ? I doubt it, because a CCW here requires a really good reason "like working with wild animals ".
Also most Canadians trust the government after all we elected them . Being fired up about govt interference is not a typical Canadian reaction to anything

The problem is, or so I am told, all the hoops you have to jump through to get a CCW in the GWN.

You can play with numbers all you want to support YOUR personal feeling. I talk with people and hear what they say and not numbers on the internet.

No, he finally gave up shoveling snow and moved to Arizona years ago. He has a American CCW... hmm guess he is one of those Canadians who do not show up on your funny little survey!

Here, let me shoot a lot of holes in your post above. There is a very good reason why your numbers attempt to show a low number of CCW holders in Canada!

~~~~~
The practice of CCW is technically legal in many jurisdictions in Canada; however, in practice, it is often not permitted through the refusal to issue permits. This is the legal situation for Canadians, where an Authorization to Carry (ATC) exists, but the provincial chief firearm officers (CFOs) have agreed not to issue such licenses. Concealment of the firearm is permitted only if specifically stipulated in the terms of the ATC (thus this would then be a specific class of ATC, specifically an ATC-3 or type 3) and is in practice nearly impossible to obtain.

In Canada, for wilderness protection, individuals may receive limited licenses to permit open carry called ATC-2, but only within specific highly restrictive uninhabited areas. There must be sufficient reason to believe the life of the individual could be endangered if not permitted to carry, due to bear or other wildlife activity, and additionally that they would not be feasibly able to carry a long arm Non-restricted Firearm due to other equipment. In practice, the policy toward carrying while hunting has been a complete ban since 1979. CFO staff have been variously quoted as stating "If you can shoot it with a rifle, you can finish it with a rifle." On these grounds, the known number of ATCs issued in any province has remained very low.

In the case of ATCs issued for wilderness purposes, the typical restrictions in Canada are that the firearm be visible at all times (it is an offence in the Canadian Criminal Code to carry any concealed weapon) and may not be worn within five kilometers of any city limit. This has the effect of further limiting the utility of any issued ATC, and thoroughly restricting it only to wilderness locations. Applicants for an ATC for wilderness purposes typically number in the hundreds, and concealed permit holders (ATC-3) are nearly non-existent. Ontario (the most populous Canadian province at 13 million) serves as an apt example: 13 ATC-3 were active and issued in that province as of 2002.
~~~~~

Concealed carry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Actually this is very true. We let them know they have crossed the line by electing the other guy . . . until the new gov't party's scandals outweigh their usefulness & we do it all again. But always calmly & passively. :D

Ian

Please keep the location of the issue CCW in mind . As I said before most Canadians HERE don,t want guns carried by foreign tourists. If gun ownership overall is so low here why would we want tourists with more firepower than some of our local authorities? I know there are more long guns in the country but most are for hunting or collecting ,or farming use etc. Not needed for self defense .
I know the concept of Mr.Warwa with a gun anywhere in my country doesn,t make me feel safer in any way. It might make him feel safer but not worth it to me if he ends up shooting some innocent kids because they had " given him bad vibes "

I am from Calgary and this story has been beat to death, i now feel sorry for the cop as social media is killing him. I don't understand his need to write a letter expressing why he felt bad he could not carry a firearm in a foreign country?

Calgary is a very safe place to live, and i am surprised in a large public park he felt threatened. They must have had indications of being tourists for the two boys/kids/men to ask them that question, and by not answering or responding to the first query, they as again in a "more threatning manner" maybe beacause they thought the old guy was hard of hearing. When he responded, they looked bewildered; because they weren't exepcting an unfriendly respond from some guy when asked a simple question.

Total overreaction that has been totally overblown.

And yes we have lots of guns here, but most of them are for fetching dinner :D

Bob James

I wouldn't believe any information that comes from the RCMP about the gun registry. They realise figures but they are biased to there own agenda.

When the gun laws came into effect I stood in line and payed my money to get my possession licence. You need a possession licence to purchase ammo or borrow a long gun. I then filled out the form to register my long guns. I even had a gunsmith stamp a serial number on my uncles Cooey 22 so it would be legal and sent the form in. Several years later I got a letter from the RCMP/gun registry informing me that my possession licence was no longer valid as I had not registered any guns. They had lost my form. So I wrote the RCMP officer back who sent me the letter and asked how they could have lost my registration form and when did the law change that I no longer needed the licence to buy ammo or borrow a gun? Guess what, no answer. So until the long gun registry was repealed I technically was a criminal because of government incompetence.

The RCMP brass have made it clear that there agenda is no one but them should have guns.

In Western Canada guns are tools to be used. In Eastern Canada they are weapons to be feared.

So the total of two Canadians you know is a good representation of the total Canadian population?
...and I guess where they live now has nothing to do with that choice. :rolleyes:

The majority of Canadians do not want handguns to say otherwise is pure BS. We are a democracy so majority rules.
Many of us, especially us country folk have at least one long gun.
When I was a child we didn't even lock the doors in small towns. The meter reader would walk right in to read the meter.

In Canada our present crime stats are lower than they were in 1970.

BTW Bombardier is the 3rd largest employer.

Well there you have it folks. Canada is superior to the U.S. in every single way. They've got it all figured out, nothing more to see here.

This is an interesting read (to me anyway, despite it's length) that looks at some of the "misconceptions" brought up in this thread...
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf

its a safe place!

Canada is not superior to the US. It is just different.
You vote with your feet.

Wow.......lol

I'm afraid he's right....it's an unwarranted trust in my mind, but as he said, most Canadians do trust their government to do the right thing. Amazing eh? I'm one of those Canadians that wouldn't want everybody carrying. What personal security advantage is it to carry when everyone else does? To me it simply multiplies the risk of death when an altercation breaks out, especially to bystanders. Cheers