Canadian MP Under Fire for Telling School Girls to Carry Arms
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.01.12
An Ottawa mother sent a letter of complaint against Saskatchewan Tory MP Garry Breitkreuz after he allegedly told a 10th grade class that everyone in Canada should be armed, especially girls.
The mother, Dianna Sakisheway, wrote a searing letter to Canada’s Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. She complained of a speech that Breitkreuz gave at a career day at Canterbury High School on March 7, 2012.
“I am outraged at the irresponsible conduct of the federal government in promoting gun violence to schoolchildren,” Sakisheway wrote. “You have gone much too far.”
She claims Breitkreuz gave a speech where he lauded the idea of an armed citizenry. The allegations arise from the recount of the speech her daughter gave her later that evening. “My 14-year-old daughter came home from school and informed me that Garry Breitkreuz – (had) promoted gun violence to her Grade 10 high school class.”
“Mr. Breitkreuz spent most of his allotted time discussing firearms and cited a Texas study that showed women who carry guns are less likely to get raped, including a specific number of women who avoided rape as they were armed,” Sakisheway wrote in another letter obtained by Postmedia News. She then went on to write that Breitkreuz is to stop assaulting the sensibilities of our children.
Breitkreuz denied having said that he encouraged school children to carry loaded guns onto the schoolyard and other gun violence encouraging statements. “This is completely unfounded,” Breitkreuz said. “It’s absurd and totally without foundations.”
During a question period on Thursday Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal MP Judy Foote raised the issue in a question period and accused Breitkreuz of supporting the idea that all Canadians should openly carry guns. “(Breitkreuz) told a classroom of Ottawa high school students – some as young as 14 – that all Canadians should carry firearms, and girls in particular should be armed to protect themselves from sexual assault,” Foote said.
Toews countered with “I can indicate our Conservative government does not support treating law-abiding hunters, farmers and sports shooters as criminals.” Toews added, “The honourable member in fact has specifically targeted those law-abiding Canadians. Our government has said we will repeal the long-gun registry and focus on those who are actually committing crimes. That is what our government stands for.”
Sakisheway would like Breitkreuz should have known better than to describe violent and frightening scenarios to an immature audience, such as those of rape and bank robberies. She stated her support for gun-control laws and demanded a written apology from Breitkreuz for his harmful promotion of gun violence.
