As Dawson students and faculty members finished recounting their poignant stories Monday at Dawson college for CBC’s live-forum broadcast, some of those present shared their feelings regarding gun control.
“I am angry because Kimveer Gill was allowed to possess a military assault weapon,” said Brian Rahilly, a technician in the Fine Arts department at Dawson who was present on the day of the shooting.
That Rahilly overwhelmingly supports the Canadian Gun Registry was evident as he kept mentioning the newly-founded Dawson Coalition for Gun Control.
The Coalition was formed to gain awareness and gather support to speak up against the federal Conservative Party of Canada’s plan to scrap the registry altogether. The gun registry allows law officials to keep tabs on every gun sold and every single gun owner all over Canada.
It’s a tool that wins praise from some Canadian law officials, such as president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Chief Jack Ewatski. It also has its critics, like former RCMP Commissioner Norm Inkster and the Conservative Party of Canada.
Jim Anderson, a former Montreal police officer and criminologist who currently teaches at John Abbott College, said that he, along with many Canadians, “would like to see all semi-automatic weapons at least taken off the market totally; guns are made to kill people.”
“If anything, strengthen licensing requirements,” continued Rahilly. He said guns should be strictly controlled so that “weapons like the ones that [Gill] used to create a nightmare [at Dawson] don’t fall into the hands of other Canadians.”
