Jonathan McLeod
Jonathan McLeod is a writer living in Ottawa, Ontario. (That means Canada.) He spends too much time following local politics and writing about zoning issues. Follow him on Twitter.
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on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024That was definitely an "m" he was going for. And now we have a Rorschach test. "He was going for 'mi…
on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024Heh, the reporter stopped him from the payoff word(s). Being what? Now the listener/reader gets to i…
on Saturday Morning Gaming: Psychonauts is on sale!I finished Psychonauts 2 not that long ago. It was a lot of fun. It has probably been 20 years since…
on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024Realities of war are hard to stomach and lend themselves to wishful thinking. We insisted that Israe…
on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024On the one hand, there are many examples of this. On the other hand, Sophie is a rando on twitter an…
on Embassies, Attacks, and IranI remember you complaining on the old blog years ago that 40 billion was a waste for a border wall,…
on The Trump TaxThanks for bringing the receipts, David.
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on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024
on The Trump Tax
How popular are these gun laws with Canadians though? My Canadian friends are largely NDP types and seem to support very strong gun laws including the ones you go against here.
Posts like this always underly the tension in democratic government between popularity and good policy/liberty.
For the sake of hypothetical, suppose you are right and these policies and laws are as horrible as you describe but are also extremely popular with your fellow Canadians. Which should trump in a majoritarian-democracy: good policy or something that is the popular will? When does the popular will of a majority have a right to trump against what might be a better policy?Report
First, to be clear, “Suppose you are right” is not the correct formulation, as this is an opposite day post, I don’t actually hold this position. Now, to your questions:
There’s a big split on gun laws, and a lot of it is the red state vs. blue state (to use an American phrasing) sort of thing, as well as an urban vs rural divide. I would say that gun control is generally pretty popular, with most people disagreeing at the margins of the issue, rather than the core.
That being said, there appears to be a growing movement of gun-right activists (essentially calling for our own second amendment, even using its wording) who are trying to change things.
To your last question, personally, I think elected officials have to consider both the will of their constituents as well as what is good for the nation/province/citizens/whatever. Part of the reason, I would argue, that we elect these representatives is to have people who can focus completely on policy issues, and we need to trust them–to a certain extent–to use their best judgement even if it means making unpopular decisions.
But it really is a balancing act.Report
Actually, those laws seem very similar to US gun laws. There are lots of ‘gotcha’ laws that were sold with the intent to trip up criminals & gangsters, but that are more often than not applied harshly to people who are, for all intents & purposes, harmless.Report
I used to be abl? to find good ifo from your art?cles.Report