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Clinton News Record, 2014-12-10, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, December 10, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. 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In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services ata wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Aocna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association editorial Gun control won't solve real gun problem This Saturday is the 25th anniversary of the shooting of 14 women at Ecole Polytech- nique by Marc Lepine, also known as the Montreal Massacre. Just as this shocking act by a hate -filled man was used to push a political agenda 25 years ago, itis being used today for the same reason. Politicians and many media outlets are using the anniver- saryto call for new gun control laws. Maclean's ran a piece with a headline claiming Canada's gun laws are lax. Tell that to anyone who has ever tried to buy a legal gun. It simply isn't true. Over at La Presse, the Mon- treal daily, they ran a front page on Tuesday with a picture of the type of gun Lepine used in his shooting - a Ruger mini -14. Their point? Simply to say that the gun is still legal to own in Canada. As Claude Colgan, who lost his sister in the shooting pointed out, it wasn't the mini - 14 that killed Helene Colgan, it was Marc Lepine. That doesn't matter to Cana- da's anti -gun media or politicians. The goal is more gun laws, or even a return of the long -gun registry, something the NDP promised this week "The result for us is that the police are able to track every gun in Canada," Thomas Mul- cair said Wednesday. The NDP leader used the old line about cars and even dogs needing to be registered. Sounds logical to many except no one ever takes your car away from you because the govern- ment decides you shouldn't ownthatkind of vehicle. They did that with the gun registry -- confiscated legal, private prop- ertywithout compensation. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he won't bring back the long -gun registry if elected, but is promising plenty more gun control. "There are many different ways of doing this, and the Liberal Party is taking this seriously because Canadians are united in their desire to see less violence with guns across this country;" Trudeau said. Who doesn't want to see less gun crime? But the fact is there is not that much of it in Canada, and most ofwhatthere is hap- pens notwithlegal guns but illegal ones. This week Statistics Canada released new data on the coun- try's murder rate. Canada had just 505 murders in 2013, the first full year with- out the long -gun registry. That figure, 505 murders, was down from 543 in 2012. Itis the lowest murder rate, at 1.44 murders per 100,000 population, since 1966. Of those 505 murders, just 131 involved guns, down 41 from the year before. There were more stabbing deaths than shooting deaths and of the gun deaths, "The majority (68%) of firearm - related homicides were com- mittedwith the use of a hand- gun, a trend that has held over the last 20 years;' StatsCan reported. Did you know that hand- guns, legal ones, still need to be registered just as they have since the 1930s? So the murder rate is down. Shooting deaths are down, even without the gun registry. Even handgun deaths are down and we know most crimes committedwithhand- guns involve illegal handguns, often ones smuggled in for criminals and gangs from the United States. That is the real gun problem in Canada -- illegal guns -- and itis atough one for any politi- cian to tackle. So instead of dealing with the difficultprob- lem, Trudeau and Mulcair are promising that if elected next year they will punish law-abid- ing gun owners for the crimes of those who have no respect for any law. It didn't work 25 years ago and it won't work now. - Brian Lilley column Let's reclaim "feminism", for equality's sake Craig and Marc Kielburger "I have decided to send the feminists, who have always ruined my life, to their maker'.' Those chilling words are from Marc Lepine's suicide note. Twenty-five years ago, on Dec 6, 1989, Lepine killed 14 women at Montreal engineering school Ecole polytechnique. The word "feminist" emerged more than a century ago as the teen for backers of the struggle for wom- en's rights and equality. Radical misogynists like Lepine, or Elliot Rodger (who went on a killing spree in California in May because women rejected his advances), spit out the word with loathing and con- tempt. To them, itis a dark and sinis- ter epithet for man -hating women intent on usurping men's rightful place. But a growing number of people spurn the words "feminism" and "feminist" despite supportingwom- en's rights and equality. The terms seem to be widely misunderstood. And what that says to youth about gender equality concerns us deeply. Last month, actor Salma Hayek was honoured by rights group Equality Now for her global advo- cacyforwomen and girls. But she told an interviewer, "I am not a femi- nist," becoming the latest female celeb to reject the label alongside the likes of actor Shailene Woodley and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. We're not saying anyone should be forced to wear an unwanted label. But the reasoning behind their rejection can be disturbing. Wood- ley told Time Magazine: "I think the idea of `raise women to power, take the men away from power' is never going to work out because you need balance' Unfortunately, many view feminism as all about "us versus them.' Too many think feminism is a winner -take -all battle of the sexes, where a gain for one side is a loss for the other. But ending segregation and extending civil rights for minorities hasn't meant fewer rights for whites. Voting rights for women didn't inter- fere with men's vot- ing rights. Why, then, would anyone think equal pay for women means less pay for men, or more female engi- neers means fewer male engineers? Discussing women's issues doesn't equal ignoring legitimate men's issues. Feminism means promoting equality. Period. More annoying are celebrities who grab headlines burdening "feminism" with outdated stereo- types. Ex -Spice Girl Halliwell told The Guardian in the U.K.: "Forme, feminism is bra -burning lesbianism:' Are a small number of those who call themselves feminists also angry militants? Perhaps, yes. Do they define feminism? No. If high-profile women don't want to declare themselves feminists, that's OK. Everyone has the right to self -identify as they choose. But what must young people think when they hear the word denounced? The feminist becomes the nasty bogeywoman Lepine and Rodger hated, and by association, the equality movement is tarred. So, for equality's sake, let's reclaim "feminist" and "feminism" and rein- troduce the words -- properly defined -- to a new generation. Do you believe girls should have equal access to schooling? Women should get equal pay and board- rooms and parliaments would be stronger with equal representation from men and women? Do you support the concept that no means no, and harassment and violence are always wrong? If so, woman or man, you're a feminist. Equality is an issue that concems us all -- and everybody can be a feminist. To commemorate the Montreal Massacre, today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. We invite all Canadians to join us in marking this daybyproudly declaring: "I am a feminist."