Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

Calgary is one of the largest cities in Canada. Know for cowboys and oil companies, it is also the host of the Calgary Stampede, an annual surrender to the gluttony of fatty foods, country music and modest animal abuse.

Among metropolitan areas in Canada, Calgary is relatively safe, in a nation sort of known to be relatively safe.

However, during this year's Stampede, Kalamazoo resident and 20 year police veteran Walt Wawra had a fateful encounter with a pair of gentlemen in a city park. In a letter to the editor of the Calgary Herald, Wawra describes what must have been a frightful scenario:



Wawra laments that it is not legal to carry a concealed sidearm in Canada as, given the above altercation, one cannot feel safe without one, even being within a very safe city in a very safe nation:



of course, the Libra-net erupted into a storm of scorn for our heroic police officer. Canadians felt butt-hurt that someone might have wanted to defend themselves from an obviously life-or-death situation, which only the providence of the Almighty prevented from turning sour that fateful day! People in Calgary, feeling personal safety is a laughing matter, put up signs like this one:

http://nationalpostcomment.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/michigan-tourist-walt-wawra.jpg

or memes like this started appearing on the lib-tard twitterverse:

http://nationalpostcomment.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/walt-wawra-stampede.jpg

http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/nose-hill-gun-row.jpg

how dare they!?!? How dare they paint the heroic Walt Wawra as some kind of trigger-happy maniac. I mean, can you prove the men who approached him weren't going to kill him and his wife? Can you prove they weren't going to pull a weapon? I mean, ignoring the fact they didn't, and by Wawra's own account, the men were left bewildered by Wawra's response to them. And sure, ignoring that the men may have been doing some type of promotional work for the Stampede (though, not as part of official Stampede promotions). I mean, how much proof does one need to know they are being threatened? If you can't shoot someone who approaches you in the middle of the day, in a public place, and asks an innocuous question, who can you shoot?

Thankfully, some readers of the Calgary Herald have rushed to Wawra's defense, arguing:



Exactly. We should give Wawra the benefit of the doubt so that he doesn't have to give the benefit of the doubt to random strangers. We should imagine the best possible intentions in him so that it is ok when he imagines the worst possible intentions in others. You know, fair and balanced (and I mean, seriously, those scum, appealing to the pretext of Canadian friendliness, I'm going to be sick).

Whats more, Wawra is a law-enforcement official, so we should take him at his word, as he has a clear ability to accurately judge situations and because he is a God fearing man. I mean, just read this critique of President Obama he wrote to a local paper after rapper/poet Common was invited to the white house. Incisive, topical, intelligent, this man is a clear gem among the wise blue-line, and Canada should be ashamed, ASHAMED we gave him such a poor impression of our nation by requiring he not pull a weapon on what were ostensibly innocent citizens of our nation.

***

ok, so, sarcasm aside, this one was a real laugh for me. Hope you enjoy. My real sort of "opinion" on the matter is covered really well by The National Post's Matt Gurney. While I certainly don't endorse every word of his opinion here, I do agree with most of it, especially the idea that Canada might need to think about a happy medium between our complete ban on personally carried firearms and the cluster**** American gun laws appear to be, enjoy:

There are cowboys in Canada?

sure, just ask our Prime Minister:

http://www.tdhstrategies.com/images/Harpercowboy.jpg

Oh, I'd totally pull a gun if he came up to me and asked a question.

Calgary is full of cowboys. It only gets worse at Stampede.

Honestly though, I don't think Canada needs to allow the carrying of concealed weapons. Plenty of countries get along fine without it, and so does Canada imo.

So just because the two strangers were rude to the couple, the couple are now crying about it? If I had a penny for everytime some drunk or some hobo came up to me and said something rude? It's not like they pulled a gun on them, or robbed them cold? Saying if they felt threatened and the american cop had his gun on him, he would be in jail right now for killing someone and yet he wants the right to have his american gun in canada? That makes no sense..

Originally posted by Robtard
Oh, I'd totally pull a gun if he came up to me and asked a question.

woah careful, you'll get the RCMP knocking at my door...

Originally posted by -Pr-
Honestly though, I don't think Canada needs to allow the carrying of concealed weapons. Plenty of countries get along fine without it, and so does Canada imo.

I'd agree, we don't need it, but I would say our current system is too restrictive.

I mean, I'm sort of with you, I'm not sure that people just walking around armed, however vetted, is a good thing. However, the way things are now, you need an advanced licence initially to own a pistol. In addition, if you want to, say, take your legally owned pistol to a shooting range, you have to get permission from the police, each time. You can't get an annual or even weekly pass, you have to describe your entire itinerary, etc.

Whether I should be allowed to walk around with a glock in my pants, sure, I might actually agree that the compromise of living in a society with others means I can't do that (though, tbh, I'm not sure), but the current laws, I feel, are too restrictive on gun owners. Why an annual "carry" license, which would allow you to take your gun with you to places it makes sense you should be allowed to take it, doesn't exist strikes me as odd.

Where the heck is this guy from? I don't think I've spent time in a city that is heavy on tourism without having someone walk up to me out of the blue and try to sell me stuff.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Where the heck is this guy from? I don't think I've spent time in a city that is heavy on tourism without having someone walk up to me out of the blue and try to sell me stuff.

Kalamazoo, Michigan

to be fair, they were in a park that is somewhat away from the city, though I agree 100% with what you are saying:

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/3044186.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/2875615485_9e0c1edb06.jpg

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/7c/7f/a7/filename-nose-hill-may.jpg

Change Tourist to Werewolf and we'll have a thread.

The "Lord Almighty" may have had something to do with his situation: who knows. If the Spirit testifies that to him, then it is true enough for him.

He would have personally felt more comfortable with a gun on his person but it probably would not have changed the outcome.

However, had the ruffians presented further trouble, just showing his gun would have probably been enough to deter them from continuing.

ruffians? best we can tell, they were doing promotions for an oil company...

The story sounds like a joke, imo.

"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."

But I'd not be surprised if it's 100% true.

Originally posted by Oliver North
ruffians? best we can tell, they were doing promotions for an oil company...

My entire comment was pretty much jest. The second sentence was the only thing serious.


This entire story sound fishy...as though it was a libtard that cooked up this story just to have a laugh (snopes has plenty of these types of stories). Yes, I do know it's real, but it seems to have been blown out of proportion. It should have stayed as a side comment to one of his family members. It's pretty lame.

Originally posted by dadudemon
However, had the ruffians presented further trouble, just showing his gun would have probably been enough to deter them from continuing.

Wilst you speculate on the potential results of his improved armament allow me to offer a hypothesis of my own: Those vile scoundrels might well have had a ally waiting within the shrubberies ready to strike should he bear a weapon.

(to be read with some kind of accent)

Originally posted by dadudemon
My entire comment was pretty much jest. The second sentence was the only thing serious.


This entire story sound fishy...as though it was a libtard that cooked up this story just to have a laugh (snopes has plenty of these types of stories). Yes, I do know it's real, but it seems to have been blown out of proportion. It should have stayed as a side comment to one of his family members. It's pretty lame.

well, he does have that letter he sent about Common, which is of essentially the same caliber

it is strange that the man thought he could write a Canadian paper about the lack of concealed carry, expecting some type of support...

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Wilst you speculate on the potential results of his improved armament allow me to offer a hypothesis of my own: Those vile scoundrels might well have had a ally waiting within the shrubberies ready to strike should he bear a weapon.

(to be read with some kind of accent)

SC...the portion you quoted was a joke.


What I said was a proper-English version of "Flash your gat...they'll stop off, yo."




If the point was to take it seriously (but not mean it) and respond to it to get me to reply for your lulz, well played: you got me.

So a firm tone was all that was needed to back them down. I wouldn't want to increase the number of people carrying weapons anywhere unless it became truly necessary. Basically what seems to come across here is, "The ruffians don't seem to have been armed and were easily scared off, but if I'd been carrying a gun the situation would have turned out better." Doesn't make much sense.

I've been with people and been accosted in Paris, but I didn't feel like having a gun would have made me feel any safer.

Originally posted by Robtard
There are cowboys in Canada?
That's the only thing I took from this as well.

Originally posted by Oliver North
sure, just ask our Prime Minister:

http://www.tdhstrategies.com/images/Harpercowboy.jpg That's not a cowboy, he's just gay.

Originally posted by Mindset
That's not a cowboy, he's just gay.

Yeah eh!

This just gets even better. The two people who scared the Kalamazoo cop were actually Stampede promoters. lol