I am not exactly a candidate for NRA membership but this bit of news about shutting down a Toronto university shooting range with a perfect track record smacks heavily of something very smelly:
While news of the closing came to light recently, the university made the decision months ago, during a regular five-year review of Hart House activities, says Rob Steiner, U of T assistant vice-president. When it came to allotting the institution's scarce resources, the committee couldn't reconcile firing weapons on the university's grounds with the U of T's core values of "discovery and education," safety and maximizing the opportunity for dissent, he said. "Shooting a gun on campus. Sit with that for a second. It leaves me cold," Steiner said. "This campus is a gun-free area, full stop. You can learn about safety on campus and shoot somewhere else."The civilized and safe doing of anything outside the criminal is a pursuit of excellence. Interesting to note that U of T has a professor with a Phd in Experimental Nuclear Physics who worked for NATO who likely pursues his vocation excellently and safely. There is a fencing team. There maybe a a boxing team and there is a wushu club, training in Communist Chinese martial arts programs. Likely all pursue their craft safely and excellently. The Canucks Amuck, a wargaming club, even meets monthly at Hart House.
But a gun club...that's different.
Comments
Chris Taylor - July 31, 2007 4:58 pm
When I used to shoot competition rifle a few years ago, Hart House was probably my least-favourite location. The range is stuffed into the basement, it's dark and dingy, and you can't cram eight guys in there shooting prone (with spotting scopes)... more like 4 at a time, max. Those matches would just drag and drag because of the limited number of people could shoot concurrently. I kinda always hoped it would get shut down -- but to be renovated into a larger, brighter space. Oh well. A dingy, cramped range is better than no range at all.
Jay Currie - August 1, 2007 5:32 am
I used to fall asleep in Hart House on an almost daily basis. Read the paper, nod....crunch.
Occasionally, when it was far too cold for my BC bones to bear, I would walk around in the musty depths of the place. Many, smelly, chinless wonders would emerge from rather nice doors having done something stinky. (No, not that sort of thing, Trinity was across the street.)
One day, in deepest winter, I heard the sound of guns. I thought to myself, how delightful, there really is a UofT firing squad so those Poli 101 students I busted for plagiarism will get their just deserts. But, no, it was the UofT gun club popping caps and threatening to go Jamaican.
I heave a sigh of relief knowing that this posse has finally been shut down. Toronto will sleep safer tonight.