(¥Y White supremacy is an extreme threat

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(¥ Governments should be challenged regularly

And more!

Is 1t time to revisit Canada’s gun laws?

> Making it easy to kill lots of people

Cazzy Lewchuk Opinions Editor

ragedy struck Quebec City on

January 29 when a shooter murdered six people at the Islamic Cultural Centre. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a terrorist attack, and the suspect was allegedly motivated by extreme white supremacist values. This attack was specifically carried out to suit an anti-Muslim agenda.

There’s no easy answer for how to prevent these situations. Every mass killing is slightly different, and can be carried out through many methods— but the majority of them, particularly in the US and Canada, have been done with guns. The Quebec City shooter used a pistol and rifle in the attack, both of which are legal to own in Canada. Our gun laws are stricter than in the US, and a lot fewer people own guns, but it’s still incredibly easy to obtain as many firearms as you want in Canada. All that’s required is that the owner take a one-day course on gun safety, then register each weapon. Many types of guns are illegal but can still be found on the black market, and the legal kinds are still very much fatal.

Some shootings (particularly within law enforcement) involve legitimate defence of one’s own body or of a victim, but many needless and

Sex does not equal a lost virginity

illegal deaths and injuries occur. Over 500 people die via bullets in Canada annually. Many of these are suicides, but 170 of those deaths are at the hands (and from the guns) of others.

Of course, guns and gun culture are enjoyed responsibly and legally by millions of Canadians, most of whom wish to use them for recreational target practice, hunting, and defence. Canada has about 30 guns for every 100 citizens (much less than our neighbours, who have 112 firearms for every 100 citizens). In fact, businessman and Conservative leader hopeful Kevin O’Leary posted a video on his Twitter of him shooting semi-automatic weapons at a range.

He happened to post it the same day as the funeral held for victims of the Quebec shooting. While he removed it and apologized for the poor timing, it’s clear he’s a fan of firearms.

I firmly believe most gun owners are non-dangerous, law-abiding citizens, and while there’s nothing in our constitution to prevent it, I don’t support a blanket ban on all guns. However, something needs to be done. If the Quebec City killer was denied access to a gun, his six victims may be alive today. He would’ve still had dangerous ideas that would require intervention, and he may have still gone on a killing spree with some other weapon, such asa crossbow or a knife. Still, this massacre

> It’s up to you when to decide that it is lost

Carlos Bilan Staff Writer

hile it is the standard that people

define losing virginity as having sex for the first time, this may not be always the case. It is possible that you can still feel like a virgin even after your first time, and that is completely valid.

To start, what does virginity mean to people? For a religious person, it may be something dear and sacred to them, something that must only be lost after getting married.

For a non-religious person, there can be many different meanings. One person may think that their first time will be with the person who they want to experience something special with, like their first love. Another could be someone who considers losing their virginity as a rite of passage towards adulthood, so they are eager to lose it immediately in order to feel validated. There are those who think it’s nothing to worry about in the first place. And finally, there are those who actually lost it but felt it was anticlimactic, or maybe

they still feel like they didn’t lose it at all.

For most, virginity is this abstract concept that seems to hold importance. This could explain why there are people that, even after having had sex many times, still feel like they have not really lost it. It could be for a sentimental reason, in that their first time was not special either emotionally, sexually, or both.

A wise person once told me that losing your virginity is not just a one- time thing like “BAM! Lost it.” You lose your virginity “in ebbs and flows, and little waves.” Your sexuality is not entirely explored in a night. Frankly,

I share the same sentiment, and | think that is a better way of explaining virginity than its current definition, because it then becomes an experience, rather than an idea.

Virginity is a social construct. This means that it is a term created by people, and it just so happens that many people acknowledge its dictionary definition, which is: “The state of never having sexual intercourse.” Nevertheless, the emotional and psychological argument presented is one of the many reasons why losing your v-card does not always have to be after the first time.

was carried out partially because the perpetrator was easily able to buy a machine designed for killing people. And it’s not just murders; studies from other countries demonstrate less suicides occur when gun access is limited. Almost

Photo by Kevin O'Leary/Vimeo

anyone can buy one of these machines in Canada, and we should remember that when another innocent Canadian dies from the pulling of a trigger. Maybe it’s time to re-examine our standards, and take a cue from other countries.

Screenshot of ‘American Pie’