Posted by David Kopel:
David A. Tomlinson, R.I.P.:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_16-2007_09_22.shtml#1190412426
On Tuesday, David A. Tomlinson passed away. For three decades, David
had been the long-time President of the National Firearms Association
of Canada and an outstanding advocate of the rights of law-abiding
Canadian firearms owners. I had the privilege of meeting David several
times, and found him to be a true gentleman, and a gentle man. Canada
has always had more gun controls than the United States, but the
Canadian gun debate changed dramatically in the 1990s, when the
Liberal government initiated a Kulturkampf against gun owners, aiming
to eliminate the "masculine" culture which gun owners supposedly
embodied. No one in Canada was more important in leading the
resistance than David Tomlinson. Although the situation of gun
ownership in Canada is still precarious, there is a chance that
Canada's rural culture of hunting and guns may survive. The corruption
and enormous cost over-runs of the failed registry for long guns
played a major role in the defeat of the Liberals by the
anti-registration Conservatives in the latest Canadian election, in
which Tomlinson worked very hard to mobilize citizen activists to
defend their rights. He is a great example of how one man can make a
difference.
The National Firearms Association [1]website has a tribute to David.
And below are some thoughts about David from his friend Cindy
Lightheart:
([2]show)
Dave Tomlinson, president of Canada's National Firearm Association,
passed away late in the evening of September 18, 2007. He was born
on December 14, 1934, and is survived by a wife of 37 years, a
daughter, and a grand-daughter.
I first met Dave four years ago. My son was charged with a minor
firearms infraction that he was unaware of -- until he was jailed
over night. He couldn't afford a lawyer, so I called the NFA and
met Dave. Dave cared very deeply about victims of violence with
firearms, as well as the victims of unfair firearm laws.
We became partners when Dave nurtured within me, my hidden talent
for finding the truth through research. He helped me develop as a
writer, and as a firearms advocate. What is little known about
Dave, is that he personally helped many people in need, both inside
and outside the firearms community. For example, he helped one
woman to attend college. He also personally assigned me as NFA
Counselor.
Dave exerted a powerful influence on Canadian firearms politics and
legislation during the 1970s, even before the creation of the NFA,
but more so when he became president of the Association in 1984,
being the primary force behind it, and doing so with little help.
Since then, he was highly influential in the formation of our
firearm laws, and in enhancing the size of the NFA. It currently
has a membership of 100,000, and its membership has surged
especially during the last few years. He provided lawyers (and
non-lawyers) with briefing information about the Canadian laws,
precedent cases, and research papers.
When Bill C-68, our infamous, poorly designed, and money-gobbling
firearms law came into effect in 1995 (the Bill was so complicated
that it took three years before it actually became the law of the
land), Dave began to work harder than ever. He was able to confuse
the bureaucrats who authored it, because he was an expert in
finding loopholes in the law that made it difficult to enforce.
Dave wrote a very sensible, practical, easily comprehensible, and
fair gun law to replace C-68, [3]The Practical Firearms Control
System , a proven means that would make Canada a safer country, as
it attacks the criminal use of firearms, requires more effective
firearm training, and is far more cost effective than the present
system. However, the firearm-prohibitionist community in Canada has
ignored it, to date.
He was very much aware of the harm that UN policies were
perpetrating against civilians, globally. He took great pains to
educate people to these concerns, to responsible firearm ownership,
and to the benefits that civilian firearm ownership provides to
society.
Dave Tomlinson was an expert at systems designing, and this talent
carried over into his work at NFA, and into Canadian firearm
politics. He was a man of morality, kindness, rational thinking,
and diplomatic skills.
He was a dear and respected friend. I miss him greatly, as so many
surely will.
-Cindy Lightheart, NFA Counselor
([4]hide)
References
1. http://nfa.ca/
2. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/volokh/posts/1190412426.html
3. http://www.nfa.ca/files/pfcsenglish.pdf
4. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/volokh/posts/1190412426.html
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
