Using the last word on guns and parking

Nov 13, 2017 | 4:15 AM

KAMLOOPS — One of the great things about this job is having the last word. Today, I’m going to use it twice.

First, quite a few gun owners told me last week I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to firearms, especially the AR-15. My argument was that we should pre-emptively ban all forms of the AR-15 in Canada before it starts showing up on our streets.

But some people say it’s a sweet gun, perfect for hunting.

No hunter I know needs a semi-automatic. If you’re one who thinks you do, could you please tell me why? Is it because you’re such a lousy shot you need to get off five rounds in the time it would normally take you to fire one?

Maybe that pop-pop-pop-pop-pop just sounds good? Just asking.

Second, for anyone who thought the $100,000 downtown parking study was a good idea because they believed it was about much more than parking, and anyone else thinking the media didn’t properly explain the proposal, let’s review.

This was a study about getting more cars downtown, not about getting rid of them. It wasn’t a “transportation” study on alternatives, as Coun. Kathy Sinclair says it was.

The document submitted to council was titled, and I’ll put this in quotes, “Downtown Parking Study.”

It was to be, and I will quote again, “a comprehensive study of on- and off-street parking supply and demand in the downtown core over the next 20 years.”

Maybe it should have been about something other than parking, but it wasn’t. If anyone wants a “larger conversation” about car sharing and Uber and the future of self-driving cars, and a public education campaign on why people should leave their cars at home, propose one.

But that $100,000 study, as presented, was all about parking.

Speaking of parking, tomorrow I’ll answer the question, has Coun. Denis Walsh gone stark, raving mad?

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.