To start off, I would like to thank GOC for allowing me to use this forum as an engagement tool to reach our community and those outside of it;
I grew up in a town of a couple thousand in the British Columbia interior. I was raised by a Marine. It was through him that I learned a very important skill, how to use a firearm. I went to university, worked overseas and tried my hand with politics. I am now an entrepreneur – while also working hard at completing my Masters in Business Administration.
I am a fairly standard person I think – I hope you do to. All is good right?
Why was I so hesitant to tell people I owned firearms?
Something my father said still resonates with me to this day, probably because I still hear him say it on a regular basis. “Sometimes it’s not worth the aggravations.”
Has it come to that?
Do most Canadian firearms owners feel that a better course of action is inaction? Appeasement never worked, just ask Chamberlain.
Registration of guns started in the 1930’s – then in the 1950’s automatics were registered and if we jump a few decades, the 1970’s provided the first time that criminal background checks were required for those wishing to purchase firearms. To purchase firearms today we are all required to complete the Canadian Firearm’s Safety Course. As gun owners we are all part of one of the most controlled and regulated industries in Canada. The RCMP even has their own governmental program responsible for all things firearms!
So we are trained and screened by the RCMP. Yet I still feel like a pariah – maybe I am hanging out in the wrong social circles.
However, I am taking a stand – I hope you all stand with me. I can’t remember the exact moment, but I came to the realization that well over two million gun owners in Canada are constantly greeted with negativity by individualized groups and media. We are all unique. We are politicians, law enforcement, teachers, business individuals, blue collar and white collar workers, men and women, young and old. What unities us all – even if some of us ignore it – is that we are a powerful group that is working hard to protect ourselves. We are protecting ourselves from misinformation, judgement and stereotypes.
Stepping into the Director of Public Outreach role with Calibre Magazine is an exciting opportunity, one that I embraced – one that I can’t wait to build further. I will use this outlet to do three important things. The first will be addressing the negative media coverage that firearms owners are subjected to on a daily basis. Second, I will engage the media at every level possible. This will include junkets and events – I will show that we are much more than a generalized and stereotyped group. Finally, I will work at changing the current media strategy of strictly reacting to news stories - I will implement a strategy of proactive engagement. I will change the parameters of discussion and fight to change the way all Canadian firearms owners are perceived in the media today. Canadian gun owners are not criminals.
I believe these three priorities will immediately help educate the public on who we truly are as individuals and as a community. I know it will start a discussion, discussions focused on the rise of sport shooting in Canada and the benefits of hunting for instance; not the “he said - she said” stuff of the past.
This fight to educate is definitely worth the aggravation - Click this link to view a video of Dan Fritter and I talking about the potential of this new role
More about CJ:
CJ Summers graduated from the University of Victoria in 2010 with a degree in Political Science and History. Since then he has worked for the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) in Brussels, Belgium. He was published in 2011.
CJ brought his political drive and experience back from Europe with him. He has been involved in numerous levels of government ranging from constituency construction to campaign management.
In 2013 he was brought on by Global TV – a role that had him sit on a tri-weekly political panel hosted by Jill Krop. This role continued for two more years as he became a main fixture focusing on community and political analysis.
CJ also spent time with Metro News – a popular newspaper in Vancouver. He, along with Dan Fritter from Calibre Magazine, was primarily responsible for publishing a twenty two page report focused on firearms in Canada and issues surrounding the industry on a national scale.
In 2015, CJ became an entrepreneur and launched his own business focusing on community and economic development in the British Columbia interior. Further, CJ is working on completing his Masters in Business Administration at the Thompson Rivers University.
In 2016 he was appointed the Director of Public Outreach for Calibre Magazine – a role that will help him in his efforts of changing the way all gun owners are perceived and talked about in the media today.
If you have any questions for CJ, he would be more than happy to speak and learn from you.
Please email him at [email protected]
Meet the Director of Public Outreach
I grew up in a town of a couple thousand in the British Columbia interior. I was raised by a Marine. It was through him that I learned a very important skill, how to use a firearm. I went to university, worked overseas and tried my hand with politics. I am now an entrepreneur – while also working hard at completing my Masters in Business Administration.
I am a fairly standard person I think – I hope you do to. All is good right?
Why was I so hesitant to tell people I owned firearms?
Something my father said still resonates with me to this day, probably because I still hear him say it on a regular basis. “Sometimes it’s not worth the aggravations.”
Has it come to that?
Do most Canadian firearms owners feel that a better course of action is inaction? Appeasement never worked, just ask Chamberlain.
Registration of guns started in the 1930’s – then in the 1950’s automatics were registered and if we jump a few decades, the 1970’s provided the first time that criminal background checks were required for those wishing to purchase firearms. To purchase firearms today we are all required to complete the Canadian Firearm’s Safety Course. As gun owners we are all part of one of the most controlled and regulated industries in Canada. The RCMP even has their own governmental program responsible for all things firearms!
So we are trained and screened by the RCMP. Yet I still feel like a pariah – maybe I am hanging out in the wrong social circles.
However, I am taking a stand – I hope you all stand with me. I can’t remember the exact moment, but I came to the realization that well over two million gun owners in Canada are constantly greeted with negativity by individualized groups and media. We are all unique. We are politicians, law enforcement, teachers, business individuals, blue collar and white collar workers, men and women, young and old. What unities us all – even if some of us ignore it – is that we are a powerful group that is working hard to protect ourselves. We are protecting ourselves from misinformation, judgement and stereotypes.
Stepping into the Director of Public Outreach role with Calibre Magazine is an exciting opportunity, one that I embraced – one that I can’t wait to build further. I will use this outlet to do three important things. The first will be addressing the negative media coverage that firearms owners are subjected to on a daily basis. Second, I will engage the media at every level possible. This will include junkets and events – I will show that we are much more than a generalized and stereotyped group. Finally, I will work at changing the current media strategy of strictly reacting to news stories - I will implement a strategy of proactive engagement. I will change the parameters of discussion and fight to change the way all Canadian firearms owners are perceived in the media today. Canadian gun owners are not criminals.
I believe these three priorities will immediately help educate the public on who we truly are as individuals and as a community. I know it will start a discussion, discussions focused on the rise of sport shooting in Canada and the benefits of hunting for instance; not the “he said - she said” stuff of the past.
This fight to educate is definitely worth the aggravation - Click this link to view a video of Dan Fritter and I talking about the potential of this new role
More about CJ:
CJ Summers graduated from the University of Victoria in 2010 with a degree in Political Science and History. Since then he has worked for the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) in Brussels, Belgium. He was published in 2011.
CJ brought his political drive and experience back from Europe with him. He has been involved in numerous levels of government ranging from constituency construction to campaign management.
In 2013 he was brought on by Global TV – a role that had him sit on a tri-weekly political panel hosted by Jill Krop. This role continued for two more years as he became a main fixture focusing on community and political analysis.
CJ also spent time with Metro News – a popular newspaper in Vancouver. He, along with Dan Fritter from Calibre Magazine, was primarily responsible for publishing a twenty two page report focused on firearms in Canada and issues surrounding the industry on a national scale.
In 2015, CJ became an entrepreneur and launched his own business focusing on community and economic development in the British Columbia interior. Further, CJ is working on completing his Masters in Business Administration at the Thompson Rivers University.
In 2016 he was appointed the Director of Public Outreach for Calibre Magazine – a role that will help him in his efforts of changing the way all gun owners are perceived and talked about in the media today.
If you have any questions for CJ, he would be more than happy to speak and learn from you.
Please email him at [email protected]
Meet the Director of Public Outreach