Giving Back

Castle Armoury's clients were everyday people and included judges, lawyers, sports figures, celebrities and even policemen making personal purchases. Weapons were sold only to those who held Firearms Acquisition Certificates, for which each holder had undergone a thorough approval process by the police.

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The business was my father’s passion and Gail didn’t know how deeply entrenched into that culture she had become.  To love her father was to love firearms. She buried her true feelings about guns, so deeply, that she was unaware of how she truly, felt.

 

After Mark LePine inflicted his terror on the public during the Montreal Massacre at the University de Montreal in 1989, in which 10 women were killed and four men injured, Gail's emotional pain around firearms increased. After closing Castle Armoury, she fell ill for around five years, partially, due to the stresses of that business. With each public massacre, the inner pain grew and she still didn't know the cause of the pain. With the help of her psychologist, Gail realized that her pain was due to her continuing inner conflict.

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Gail jettisoned her personal firearms collection in 1999, and has not shot a weapon since. With professional help over the years, she came to terms with the dichotomy of daughter versus guns, in the battle for a father's attention. She then understood that people hold different intellectual perspectives of physical objects, ie. firearms. The attachment of emotion to the situation can bring very different perspectives. Gail was able to juxtapose the situation to finally understand that the reason people blamed firearms for the agony and anguish they felt, over the loss or harm of those friends or family who were executed by rogue assassins. Even when misdirected, strong emotions can rule an individual.

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Gail had been unable to separate firearms from her father, as they were so closely linked and charged with powerful emotions. The act of separating murder from firearms is similar. Once any emotion is taken out of the equation, Gail believes that it becomes easier to direct fault toward those responsible; perpetrators as opposed to inanimate objects.

 

She'd carried the weight of the world because as she discovered, that she disliked firearms. Yes, she appreciated the workmanship and designs and they were definitely fun to shoot. They were also a great stress reliever, for Gail, due to the intense focus required when directed toward a target. Ultimately, though, guns were created as killing implements, whether that was for hunting purposes, protection or aggression, the latter of which she finds unacceptable. 

 

Many people believe the answer is to ban firearms, entirely. Gail believes that firearms have a place in our society but they are not something she wants to own, personally, any longer. Negative societal issues around firearms will not disappear, should firearms ever be totally banished. The many issues are far too complex to break down into just two categories; banning them or not. Witness the quantities of untraceable ghost guns, that are currently filtering into our society at a frightening pace, over 45, 000 in the USA since 2016.* Those issues, among others, will be discussed further, on the blogs, herein.

 

The main purpose of this website is to assist the families and friends of those who suffer with complex and chronic PTSD as a result of shooting accidents or atrocities. 100% of donations and 25% of the net profit from membership fees on this website will be donated toward the training of PTSD Service dogs.

 

Please enjoy this online museum and contribute as generously as you are able.  

 

Thank you, in advance, for your kindness and generosity. It is appreciated.

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*https://www.vice.com/en/article/akv5p4/ghost-guns-police-data-surging