Checking-In: Listener Response

Checking-In: Listener Response

The Current's executive producer, Jennifer Moroz joined Anna Maria in studio to check in with what you've had to say.

Gun Control: In wake of deaths last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many questions are being asked about gun culture in the US. On Tuesday, we examined gun culture from a number of perspectives, including Richard Feldman, a lobbyist for the firearms industry.

And that prompted Paul DeConnick to write. He lives in Holland, Michigan and shares this:

It was sad that Richard Feldman fell back on the old argument of keeping guns away from "criminals" and not law abiding citizens. The problem is that we all have the potential of good and evil. Until Adam Lanza started killing he was not a criminal, just another troubled young man.

Mike Dixon of Abbotsford, British Columbia sent in this:

We need policies that actually make us safer, rather than feel safer. Free mental health care and a system to identify and treat future potential killers would be a good start.

And we aired another view from the voicemail.

Life After a Mass Shooting: We also spoke to Craig Scott on Monday. He was a student at Columbine High School, the day twelve students were killed there in 1999. His sister was one of the twelve who died.

His view prompted Carmen Asu of Cartier, Manitoba to email:

I am in awe of Craig Scott. He articulated what many of us believe - that violence in entertainment must have an effect on consumers. I have decided violent movies will no longer be my choice of entertainment. Your panelists brought forward the role all of us have to nurture our society and especially young people.

Zachary Deorksen of Ottawa counters with this:

People try to justify the need for guns by saying that violent fiction should be censored. But no one ever hurt anyone with a game controller. Everyone is angry at some point, and I find games cathartic. But I would never act out anything violent from a game.

And here's a tweet from Johanna Tzountzouris who says:

We need to address this powerlessness by focusing on positive empowerment, so young people can find their place in their world.

Writer, filmmaker and activist Jackson Katz has also been voicing his opinions on the Newtown shooting online. He wrote a column for The Huffington Post this week calling for a focus on "manhood" over mental illness in the coverage of this story. We reached Jackson Katz in Long Beach, California. His most recent book is called Leading Men: Presidential Campaigns and the Politics of Manhood.

Excommunicated Priest: Roy Bourgeois served as a priest in the Maryknoll order for forty years. But today, he is excommunicated by the Vatican for his support of women's ordination in the Catholic Church. Yesterday, we heard from Roy Bourgeois.

His was an inspiring voice for Tova Karonne. She lives in Toronto and writes:

I am not a Catholic, but I am a woman and a member of an ancient religion that has been plagued with sexism from which we are attempting to emerge. In my search for the reasoning behind the sexism in my own tribes, Roy Bourgeois's clarity and honesty are too rare. But like him, I am filled with hope that the voice of conscience cannot be denied.

Here's another note from Dino Paoletti. He considered ordination for the priesthood many years ago and writes from Toronto:

I left the Catholic Church in 1993 in total disgust. I was angry about women's ordination, birth control, homosexuality and the cover up of sexual abuse. All of my seminarian friends who went on to be ordained have left the church. Many after having served for over thirty years, were left with nothing... no pension, no financial payout to help manage the transition.

*** UPDATED: Supreme Court Ruling on Niqab : Now onto an update on another story we've been following here on The Current. This morning the Supreme Court ruled on whether a woman known as N.S. will be allowed to testify in court while wearing a niqab. A publication prevents us from using her proper name.

N.S. has accused two male relatives of sexual assault. In her preliminary inquiry, a judge ordered her to remove the niqab, but that was overturned by a Ontario Superior Court Judge. Then, a court of appeal sent it back to the original preliminary inquiry judge.

Now this morning, the Supreme Court upheld the appeal court ruling. To tell us what that means we were joined Natasha Bakht. She is an associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa. She has been following this case as it unfolds and she joined us in our Toronto studio.

Natasha Bakht is also the editor of Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada.

Medical Marijuana: Canada's medical marijuana program is getting an overhaul. Health Canada will relinquish control of the production and distribution of the drug to other, more secure licensed facilities.

But Monday on the program, we heard the change could drastically affect the effectiveness of the program for some patients.

This email comes from a listener in Nova Scotia who writes: I find the system laughable because I can get methadone - with all its known side effects - with a snap of my fingers. But getting marijuana is a 9 month process, if a doctor will sign.

We also went to the voicemail for some more thoughts on this.

Santa Smoking: Cleaning up Santa. Author Pamela McColl's new smoke-free version of the classic Christmas tale left some of you steaming.

On Facebook, Jennifer Jilks posted this:

Dumbest thing ever. This is a teachable moment; an opportunity for parents to talk to kids about the issue. Better this, than to sanitize and censure literature.

Alanna MacDougall disagrees. She writes from Ottawa:

Pamela McColl isn't promoting censorship. She's simply providing an option for parents who want to enjoy this traditional story and don't want to have to deal with the question - "Why is Santa smoking?" from their 3 year old.
This is no different than other simplified-for-children books.

Emily Grant lives in the Niagara region and sent in these thoughts:

My four year old caught a glimpse of MadMen and was horrified that everyone was smoking. Maintaining the original work allows children to see how the world has changed. Children are capable of understanding so much more than we give them credit for.

We had one another thought from our voicemail.

And we had to include this comment from Therese Williams of Pender Island, BC who says:

I was intrigued by this interview -- really!? Are you sure I wasn't listening to "This is That?"

Lots of ways to add your view to anything you hear on The Current. You can call us toll free at 1 877 287 7366. Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Or find us on Facebook - facebook.com/cbcthecurrent. Or go to our website to email us, download the podcast, check out our 10th anniversary site, or listen to past episodes. And of course, we are connected via Canada Post. Box 500, Station A, Toronto, M5W 1E6.

This segment was produced by The Current's Jessica deMello and Carole Ito.

Other segments from today's show:

Newtown shooting media mistakes: Is it okay to get facts wrong?

University students calling for a divestment from fossil fuel industry