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Police in Papineauville, Quebec (about 70 km northeast of Ottawa), have charged a high-school student with "careless use of a firearm", even though he didn't actually have a firearm.

The facts don't matter to hysterical people, and that seems to extend to the Sûreté du Québéc in this case.

The boy was carrying a BB gun from his home to show a friend who said he wanted to buy it.

Even the Sûreté du Québéc will tell you that.  They will also tell you that the 16-year-old had no "malicious" intent, and nobody was harmed or threatened in any way.

BB guns are legal in Canada.  Carrying them in public is not a crime.  He did not pretend it was a firearm, he did not load the BB gun, nor did he fire it.  It is perfectly legal for him to carry it from one residence to another so long as it was unloaded and not used to threaten anyone.

That's exactly how he carried the thing.

None of that matters in the "common-sense-free zone" that Canada has become.

The boy was arrested, had his private property seized by the police, and was released "with conditions" and on a promise that her would appear in court to face the charge of "careless use of a firearm."

Why are we creating criminals out of young people like this boy?

The answer seems to be, sadly, "Because we can."

After all, guns are bad, and that should be enough of a reason.

Even if there is no gun, like in this case.