The Canadian Sergeant-At-Arms was lauded by the members of the Commons with two standing ovations today. Like the start of every session, the Speaker's procession entered the chamber with Kevin Vikers carrying the Mace which symbolizes the authority of the Speaker and the right conferred on the Commons by the Crown to meet and pass laws.

All the Members spontaneously rose and applauded. Kevin Vickers was obviously moved.



Later when the Canadian national anthem was sung, a tear could be seen on his cheek. Then, in a breach of precedent, the Prime Minister thanked him at the end of his speech, went over to him to thank him and then embraced the leaders of the two main opposition parties. Members once again applauded the man who had stood on guard for them.

No doubt the NRA will attempt to show how this proves how the "good guy with a gun" was able to defeat the bad guy and therefore open carry is justified. In reality, when the incident started, Kevin Vickers was only armed with his ceremonial sword. He does not carry a gun in the normal course of his duties but keeps one in his office safely under lock and key:



Michael Zehaf-Bibeau ... shot a ceremonial guard at the National War Memorial then proceeded to the Parliament. There, Zehaf-Bibeau, armed with a [.30-30 Winchester lever action rifle] shot a security guard in the foot, and entered the Hall of Honor. It was in this area that Vickers, armed with a pistol retrieved from a lockbox, engaged Zehaf-Bibeau, killing him.

So let's be clear, in the normal course of his duties, the person in charge of security for the Canadian House of Commons does not carry a gun. Of course guns are used by the Commons and Senate security staff and the RCMP who are responsible for the external security. Vickers' counterpart in the Canadian Senate, responsible for the security of that chamber is the Usher of the Black Rod.

The Sergeant-At-Arms for the Commons is responsible for the security of the House in a tradition that goes back to January 4, 1642.



King Charles I entered the House of Commons to arrest five Members of Parliament for high treason. The MPs were Mr Holles, Mr Pym, Sir A Haslerig, Mr Hampden and Mr William Strode. The Speaker at the time was William Lenthall.

I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as this House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here.

The five members had already left but the King demanded to know where they were. Speaker Lenthall's reply would define the role of Speaker in the British parliament and those modeled on it.The Commons Speaker is chosen from the elected members. Traditionally he or she is "dragged" to the chair "reluctantly" because of the personal danger the post put their predecessors in. Once in the chair, they are no longer a member of a political party but the servant of the House. Similarly the Sergeant-at-Arms is not a Crown employee. No servant or employee of the Crown is permitted to enter the chamber, except with the permission of the House.

At the start of each legislative year, the government sets out which laws it will bring forward. This is announced in the Queen's Speech - or in Crown Dominions the Throne Speech. It is read out in the upper chamber (in Canada the Senate, in the UK the House of Lords) from the throne by either the Queen or Governor General. Members of the Commons are asked to go to hear it by Black Rod. As a messenger of the Crown, he is barred from entering and must knock three times to request entry. At Westminster this assertion of the power Parliament over the Crown is further emphasized by the door being slammed in the face of Black Rod. It is the Sergeant-at-Arms who acts as guard for the chamber and permits entry once the Speaker has approved their admission.

Some of the ceremonials are archaic and the uniforms may be anachronistic but the functions the men in funny clothes carry out extend beyond the "main stage", something many looking from the outside are not aware of.

Members of Congress might also like to bear in mind the words of the Canadian Prime Minister today; (partly in translation) "Mr Speaker; in our country, in our system we are opponents but never enemies. We are all Canadians. We may sit across the aisle from one another but when faced with attacks on the country we love and the things we all stand for; I know we will always stand together".

One final remark. Kevin Vickers, the son of a dairy farmer and nurse, served for 29 years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Yesterday was the first time he had shot anybody.