No Ordinary Girl

By Christopher di Armani

Katey Montague is no ordinary 15-year-old, nor is there anything ordinary about the experiences that are shaping this young woman. At twelve she suffered the trauma of watching her father, Bruce Montague, as he was dragged out of the Dryden Gun Show on September 11, 2004 by six Ontario Police Officers.

As she stood crying, a family friend took her under his wing and called Donna Montague, Katey's mother, to come get her. When Donna arrived at the gun show to retrieve a very distraught Katey, the OPP arrested Donna Montague too.

A year later the Ontario Attorney General's office seized the Montague family home using the Ontario Proceeds of Crime legislation. The Crown's reasoning appears simple: if the Montague's cannot afford to defend themselves, they'll be much easier to convict. Seize their home and they cannot use it to finance their defense.

This is legislation that was supposedly aimed at drug dealers and gangs.

Some 15-year-olds would cower in a corner and whimper the rest of their lives. Katey Montague, however, is not your average teenager. She refuses to accept this sort of treatment from her government without a fight.

Using the tools of her generation, Katey Montague launched her attack on YouTube in January 2007.

Her first video, Katey's Firearms Facts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJggEvIlsJ4), shows many of the serious gaffes the Canadian Firearms Centre has committed, along with some of the more ludicrous actions of some teachers in schools.

She has released twenty-five videos on her YouTube site so far, with dozens more in the works. (http://www.youtube.com/kateysfirearmsfacts).

Some show the utter failure of the police to protect women. Some encourage women to learn how to use a firearm for self-defense. Some encourage women to stand up for both themselves and their rights.

“After all”, Katey says, “if you don't have have the facts, how can you make an educated choice?”

While Katey doesn't claim to have all the answers, she shows an amazing clarity of purpose as she shows that one person can make a difference.

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Christopher di Armani is a freelance writer and filmmaker who resides in Lytton, BC, Canada, with his wife Lynda and their two dogs, Koda and Tuco.

Christopher can be contacted at christopher(at)diArmani.com or http://www.diArmani.com.

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