Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. Yorkton-Melville

News Release

Gun Control will Result in More Crime, More Injuries and More Death
"The Liberals will use this to justify even more gun controls in the future," says Breitkreuz

For Immediate Delivery

January 25, 1995

(1)Professor Gary Mauser, PhD from Simon Fraser University, conducted a survey of Canadians in 1990 which showed that between 1985 and 1990 there were approximately 32,255 incidents each year where a Canadian reported using a firearm to defend him or herself against a human threat. Gun control laws restrict immediate and easy access to firearms when they are needed to defend yourself, your family, your home and your property. As a result, fewer citizens will be able to defend themselves with firearms when they are in a violent confrontation with real criminals and more innocent victims will be killed or injured as a result.

(2)Seventy-four percent of over 2000 convicted criminals interviewed in the United States agreed with the statement, "One reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot." In Britain, 59% of attempted burglaries were committed while someone was at home. In the USA, only 9% were. Allan Rock's gun controls will reduce the number of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens and restrict immediate access when needed most. More and more real criminals in Canada will realize that they have little or nothing to fear of being captured or shot during a robbery and therefore robberies will increase accordingly, just like they did in Britain.

(3)If gun control advocates think that gun ownership is not a deterrent to criminals they should be willing to put a sign in their window which says, "This is a gun-free zone." No one will do this because it would make them a prime target for break-ins and robberies in their neighbourhood. There doesn't have to be a lot of guns to keep the real criminals in check, the trick is the criminals must never know who owns guns and who does not.

(4)Studies conducted of hundreds of thousands of violent crimes involving firearms by Gary Kleck, an author and respected researcher in the United States, show that victims of attempted robbery and assault are less likely to be injured if they defend themselves with a gun than if they offer no resistance, also that the robbery or assault is less likely to succeed in these instances. Gun controls mean fewer guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, restricted access to the ones we have and therefore fewer defensive uses of firearms when justified. The end result: more successful robberies and assaults and more injuries and deaths during the commission of these violent crimes.

(5)Rock's proposals to ban .25 and .32 calibre handguns and all handguns with barrel lengths of less than 4.14 inches long will force real criminals to resort to using even larger, more deadly handguns or sawed-off shot guns. This will definitely result in more injury and death during robberies.

(6)Rock's proposals will ban the sale, import and manufacture of replica firearms or, in other words, toy guns. This will force the real criminals to resort to using real guns and more innocent victims will injured or killed as a result. I hope I never get robbed, but if I do, I hope it is with a replica gun and not a real one.

(7)Real criminals will always be able to get guns. Gun dealers in the USA are already praising the Liberal gun control proposals because it will increase the demand and price for handguns on the black market in Canada. Any increase in black market activity increases smuggling and trafficking which increases real crime and causes more work for the police.

(8)Supposedly with the registration of all guns, police will now know who has a gun and who does not when they approach an incident or domestic dispute at a private household. But what if their system shows that there are no guns at the house and the person inside actually has one? What if the police let their guard down, for even an instant, as a result of the false information in their system? What if more police officers get shot because of the information the registration system can never know?

(9)Finally, Allan Rock's proposals will result in the police charging many heretofore law-abiding, responsible gun owners with criminal offenses for improper storage and non-compliance with the gun registration laws. The Liberals will not doubt count these as so-called "gun crimes" to justify even stricter gun controls in the future.

"Gun controls will not improve public safety, it will put the public at more risk. Gun controls will not reduce violent crime, it will increase violence. Gun controls will not save lives, it will cost lives. Gun controls will not make it easier for police, it will make it harder. And, the Liberals will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to introduce more ineffective, useless gun controls. How many more lives could be saved if this money was spent on suicide prevention centres, family counselling services and women's crisis centres? When will the Liberals get to dealing with the root causes of violent crime?" asked Breitkreuz.

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For more information, please contact:

The Office of Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.