| PUBLICATION:
Edmonton Journal DATE: 2006.02.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A6 BYLINE: Ryan Cormier and David Staples SOURCE: The Edmonton Journal DATELINE: EDMONTON WORD COUNT: 689 ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Garry Breitkreuz; Photo: File, LCN / FrancoisPepin, 40, (centre) is escorted by police as he was arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting of Laval, Que. police officer Valerie Gignac in December. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bans on gun ownership often ignored: While many gun owners despise the long-gun registry, they also question why court-ordered prohibitions are not always enforced -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDMONTON -- Three unstable men with volatile tempers, criminal histories and contempt for authority have shot and killed police officers in Canada in the past two years. Prosecutors wanted to ban them
from owning guns. Still, all three owned the high-powered rifles they
used for killing: Opponents of the long-gun registry point to such cases as evidence of its failure to prevent crime. "These three cases show how useless the gun registry is," said Garry Breitkreuz, a Saskatchewan MP and the Conservatives' lead critic of the registry. "We have neglected the essence of what we should be doing, which is to make sure those who have been prohibited from owning firearms don't have them." A critical flaw is that the system does not check up on individuals with gun bans, Breitkreuz said. Registry supporters believe the problem lies with careless owners. "There are people who have been prohibited from owning guns that are getting access to guns. You have to ask yourself how," said Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control. "A good proportion of them are guns that legal gun owners are giving to people who shouldn't have them or are not storing them properly and allowing them to be stolen." During an assault trial in October 2002, Ostopovich narrowly avoided a ban when he said he needed guns for hunting. Roszko ignored the ban he received in April 2000. In 1999, Pepin was banned from having a gun outside of hunting season. When Gignac was shot, Pepin had two rifles, and it was not hunting season. "A firearms prohibition is useless," said David Tomlinson, president of the National Firearms Association. "If someone is planning to commit murder, how much effect do you think that piece of paper has?" Keith Spencer, a University of Alberta criminologist, agrees bans have limited use. "We have an exaggerated vision of the power of the law to change people's behaviour. Drunks who get their licence taken away still drive. People who have gun bans still have guns." Breitkreuz, Justice Minister Vic Toews and Public Security Minister Stockwell Day are looking for ways to sink the long-gun registry. (They still support registering handguns.) They say it does too little and costs too much. Its initial $2-million annual budget ballooned to more than $90 million, according to recent estimates. Their biggest obstacle is their minority government status. "We'll bring legislation into the House to go back to what we had previous to 1995," Breitkreuz said. "That's what we'll do eventually, but that's going to take some time because three parties are opposed to abolishing the registry. Only the Conservatives want to get rid of it." Cukier believes the registry has made Canada safer. "It's had a measurable impact on gun violence," she said. "From my point of view, all the federal government is doing is catering to the gun lobby." The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police still supports the registry. Association president Jack Ewatski indicated in January that the new Conservative government needs to be educated on the registry's usefulness. "We will certainly give this government some history relative to why we supported the gun legislation and gun control, including the registry, over the years," he said. Spencer is unconvinced the registry has made the public safer. "I don't think there's proof of that. It's been a political issue since Day 1 and still is." rcormier@thejournal.canwest.com FIREARM STATS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE REAL FIREARMS STATS NOVEMBER 29, 2004 -
STATISTICS CANADA: Trends in crime statistics can be influenced by many
factors including socio-demographic and economic changes, legislative
and program changes and changes in police practices. The specific impact
of the firearms program or the firearms registry cannot be isolated from
that of other factors. [STATISTICS CANADA emphasis] NOVEMBER 24, 2004 -
FIREARMS COMMISSIONER BILL BAKER ADMITS: 176,000 CONVICTED CRIMINALS PROHIBITED
FROM OWNING GUNS "NO LONGER EFFECTIVELY COVERED BY FIREARMS ACT."
IMPORTANT FACTS FROM HOMICIDE IN CANADA 2004 REPORT http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/2005/641.htm WEAPONS USED IN CRIME
IN 2003 5,688,766 “UNVERIFIED” FIREARMS IN GUN REGISTRY http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/2005_new/42.htm POLICE USE OF THE GUN
REGISTRY WILDLY EXAGGERATED BY LIBERALS! HAVE THE DEMANDS OF
FRONT-LINE POLICE OFFICERS BEEN MET? GUN REGISTRY NOT EFFECTIVE AT TELLING POLICE WHERE THE GUNS ARE http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/feb-18-2005.htm APRIL 4, 2005 - SEE
WHAT THE LIBERALS DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FIREARMS AFFIDAVITS THEY ISSUE.
APRIL 4, 2005 - SEE
WHAT THE LIBERALS DON'T KNOW ABOUT FIREARMS TRACES. NOVEMBER 2005 - FRASER
FORUM: Why a Drop in "Gun Deaths" Cannot Justify the Gun Registry
by Gary Mauser, PhD, Professor at Simon Fraser University. SEPTEMBER 2005 - FRASER
FORUM: Suicides and the "Gun Deaths" Fraud FRASER FORUM:
Are Guns Really More Dangerous than Other Weapons? |