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Biker killings show criminals don't heed law

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Referring to the Bandidos biker gang, Det. Insp. Don Bell of the OPP said last week, "It should be noted that these men are criminals. They are not the motorcycle enthusiasts they portray themselves to be." It was an irony-free, Joe Friday moment. And it spoke volumes.

"These men" are criminals, and criminals generally don't obey the law. It is a safe bet, therefore, that all eight of the Bandidos members and "associates" found dead in a field from gunshot wounds last week, were not killed with registered guns. I imagine the people who slaughtered them weren't overly concerned with respecting any existing legal procedures on the possession of weaponry in this country.

So rather than focus on gun control, perhaps we need, in Canada, something akin to the American RICO (anti-racketeering) laws. We also need tougher sentencing and a tightened parole system, for all violent crime, gang-related or otherwise.

Stephen Harper promised the latter during the election campaign, making changes to our criminal justice system one of his "five key priorities" for Canada.

He has also promised that the gun registry, or at least the long-gun registry, would be scrapped. Whether it is, in fact, terminated (in a minority situation the Conservatives may find this task daunting), or simply left to die a slow death, remains to be seen. But whatever transpires, two things are sure The gun registry should be dismantled, and if that happens, it won't be missed.

The somewhere between $1- $2 billion price tag on it could be redirected and spent on hiring more police officers, for starters. All the registry does is keep watch on hunters, gun collectors and other law-abiding Canadians. It does nothing to stop criminals.

In the wake of events such as the Bandidos massacre, people feel frightened, and want an easy solution. But we shouldn't lose sight of the facts. In Canada, more than 65 per cent of gun-related homicides come from handguns, which are restricted.

The gun registry did not help Jane Creba last Boxing Day, or RCMP officers in Alberta last year. Or numerous other crime victims across Canada, particularly in Canada's cities.

Bandidos massacre aside, most gun crimes in Canada take place in urban areas. Yet, according to firearms statistics, most registered firearms belong to people in rural areas. In other words, criminals don't heed the law.

In their bestseller, Freakonomics, economists Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner use this argument to explain the impotence of the 1993 Brady Act, which requires background checks and waiting periods for Americans purchasing handguns.

In early 2003, Harper, as Canadian Alliance leader, accused the Liberals of throwing "good money after bad," in their insistence on keeping the gun registry alive. Three years later, he is in a position to pull the plug on the registry, and he should. Not just to keep a campaign promise, but to stop wasting money and to effectively use the resources he has, to protect Canadians.

Rondi Adamson is a Toronto writer whose work has been published in the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal Europe.