PUBLICATION:
Calgary Herald
DATE:
2004.03.04
EDITION:
Final
SECTION:
Sports
PAGE:
F9
COLUMN:
Outdoors
BYLINE:
Bob Scammell
SOURCE:
For The Calgary Herald
So Much for That Theory
In
a Feb. 13 letter to the editor, Gael MacLeod congratulates us for the recent
column in which we supported the screening and licensing of gun owners but
suggests we stop complaining about the gun registry and the horrendous costs
because two thirds of the total cost of "gun control" has been in
screening and licensing of owners. Now
that was startling! I had always understood the gun registry was blowing away at
least two thirds of the money.
We
have had licensing of owners forever and nobody ever complained about the costs
other than the gun owners who had to pay them. So I embarked on the tortured
trail of the real numbers.
The
only response I got was equally startling and came from the office of Garry
Breitkreuz, MP, who arguably knows more than anyone, other than the Auditor
General, on the subject of out-of-control gun costs. Dennis
Young, executive assistant to Breitkreuz, writes: "The truth is that no one
knows the answer to that question (especially the government).
"Your reader picked that number from the air. "The reason being
is that since Dec. 1, 1998 the government has been implementing both licencing
and registration simultaneously."
---------------------------------------------------
Background
checks optional for gun licences, Ottawa says
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article114.htm
NUMBER
OF BACKGROUND CHECKS COMPLETED = GOV’T DOESN’T KNOW
Documented
as of: June 3, 2003
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns86.htm
FEDERAL
FIREARMS POSSESSION LICENCES ISSUED WITHOUT A SAFETY COURSE = 1,294,973
Documented
as of: January 3, 2004
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/FirearmsLicencesbyProv-2004-01-03.xls
FEDERAL
FIREARM ACQUISITION LICENCES ISSUED WITHOUT A FIREARMS SAFETY COURSE = 15,381
Documented
as of: July 11, 2002
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/moremistakes.htm
PROVINCIAL
HUNTING LICENCES SOLD WITH A SAFETY COURSE IN 2001-02 = 1,672,392
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/provincialhuntinglicencesales.htm