http://www.windsorstar.com/opinion/Long+guns/1443923/story.htmlLong guns
A chance to repeal registry
Windsor StarMarch 30, 2009
For more than a decade, the federal rifle and shotgun registry has stood out as a symbol of wasteful and ineffective bureaucracy. Finally, as early as this week, MPs will have a chance to repeal the controversial registry through the provisions of a private member's bill that's been proposed by Conservative Garry Breitkreuz.
After all this time, there's still no clear evidence the registry has stemmed gun-related crimes. Criminals simply don't register handguns or long guns. The individuals who have been targeted by the registry are law-abiding citizens, including hunters and collectors. And since the registry was introduced by the Chretien Liberals in 1995 it has cost taxpayers at least $2 billion.
It's an astronomical figure when you remember the registry was only supposed to cost $2 million when it was introduced in 1995. As well, a report from Auditor General Sheila Fraser in 2002 found that the program was excessively regulatory, overly complex and very costly to deliver and had become difficult for owners to comply with.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already thrown his support behind Breitkreuz's bill, and is urging gun owners to pressure their MPs into supporting the elimination of the registry.
"There are MPs in all these parties that know what we know: that law-abiding hunters and farmers are not part of the crime problem and that you should be respected and not demonized," Harper told a fishing and hunting conference in Toronto last week. "I challenge you to press these MPs to follow their consciences and do what they know is right, vote to abolish the long-gun registry and fight crime instead."
But it's Harper's message that should resonate with any Canadian who is concerned about a bureaucracy that is relatively useless and wasting tax dollars.
Breitkreuz's bill would effectively eliminate the long-gun registry as it applies to non-restricted firearms, including rifles and shotguns. "My bill would finally make public safety the priority of our country's gun control laws," said Breitkreuz. "Many Canadians have come to realize that the long-gun registry wasn't working because it targets the wrong people. It's a waste of time and money to lay a piece of paper beside every gun in the country. And the last I checked, criminals were not hampered in the least by the registry. Those are the people we need to go after if we really want to control crime."
And while there's no compelling evidence the registry has had an impact on gun crime, there is reason to believe the long gun registry has created an environment for crime. There were 306 illegal breaches of the national police database documented between 1995 and 2003 and 121 of those cases are still unsolved.
As another supporter of bill, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, has said: "Many police investigators have publicly voiced their concerns that the gun registry has been breached and become a shopping list for thieves."
After 14 years, the registry continues to syphon off tax dollars and continues to target the wrong people -- law-abiding Canadians. With some support from New Democrats and Liberals -- in what should be a free vote -- the rifle and shotgun registry will finally be dismantled and resources refocused on real criminals.
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