FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 15, 2009
The Canadian Shooting Sports Association applauds new Bill to end the failed Long Gun Registry
OTTAWA - The CSSA is pleased to support Portage-Lisgar M.P., Candice Hoeppner’s Private Members Bill C-391, to end the failed and wasteful Long Gun Registry
“We are pleased to see the Conservative government attempting to achieve consensus in the House of Commons regarding firearms legislation. This Bill addresses the concerns of the Opposition while removing the costly albatross of the long gun registry,” stated Tony Bernardo, Executive Director of the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action.
The Hoeppner Bill, C-391, contains provisions that will end the Long Gun Registry, reducing the exorbitant costs associated with the Firearms Act. “Ending the Long Gun Registry can only result in massively decreased costs with no loss of public safety,” Bernardo added.
Despite having only half the firearms in Canada entered into the registry, the CBC has estimated its costs to Canadian taxpayers at over $2 Billion and it is estimated another $1 Billion + will be needed to complete the program, not including annual operating costs.
Support for the failed program has almost totally diminished, except for certain special interest groups like the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, a group that accepts large donations from the company that runs the Registry computer systems (CGI.)
CSSA Executive Director Larry Whitmore states, “This is a Bill that all Canadians can feel comfortable with. C-391 will help restore credibility to Canada’s firearms control measures and we strongly encourage all Canadians to support it.” He added, “The Opposition has clearly stated their desire for such a Bill. It's time for them to stop the rhetoric and act in the interests of Canada's taxpayers. They need to support Bill C-391”
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For More Information Contact:
Tony Bernardo
905-571-2150
abernardo343@rogers.comBill C-391:
OK folks, here we go! As the title says, C-391 has been introduced. Now is the time to really push on this one. We don't need letters to CPC MPs, but to the opposition, particularly those in rural ridings. The M.P.s we need to address are listed below. You can find them here with their current addresses:
http://webinfo.parl.gc.caPlease send snail mail or faxes, not emails. Emails are only read some of the time and almost never by the MP. CC your letters to at least four other MPs too.
Government rules:
1) Correspondence in writing must be responded to in writing. This guarantees someone will have to actually look at it.
2) Every person CC'd on a letter must also have the letter forwarded by everyone else on the CC list, i.e., If a letter is sent to Ignatieff and CC'd to four other Liberal MPs, they must share a copy of that letter with everyone else on the list. In other words, one letter with four CC's generates 25 copies of the letter floating around the Parliament Hill Offices. Great bang for the buck!
3) Letters that are rude or abusive are simply tossed. Be polite.
4) Letters to MPs are FREE POSTAGE!
5) Every written letter is counted as being indicative of 500 votes.
Ask the MP to support Bill C-391. Keep your messaging on the waste of money and the tremendous improvement C-391 will make to the Firearms Program without compromising public safety.
To all of that participate in this, THANK YOU. It makes my job SO much easier.
Tony Bernardo
Talking Points: The Ten Myths of the Long Gun Registry
Myth #1: The Gun Registry is a valuable tool for the police and they access it 9,500 times per day.
The “9,500 hits” figure for the Canadian Firearms Registry On-Line (CFRO) is misleading per the Public Security Ministry’s website of May 17 2006 (Ques 18). Whenever police officers access the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) for any reason, such as for a simple address check, an automatic hit is generated with CFRO whether the information is desired or not. This is the case, for example, with the Toronto Police Service (5,000 officers), the Vancouver Police (1,400 officers), Ottawa Police Service (1,050 officers) and the BC RCMP (5,000 officers). Additionally, every legal purchase of a firearm generates three administrative hits to the registry; for the buyer, for the seller and for the firearm. These changes to the computer records are conducted by police agencies and are counted in the totals. Given the seven million firearms registered in the system, legal transfers must account for the majority of “hits”. Clearly, a hit on the Registry does not denote legitimate investigative use.
Myth #2: The registry provides police officers information on the presence of firearms when they respond to emergency calls.
Maybe. The Firearms Registry only provides a list of the legal guns, the very guns an officer is least likely to be harmed by. The truth is, very few legally owned guns are used in the commission of crimes. The latest report shows some 7% of firearm homicides were committed with registered firearms in the last 8 years. The elimination of the registry will only eliminate the useless lists of lawful guns. The fact an individual has a firearms licence will still be known to the police. They will know whether a legal firearm is at a particular location by virtue of the fact that an individual has a licence. The abolition of the long-gun registry doesn’t affect that. Even so, it is the illegal firearms that police are usually the most concerned about (93% in the last 8 years). No police officer would rely on the inaccurate registry data to dictate how they approach a domestic or emergency call. They would approach all calls with an appropriate measure of safety.
Myth #3: Firearms related deaths have been reduced due to the long gun registry.
Reduction in firearms deaths started in the mid 1970’s, well prior to the introduction of the registry in 2003 (StatsCan) and mirrors a proportionally greater reduction experienced in the United States, where firearms laws are being loosened. There is no evidence to link the reduction in deaths with the registry and it has far more to do with the aging demographic that anything else.
Myth #4: Police investigations are aided by the registry.
Information contained in the registry is incomplete and unreliable. Due to the inaccuracy of the information, it cannot be used as evidence in court and the government has yet to prove that it has been a contributing factor in any investigation. Another factor is the dismal compliance rate (estimated at only 50%) for licensing and registration which further renders the registry useless. Some senior police officers have stated as such: “The law registering firearms has neither deterred these crimes nor helped us solve any of them. None of the guns we know to have been used were registered . . . the money could be more effectively used for security against terrorism as well as a host of other public safety initiatives.” Former Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino, January 2003.
Myth #5: The registry protects women in violent domestic situations.
Registered long guns were used in (all) homicide only twice in 2003 (Public Security Ministry website), and a total of 9 times from 1997-2004 (Library of Parliament). The registry of 7,000,000 firearms did not prevent these deaths. Given the extraordinarily low rate of misuse of some 7,000,000 registered firearms, it is unreasonable to believe that maintaining a registry of long guns could have any effect on spousal homicide rates. Moreover, the vast majority of violent domestic assaults are preceded by a lengthy, police recorded history, effectively denying abusers a firearms license. This should address their access to legally acquired guns.
On an average day, women’s shelters referred 221 women and 112 children elsewhere due to lack of funding. Clearly, there are better uses for the money than registering duck guns.
Myth #6: The registry helps track stolen guns and forces firearms owners to be more responsible in storing their firearms. Over 50% of firearms used in crime are stolen from gun owners
Past Department of Justice studies found that among homicides where details were available, 84% of the firearms used in the commission of the crimes are unregistered and 74.9% are illegal guns smuggled into Canada, not the 50% some claim. Recently, Canada’s National Weapons Enforcement Support Team reported that 94% of crime guns were illegally imported into Canada. Vancouver Police report 97% of seized firearms are smuggled. Other government sources show between 9 and 16% of crime firearms originate in Canada. That figure is speculative as the vast majority of firearms used in crime are never recovered and most recovered guns cannot be identified as the serial numbers are removed.
Myth #7: The information on the registry database is secure and cannot be accessed by the criminal element.
There were 306 illegal breaches of the national police database documented between 1995 and 2003, 121 of which are still unsolved. Many police investigators have publicly voiced their concerns that the gun registry has been breached and become a “shopping list” for thieves.
Myth #8: The money has already been spent to set up the registry. It is foolish to dismantle it now.
The gun registry is by no means complete. Only 7 million of the 16.5 million guns that are in Canada (according to government import and export records) are registered. More than 300,000 owners of previously registered handguns still don’t have a firearms licence, more than 400,000 firearm licence holders still haven’t registered a gun and more than 300,000 owners of a registered handgun still have to re-register 548,254 handguns ( Canadian Firearms Registry). Based upon precedent, it will cost another billion dollars to complete the registry.
Myth #9: Rifles and shotguns are the weapon of choice for criminals and are the most used firearms in crime.
Where firearms were used in a violent crime, 71.2% involved handguns (but it is estimated that over 1/3 involve replicas or air guns), only 9% involved rifles or shotguns (of which 2.1% were registered) and 6.5% involved sawed off rifles or shotguns (already prohibited).
Myth #10: The tragic deaths of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, by the hand of a criminal with a rifle proves the need for the long gun registry.
The registry’s monumental failure to prevent the tragic deaths of these police officers underscores the folly of registering the firearms of the law abiding. The criminal who committed these crimes was in illegal possession of firearm, despite the presence of the registry. These events prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the ineffective uselessness of the long gun registry in protecting our society.
M.P.s to Contact: Our research has identified the following M.P.s that may vote our way regarding the elimination of the Long Gun Registry
North:
Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic) NDP
Larry Bagnell (Yukon) Liberal
BC:
Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley) NDP
Alex Atamanenko (BC Southern Interior) NDP
Keith Martin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) Liberal
Alberta:
Jim Maloway (Elmwood-Transcona) NDP
Manitoba:
Niki Ashton (Churchill) NDP
Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre) NDP
Ontario:
John Rafferty (Thunder Bay-Rainy River) NDP
Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay-Superior North) NDP
Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) NDP
Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapiskasing) NDP
Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt) NDP
Tony Martin (Sault Ste Marie) NDP
Malcolm Allen (Welland) NDP
Anthony Rota (Nipissing-Timiskaming)Liberal
Nova Scotia:
Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore) NDP
Scott Brison (Kings-Hants) Liberal
Mark Eyeking (Sydney-Victoria) Liberal
Roger Cuzner (Cape Breton) Liberal
Bill Casey (Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit) Independent
NFLD:
Scott Simms (Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor) Liberal
Judy Foote (Random-Burin-St. George’s) Liberal
Siobahn Coady (St. John’s South-Mount Pearl) Liberal
PEI:
Wayne Easter (Malpeque) Liberal
Quebec:
Andre Bellavance (Richmond-Athabaska) BQ
Louis Plamondon (Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Becancour)BQ
Gerard Asselin (Manicouagan) BQ
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