British Columbia Sport & Outdoor Lounge > Hunters' Cabin

Ending the Wasteful Long-gun Registry, In 3 Days

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chris gadsden:
 


Received this a few minutes ago. ;D ;D

 
Mark it on your calendar and pay close attention to this one.  November 4th is going to be a big day on Parliament Hill.  Here's why:

Every federal Member of Parliament, provided they are not a Minister in the government, is allowed to propose bills for Parliament to consider, debate, and eventually vote on.  They're called private Members’ bills, and they could be on any subject matter.  Ideally, they want to choose a subject that is consistent with their party's platform or perhaps something they have always championed.  While only a few of them ever pass into law, it is possible to do so when all the parliamentary stars line up.  Such a moment may be happening on November 4th, when a vote on Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner's bill to abolish the wasteful long gun registry takes place.

The last time we dealt with this issue, Parliament voted on whether or not to extend the 'amnesty' on the fees associated with the registry.  While members of the Conservative government continue to stand up for long-gun owners, some opposition members continue to demonstrate that they just don't get it.  NDP MP Nathan Cullen has actually criticized our Government's amnesty program for saving gun owners millions of dollars in fees!

This time it appears Ms. Hoeppner's bill has a chance to make it through the system.  Though only the Conservatives have campaigned against the registry, there are several MPs from other political parties who are also on the public record opposing it.  The handful of NDP and Liberal MPs from rural parts of Canada understand just how unpopular it is, so in order to get elected they 'promised' that they wanted it abolished.  On November 4th they'll get their chance to put their vote where their mouth is.  What will they do?

A couple of them have tipped their hand.  NDP MP Charlie Angus simply hates anything to do with the Conservatives and has said he'll vote neither yes nor no.  I assume he'll abstain or simply not show up for the vote.  I love his principled position!  Liberal MP Larry Bagnell from the Yukon seems to be leaning towards support which, having spoken to many Yukoners myself, doesn't surprise me.  We only need a few of them to vote as they promised in the last campaign, and it will go through to the Committee stage.

I'm hoping that Parliament's minority status may actually help us on this issue.  Since these wavering MPs know that they may have to answer to their voters in an election that could come within months, they may be paying more attention to the folks at home than they are to the Liberal, NDP, and Bloc leaders who want them to simply do as they're told.  We'll see.

If we win the vote on November 4th, it will be step one in abolishing one of the most expensive, least effective government programs I've ever seen.  There are so many better ways to use a billion dollars; from tax relief to law enforcement.  Keep your eye on this one and I'll let you know how it goes.

Min:
I don't know if it does any good, but, I wrote to my MP.  I mentioned the Bill and encouraged him to support it.
Who knows?  Every little bit helps?

Bassonator:
Its about time.....hated it since day one......no matter what the law is...bad guys will always get there guns.

chris gadsden:
MPs vote to scrap long-gun registry
   The federal long-gun registry moved a step closer to begin abolished
   as MPs voted Wednesday to scrap the controversial program. With
   support from some Liberal and NDP MPs, the private member's bill
   passed second reading by a vote of 164 to 137, sending it to
   committee.

chris gadsden:
House takes step toward repeal of gun registryMPs vote 164-137 to give 'approval-in principle' to a bill that calls for the repeal of legal requirements to register long-barrelled rifles and shotgunsComment on this story »
Tonda MacCharles
 Ottawa Bureau Published 57 minutes agoEmail Print Republish Add to Favourites Report an error Share Share  Article
 Comments (33) OTTAWA –A long-running effort by the Conservatives to kill the long-gun registry has passed an important hurdle in the House of Commons, with a majority voting for the first time in 14 years to study a bill to repeal it.

MPs voted 164-137 to give "second reading" — or "approval-in-principle" - to a private member's bill sponsored by MP Candice Hoeppner (Portage-Lisgar) that calls for the repeal of legal requirements to register long-barrelled rifles and shotguns.

12 NDP members, eight Liberals, and one independent MP voted with the 143 Conservatives.

The stage was set for the vote to pass hours earlier when Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff declared the current long-gun registry faces a crisis of "legitimacy" in rural Canada and needs to be overhauled.

Ignatieff said his caucus supports the "principle of gun control," and he personally believes it should include long guns. But he said the issue has divided urban and rural Canadians, and faces "resistance" in rural Canada.

He said his caucus is working on proposals to bridge that gap. In French, he suggested it could include "decriminalizing" the registration system for long guns.

Ignatieff said any Liberal changes would start with a "simple principle: we are for a firearms registration system that includes all firearms, but there is a problem of resistance in rural areas. It could be possible to decriminalize but to maintain a firearms registration system for long guns."

It was a Liberal government that enacted changes to the Criminal Code of Canada — in the wake of the 1989 Montreal massacre — and required Canadians to register their firearms including long-barrelled hunting rifles or shotguns.

Since 2006, the federal Conservatives brought in successive "amnesties" under the law and proposed government legislation to kill the registry — which has never been brought to a vote.

Instead it supported a private member's bill knowing votes on those are "freer" than on government bills.

Ignatieff and NDP leader Jack Layton's decisions to allow free votes by their caucus ensured Hoeppner's bill won the necessary votes to pass.

"The fundamental issue is to make sure we get a system of gun control which works both for rural Canada and for urban Canada," Ignatieff said.

"We want to listen to victims groups, sports hunters, legitimate gun owners to find a way to rebuild legitimacy for the gun registry in rural Canada. That's not a thing you can do overnight."

Ignatieff downplayed the impact of a Commons vote to give "second reading" to a private member's bill to repeal the registry.

"It's not the end of the firearms registration system tonight. It's only the beginning of a parliamentary process that will be pursued in committee and in the senate."

Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, watched the vote from the public gallery in the Commons and called it ``appalling."

"It wasn't even close," said the disgusted campaigner.

"It's horrifying and a lot of Canadians are going to wake up tomorrow and find out about this for the first time."

Meanwhile, the Conservative government continues to keep the latest report on the national firearms registry under wraps, even as MPs prepare to hold the vote on its future.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, who serves as the Commissioner of Firearms responsible for the gun registry, submitted the 2008 report to the federal government, but Peter Van Loan, the minister of public safety, has so far declined to table the report publicly in Parliament.

Van Loan told the Commons the report would be tabled eventually but that Canadians don't need "another report" to know the long gun registry "is very efficient at harassing law-abiding outdoor enthusiasts and farmers, and wasting money while being terribly inefficient at combating crime."

The vote late Wednesday now sends the bill to a committee for more study. It could die in committee, or be amended as long as changes adhere to the spirit of the bill. But generally, a bill that passes "second reading" may not be completely re-written to contradict its original intent.

The long-gun registry's supporters and its critics see the vote as an important step towards the registry's demise.

Quebec public safety minister Jacques Dupuis added his voice to those urging the federal Conservatives to maintain the registry, sending a letter directly to Van Loan.

After a heavy lobbying effort — including a Conservative-backed radio ad campaign targeting vulnerable Opposition ridings - Hoeppner (Portage-Lisgar) was confident she would get at least eight NDP and Liberal MPs to vote to get rid of the law.

Ignatieff and Layton personally opposed the bill, but cited their respective parties' "tradition" of free votes on private members' business.

Under Hoeppner's bill, longstanding controls on restricted handguns and prohibited weapons would remain, as would requirements that gun owners hold a valid license.

Hoeppner's bill doesn't specifically say that all the current data held on long-guns should be destroyed, but the government bill that proposed repealing the registry, currently languishing on the Senate's back-burner, does. And Hoeppner agrees that's what should happen.

In its 2007 report, the RCMP — which took over administration of the firearms centre in 2006 — states that the online firearms registry is "key to the safety of both police offers and the public, providing police with immediate access to the information they require in their investigations and operations."

The registry contains 11 years worth of data on 1.8 million licensed gun owners and 7.3 million firearms, including long-barrelled guns like hunting rifles and shotguns, as well as restricted handguns and prohibited weapons.

Information published on the RCMP's website rounds up the number of firearms, saying "there are an estimated 7.4 million firearms in Canada, about 1.2 million of which are restricted firearms (mostly handguns)."

However much of the other statistical information on the website related to firearms and violent crime rates or homicide is not up-to-date, but rather pre-dates the firearm registration regulations in Canada in 1998.

The RCMP reported that 2007 saw "better turnaround times" for licences and registrations, growing number of police queries of the firearms registry, and the use of new software that streamlined "production of notices to clients, court affidavits and other official documents."

"Overall, the Canadian Firearms Program was strengthened and woven more closely into the RCMP's National Police Services during 2007. It provided better service to law enforcement organizations, better service to licensing and registration clients, and was an important contributor to the RCMP's overall goal of 'safe homes, safe communities.' The RCMP is confident that 2008 will see continued progress in the priority areas," the report says.

It's not known what overview the 2008 report gives of the system and its operations

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