FOR
PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY Edmonton Journal - Opinion
November 19, 2000
Gun law aids in protecting Canadians
By David Cassels
The current federal election has aroused much debate about Canada's gun
control legislation. This legislation responds directly to concerns
raised
by the police community again and again over the past decade.
Canada's Firearms Act balances public safety concerns and the legitimate
needs of farmers, hunters and sports shooters. This past August, the
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) stood firm in its
support
for the firearms law, along with major public safety and crime
prevention
organizations across Canada. Experts continue to support the legislation
as
an essential tool to reducing the misuse of firearms and the illegal gun
trade.
The firearms legislation provides critical tools for policing. The
licensing
system will ensure effective screening of applicants. The fact is that
most
criminals get their guns from so-called law abiding gun owners and that
without mechanisms to track guns we have no way of controlling the
illegal
gun trade or enforcing existing safe storage laws.
The greatest problem we faced with the old system is the Firearms
Acquisition Certificate (FAC) allowed individuals to buy as many rifles
and
shotguns as they wanted over a five-year period and these firearms could
not
be easily traced to the original owner. Currently, there are
approximately
five million rifles and shotguns in circulation and under the old
system,
police did not know who owned them. As of Oct. 28, 2000, over 1, 065,850
gun
owners have applied for a licence and over 1,869,495 firearms are known
to
police.
Gun theft is a major problem. Evidence clearly shows that while safe
storage
laws are on the books, they are difficult to enforce without information
about who owns what. Gun owners will be more accountable for their
firearms
and more likely to store them securely if they know their names are
attached
to them.
At least six public inquests into tragic incidents have recommended
registration and licensing as preventative measures. In Canada there are
currently 70,000 prohibition orders for people considered to be a risk
to
themselves or to public safety. But without registration, it is
difficult
for police to enforce them; we simply do not know who owns guns or what
guns
they own in high-risk situations. Registration will allow us to
intervene
earlier by providing information about what officers may encounter. As
such,
the law will be a major contributor to officer safety.
It is true that the costs are higher than originally anticipated but
that is
largely the result of concerted opposition from the gun lobby and its
political allies. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent battling
the
legislation in court.
The legislation is really intended to hold irresponsible gun owners
responsible for their firearms. It brings Canada in line with other
industrial nations and makes a major contribution to making our streets
safer.
Chief David Cassels (retired),
Winnipeg Police Service,
Radium Hotsprings,
B.C.
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