No doubt the antis will sniff, "Bloody colonial, go home!".
http://www.nationalpost.com/home.asp?f=000414/259015
Friday, April 14, 2000
'Reclaim your God-given right' to guns, Heston urges Canadians
NRA leader speaks in B.C. against new gun control law
Richard Foot
National Post
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Charlton Heston, the Hollywood star and gun rights advocate, swept into British Columbia for two hours yesterday to denounce Bill C-68, Canada's new gun control law, as a "sham" and an "unenforceable fraud" foisted on the country by a "callous, self-serving government."
In his first speech in Canada as president of the powerful National Rifle Association of America, Mr. Heston, 75, also scolded Canadians for permitting a string of governments to erode their right to own guns without interference.
"First you gave in on handguns, then you compromised on long guns. Then came registration. Next comes confiscation," he told a packed ballroom filled with B.C. Wildlife Federation members.
"Trust me -- that's history's proven sequence of events. And that's why, with every passing day, more and more Canadians no longer trust their government."
Mr. Heston said although Canada is now phasing in tough licensing and registration rules for its three million legal gun owners, criminal gun users and "thugs now go free after serving only a sixth of their sentences."
"You fill your streets with violent felons and take guns away from honest citizens ... my friends, how did this happen?" asked the man best known for his portrayal of Moses in The Ten Commandments and his starring role in Ben-Hur.
"Can this be the Canada of old, carved out of the wilderness by independent men and women of uncommon valour?"
Mr. Heston galvanized the crowd of more than 200 delegates at the wildlife federation's annual meeting in this city in the B.C. Interior. His polished half-hour speech often elicited eruptions of cheers and applause from the audience.
In a convention hall adorned with hunting trophies of sheep and deer, dozens of anglers and outdoorsmen -- as well as uniformed provincial and federal wildlife enforcement officers -- cheered frequently as Mr. Heston lamented the loss of the supposed freedoms so many Canadian gun users hold dear.
In February, the Wildlife Federation and other grassroots groups joined several Canadian provinces in asking the Supreme Court of Canada to strike down Bill C-68, the Firearms Act, in part because they say it exceeds federal jurisdiction but also because they believe its central feature -- the mandatory registration of all seven million firearms in Canada by 2003 -- is an expensive and unworkable idea. They say most Canadian gun users will ignore the law.
The cost of starting up the new federal registry, initially estimated at $85-million, has now spiralled to at least $300-million. Mr. Heston quickly picked up on this theme.
"You know you'll spend some $700-million on this farce while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police begs for money to fight organized crime. That, my friends and neighbours, is sacrilege.
"Why is your government doing it? Because they can. Even worse, because you let them ... you stood by and watched while one of your most basic freedoms was crushed under the boot heel of an indifferent bureaucracy."
The B.C. Wildlife Federation was criticized by Anne McLellan, the federal Justice Minister, for inviting into Canada a famous gun advocate who has argued that schoolteachers should arm themselves with guns for protection.
Wendy Cukier, who leads Canada's Coalition for Gun Control, has also condemned the federation for trying to import American gun-culture values into Canada.
"I would say they're out to lunch," responded Gary Mauser, one of Canada's most vocal gun rights advocates and vice-president of the Wildlife Federation. "Much of Canada shares the values of self-reliance, independence, firearms safety and other basic values that Americans have."
Mr. Heston acknowledged yesterday that gun control lobbyists and enemies of the NRA now consider him "some sort of Great Satan." But he said any damage to his reputation has been worth it, because in the U.S., "We've managed to beat back the gun haters and retain our right to keep and bear arms without registration and without confiscation."
Mr. Heston also emphasized that Canadians and Americans do share common North American values, including a love of individual freedom.
"We are North Americans by birth, on either side of the line. The rest is just survey stakes and politics," he said. "At the same time, politics can certainly erode our common heritage and traditions."
He said Canada's decision to join other countries such as Britain and Australia in registering guns is a deep concern to the NRA. The organization is now distributing a half-hour video infomercial that says Canada's Firearms Act was inspired by an international gun control conspiracy being organized out of the UN.
Mr. Mauser said that Canada's anti-gun control lobby has had a great deal of moral support, but no financial help, from the NRA.
Mr. Heston challenged Canadians to fight harder against gun registration.
"Organize, learn to lobby, and fight the good fight," he said. "You can reclaim your God-given rights ... You've got to stay in the damn chariot. Don't quit."
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
http://www.nationalpost.com/home.asp?f=000414/259015
Friday, April 14, 2000
'Reclaim your God-given right' to guns, Heston urges Canadians
NRA leader speaks in B.C. against new gun control law
Richard Foot
National Post
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Charlton Heston, the Hollywood star and gun rights advocate, swept into British Columbia for two hours yesterday to denounce Bill C-68, Canada's new gun control law, as a "sham" and an "unenforceable fraud" foisted on the country by a "callous, self-serving government."
In his first speech in Canada as president of the powerful National Rifle Association of America, Mr. Heston, 75, also scolded Canadians for permitting a string of governments to erode their right to own guns without interference.
"First you gave in on handguns, then you compromised on long guns. Then came registration. Next comes confiscation," he told a packed ballroom filled with B.C. Wildlife Federation members.
"Trust me -- that's history's proven sequence of events. And that's why, with every passing day, more and more Canadians no longer trust their government."
Mr. Heston said although Canada is now phasing in tough licensing and registration rules for its three million legal gun owners, criminal gun users and "thugs now go free after serving only a sixth of their sentences."
"You fill your streets with violent felons and take guns away from honest citizens ... my friends, how did this happen?" asked the man best known for his portrayal of Moses in The Ten Commandments and his starring role in Ben-Hur.
"Can this be the Canada of old, carved out of the wilderness by independent men and women of uncommon valour?"
Mr. Heston galvanized the crowd of more than 200 delegates at the wildlife federation's annual meeting in this city in the B.C. Interior. His polished half-hour speech often elicited eruptions of cheers and applause from the audience.
In a convention hall adorned with hunting trophies of sheep and deer, dozens of anglers and outdoorsmen -- as well as uniformed provincial and federal wildlife enforcement officers -- cheered frequently as Mr. Heston lamented the loss of the supposed freedoms so many Canadian gun users hold dear.
In February, the Wildlife Federation and other grassroots groups joined several Canadian provinces in asking the Supreme Court of Canada to strike down Bill C-68, the Firearms Act, in part because they say it exceeds federal jurisdiction but also because they believe its central feature -- the mandatory registration of all seven million firearms in Canada by 2003 -- is an expensive and unworkable idea. They say most Canadian gun users will ignore the law.
The cost of starting up the new federal registry, initially estimated at $85-million, has now spiralled to at least $300-million. Mr. Heston quickly picked up on this theme.
"You know you'll spend some $700-million on this farce while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police begs for money to fight organized crime. That, my friends and neighbours, is sacrilege.
"Why is your government doing it? Because they can. Even worse, because you let them ... you stood by and watched while one of your most basic freedoms was crushed under the boot heel of an indifferent bureaucracy."
The B.C. Wildlife Federation was criticized by Anne McLellan, the federal Justice Minister, for inviting into Canada a famous gun advocate who has argued that schoolteachers should arm themselves with guns for protection.
Wendy Cukier, who leads Canada's Coalition for Gun Control, has also condemned the federation for trying to import American gun-culture values into Canada.
"I would say they're out to lunch," responded Gary Mauser, one of Canada's most vocal gun rights advocates and vice-president of the Wildlife Federation. "Much of Canada shares the values of self-reliance, independence, firearms safety and other basic values that Americans have."
Mr. Heston acknowledged yesterday that gun control lobbyists and enemies of the NRA now consider him "some sort of Great Satan." But he said any damage to his reputation has been worth it, because in the U.S., "We've managed to beat back the gun haters and retain our right to keep and bear arms without registration and without confiscation."
Mr. Heston also emphasized that Canadians and Americans do share common North American values, including a love of individual freedom.
"We are North Americans by birth, on either side of the line. The rest is just survey stakes and politics," he said. "At the same time, politics can certainly erode our common heritage and traditions."
He said Canada's decision to join other countries such as Britain and Australia in registering guns is a deep concern to the NRA. The organization is now distributing a half-hour video infomercial that says Canada's Firearms Act was inspired by an international gun control conspiracy being organized out of the UN.
Mr. Mauser said that Canada's anti-gun control lobby has had a great deal of moral support, but no financial help, from the NRA.
Mr. Heston challenged Canadians to fight harder against gun registration.
"Organize, learn to lobby, and fight the good fight," he said. "You can reclaim your God-given rights ... You've got to stay in the damn chariot. Don't quit."
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.