Patrick Graham
Moderator
Canadian police re-examine gun control
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Christian Science Monitor Service
From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century
BY TOM REGAN
(August 26, 1999 10:27 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - In a
move that may have ramifications for the ongoing gun-control debate
in the United States, the Canadian Police Association is considering
reversing its stand on gun registration.
Like police in the United States, Canadian police have long been a
bedrock of support for stricter gun control. But Wednesday at the
association's annual meeting in Regina, Saskatchewan, members took
up a resolution to withdraw their support for the Firearms Act, which
many say in hindsight has become too expensive and unworkable.
The controversial Firearms Act, which took effect in late 1998,
requires all rifle and shotgun owners in Canada to register their
weapons by 2003.
The resolution, which is to be voted on Friday and which has been
brought forward by the executive committee of the Saskatchewan
Federation of Police Officers (SFPO), has a 50-50 chance of passing,
according to some police officials.
If the association passes the resolution, the officials say, the
standing of the Firearms Act with the public would be seriously
undermined. "It will sound the end bell," says Murray Grismer, a
13-year veteran of the police force in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"The federal justice department has sent a deputy minister to Regina
this week to lobby the national association to support something that
is already a law," says Grismer, who serves as SFPO's spokesman. "To
me, that says the government knows that there is no concrete
support for the bill with the public and that it needs groups like the
CPA in order to sell the law to the public."
The Firearms Act is the latest major piece of gun-control legislation in
Canada, the first of which was passed in 1934. The country has been
far ahead of the United States on such measures and can serve as a
sort of test case for Americans as they consider their own legislation.
A move in Canada toward less gun control could thus impact the
direction of lawmaking in the United States. In September, a U.S.
congressional conference is expected to hammer out new gun-control
legislation in the wake of such tragedies as the shootings at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
So far, about 90,000 Canadians have complied with the new law. The
government estimates that about 28 percent of Canadians own
firearms, a figure somewhere between 7 million and 9 million. By
comparison, one-third of U.S. households are estimated to have a
gun. Statistics Canada, a government agency in Ottawa, says there
were 193 homicides that involved firearms in Canada last year - 77
with a rifle and 99 with a handgun. Overall, homicide figures in
Canada hit a 30-year low. In the United States, an average of 87
people a day are killed by firearms.
Grismer says many police are re-examining their initial support for the
Canadian act because it has turned out to be far more expensive
than originally forecast. Original estimates were about $85 million to
create the infrastructure to support the act; some people now say
the total cost could be about $200 million or more. Creating an
accurate, accessible database for police to track firearms has also
proved to be much harder than expected, especially since "criminals
don't register their guns," says Grismer.
"The government's own audit says the system is 80 to 90 percent
inaccurate. What value is that to me as a police officer? If I go into a
domestic dispute and use the system to do a check and it tells me
that there is no firearm in the dwelling, then even subconsciously, I
let my guard down. And if the system is wrong, then that's trouble."
The CPA resolution is just the latest move to undermine the act.
Several national gun-owner groups and six of the 10 provinces are
challenging the constitutionality of the law before the Canadian
Supreme Court. They argue that the federal government overstepped
its authority when it imposed the Firearms Act on the provinces.
Many national firearms groups, such as the National Firearms
Association, are also calling on their membership to ignore the law.
But those who support the act, including the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police, say that many of these arguments are misleading
and that the act is working as intended.
"Much has been said about the problems of smuggled handguns in
crime, and it may be true that 'criminals' will not register their guns,"
Dave Cassels wrote in an opinion piece in the Edmonton Journal last
month. He is former chief of the Winnipeg police and deputy police
chief of Edmonton.
"However, the fact remains that most criminals get their guns from
so-called 'law-abiding' gun owners and that without mechanisms to
track firearms, we have no way of controlling the illegal gun trade or
enforcing existing safe storage laws."
Cassels also credits the rise in cost of implementing the law to the
federal government's need to fight costly battles to defend it in
court.
And Jean Valin, director of public affairs for the Canadian Firearms
Center in Ottawa, which handles all requests for registration forms,
says many gun owners support the law. In a survey of 3,300
Canadians last year, 50 of gun owners supported the mandatory
registration of all firearms; 80 percent of all respondents said that
they were in support.
Valin also notes that the gun lobby represents an increasingly small
number of Canadians. "The dynamic is that the sport aspect of
owning a gun is in steady decline. People want to do other things -
go rollerblading or hiking. In fact, even 46 percent of Canadians who
do own a gun say they never use them anymore."
Both sides can show support for their positions. Pro-gun-control
forces won an important battle late last year when the Alberta
Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Firearms Act by a
3-2 margin. But on the other hand, Grismer points to the recent
election of new premiers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, who
both took strong stances against the law.
Grismer says he is also aware of what the CPA vote could mean for
the gun-control debate in the United States, and recent suggestions
by some politicians that the United States needs a similar
gun-registration law.
"I don't think it would ever happen anyway. But if the CPA reverses
its opinion, then yes, I do think it will make an impact on the debate
in the U.S. It means (a gun-registration system) will never, ever
happen."
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Christian Science Monitor Service
From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century
BY TOM REGAN
(August 26, 1999 10:27 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - In a
move that may have ramifications for the ongoing gun-control debate
in the United States, the Canadian Police Association is considering
reversing its stand on gun registration.
Like police in the United States, Canadian police have long been a
bedrock of support for stricter gun control. But Wednesday at the
association's annual meeting in Regina, Saskatchewan, members took
up a resolution to withdraw their support for the Firearms Act, which
many say in hindsight has become too expensive and unworkable.
The controversial Firearms Act, which took effect in late 1998,
requires all rifle and shotgun owners in Canada to register their
weapons by 2003.
The resolution, which is to be voted on Friday and which has been
brought forward by the executive committee of the Saskatchewan
Federation of Police Officers (SFPO), has a 50-50 chance of passing,
according to some police officials.
If the association passes the resolution, the officials say, the
standing of the Firearms Act with the public would be seriously
undermined. "It will sound the end bell," says Murray Grismer, a
13-year veteran of the police force in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"The federal justice department has sent a deputy minister to Regina
this week to lobby the national association to support something that
is already a law," says Grismer, who serves as SFPO's spokesman. "To
me, that says the government knows that there is no concrete
support for the bill with the public and that it needs groups like the
CPA in order to sell the law to the public."
The Firearms Act is the latest major piece of gun-control legislation in
Canada, the first of which was passed in 1934. The country has been
far ahead of the United States on such measures and can serve as a
sort of test case for Americans as they consider their own legislation.
A move in Canada toward less gun control could thus impact the
direction of lawmaking in the United States. In September, a U.S.
congressional conference is expected to hammer out new gun-control
legislation in the wake of such tragedies as the shootings at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
So far, about 90,000 Canadians have complied with the new law. The
government estimates that about 28 percent of Canadians own
firearms, a figure somewhere between 7 million and 9 million. By
comparison, one-third of U.S. households are estimated to have a
gun. Statistics Canada, a government agency in Ottawa, says there
were 193 homicides that involved firearms in Canada last year - 77
with a rifle and 99 with a handgun. Overall, homicide figures in
Canada hit a 30-year low. In the United States, an average of 87
people a day are killed by firearms.
Grismer says many police are re-examining their initial support for the
Canadian act because it has turned out to be far more expensive
than originally forecast. Original estimates were about $85 million to
create the infrastructure to support the act; some people now say
the total cost could be about $200 million or more. Creating an
accurate, accessible database for police to track firearms has also
proved to be much harder than expected, especially since "criminals
don't register their guns," says Grismer.
"The government's own audit says the system is 80 to 90 percent
inaccurate. What value is that to me as a police officer? If I go into a
domestic dispute and use the system to do a check and it tells me
that there is no firearm in the dwelling, then even subconsciously, I
let my guard down. And if the system is wrong, then that's trouble."
The CPA resolution is just the latest move to undermine the act.
Several national gun-owner groups and six of the 10 provinces are
challenging the constitutionality of the law before the Canadian
Supreme Court. They argue that the federal government overstepped
its authority when it imposed the Firearms Act on the provinces.
Many national firearms groups, such as the National Firearms
Association, are also calling on their membership to ignore the law.
But those who support the act, including the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police, say that many of these arguments are misleading
and that the act is working as intended.
"Much has been said about the problems of smuggled handguns in
crime, and it may be true that 'criminals' will not register their guns,"
Dave Cassels wrote in an opinion piece in the Edmonton Journal last
month. He is former chief of the Winnipeg police and deputy police
chief of Edmonton.
"However, the fact remains that most criminals get their guns from
so-called 'law-abiding' gun owners and that without mechanisms to
track firearms, we have no way of controlling the illegal gun trade or
enforcing existing safe storage laws."
Cassels also credits the rise in cost of implementing the law to the
federal government's need to fight costly battles to defend it in
court.
And Jean Valin, director of public affairs for the Canadian Firearms
Center in Ottawa, which handles all requests for registration forms,
says many gun owners support the law. In a survey of 3,300
Canadians last year, 50 of gun owners supported the mandatory
registration of all firearms; 80 percent of all respondents said that
they were in support.
Valin also notes that the gun lobby represents an increasingly small
number of Canadians. "The dynamic is that the sport aspect of
owning a gun is in steady decline. People want to do other things -
go rollerblading or hiking. In fact, even 46 percent of Canadians who
do own a gun say they never use them anymore."
Both sides can show support for their positions. Pro-gun-control
forces won an important battle late last year when the Alberta
Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Firearms Act by a
3-2 margin. But on the other hand, Grismer points to the recent
election of new premiers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, who
both took strong stances against the law.
Grismer says he is also aware of what the CPA vote could mean for
the gun-control debate in the United States, and recent suggestions
by some politicians that the United States needs a similar
gun-registration law.
"I don't think it would ever happen anyway. But if the CPA reverses
its opinion, then yes, I do think it will make an impact on the debate
in the U.S. It means (a gun-registration system) will never, ever
happen."