Do You Think Defeating the Bill Will Shut Them Up

Well the bill to scrap the gun registry is almost dead. Finally.

It has been a long infuriating summer's debate. E-mails, call-in shows, newspaper ads, commentary, chest thumping election style speeches - we had it all.  Perhaps the NRA wasn't involved but their spirit was ever present. Again and again the gun owners claimed, "The next thing is the police will take my guns away." Farmers talked about "The right to brae arms." What bull.

Those Conservative MP's claim the Liberals and the NDP are out to get hunters and farmers. What a crock.

Very few Canadians have any problem with hunters bagging the add deer or farmers shooting gophers but I must tell you that some of the pro-gun bumper stickers out here in Western Canada make me nervous. Who are my neighbours anyway?

We have to ask ourselves, who benefited from all this rhetoric.  No one really except perhaps the spin doctors, the big advertising firms, the pollsters and newspaper industry.  The ad on the right is a prime example. It ran, full page in Ottawa's Hill Times. Two days before the vote that, it has already been determined, will fail.

The ad says that ordinary citizens were not consulted and implies that if they were listened to, the gun registry would be on its was out.

I agree that many, many Canadian citizens were not listened to. I agree, but not in the same way the ad implies. My MP, Ton "A Team' Lukewski didn't listen to my support for the gun registry nor did any of the other Conservative MP's I wrote to.

What the ad really does is threaten. "WE WILL REMEMBER" it says. And, it implies, "If you don't vote to support the bill, we'll take you out next election.

Conservative style wedge politics at it's best.

Lets not go half way here. Let's just get it over with and call an election.

Pandering to the Red Necks

I'm not sure what it is about the gun registry that drive red necks crazy but out here in Saskatchewan nothing gets them quite so riled up, except perhaps daylight saving time. Not a logical argument in sight. You should see the bumper stickers out here. The Harper government loves these guys.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police think it is a good idea to register long guns and I don't think you could find a more, small "c" conservative group than them. I understand why they figure a registry is a good idea. When old Jarod gets a few beer in him and gets mad at the world because he has gotten behind on the payments for that new 4 wheel drive F150 crew cab pickup and starts taking pot shots at the neighbours, it would be good for the cops to know if the bugger has a .22 or an arsenal of assault rifles. I don't know but if I was a cop, I'd like to know.

Of course, Harper and his gang argue that the cop can't be sure of what guns might be in the house because the registry isn't up to date. They argue that it just gives the police a false sense of security. They don't mention of course that the registry isn't up to date because this government decided to put into place a moratorium in place which stops the police from pressing charges to anyone who refuses to register. Now that is a weird circular argument if I ever heard one.

The same government that wants to "get tough on crime" wants to make it easier for people to hide gun ownership. Go figure. Oh I forgot, that guy with a gun, taking pot-shots at anything that moves isn't a criminal. He's just having what we might describe conservatively as "Having a bad day."

So in a society where we have to get a licence or permit

• so we can drive, 
• get married,
• before we can sell hot dogs in the street,
• to renovate your house,
• for your dog
• to register your boat
• so you can fish or hunt

that is all fine. No one complains. What it comes to guns however, that is another story.

Little Stevie complains that the gun registry is expensive and excessively bureaucratic when it is his responsibility and the responsibility of his Minister to make sure it isn't. The RCMP isn't working they way I think it should either. I still don't think we should scrap them.

So let’s just cut all this bull about scrapping the long gun registry, stop the moratorium, fix whatever inefficiencies exist in the system and get back to work. Get these guns registered as soon as possible then throw the book at anyone who refuses to comply.

Let me assure you. I will not lose a minute's sleep if a couple of red necks go to jail for refusing to comply with the law. In fact, I'll feel a little safer.

And while we are at it, let’s make the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon or possessing an unregistered hand gun so onerous, that no one would dare break that law.