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.

Gun Law Stupidity

OK, let me be up front. I don't like guns!

So, I cannot find words to express how disappointed I was in the fact that several NDP members voted in favour of abolishing the long gun registry. The Liberals, I expected to go both ways on the issue but the NDP. No excuse.

The private member's bill to abolish to long gun registry was put forward by Conservative member Candice Hoeppner, from of all places, Morden Manitoba. That was after years of budget cuts to the department responsible for the registry to assure they couldn't do their job efficiently.

Let's be clear what we are talking about here. The legislation didn't ban long guns. It didn't restrict long guns. It only said that if you were going to own one, you had to register it. We are told that rural Canada was up in arms - ok perhaps a bad choice of words - about the issue and were refusing to comply. That was when Harper and his gang did away with the penalties for non compliance with the registry. When they did comply anyway they were really pissed off about it.

As an urban Canadian, I confess, I cannot, for the life of me, understand why this is an issue;

• If I own a car, I have to register it with the province where I live.
  
• I have to pass a test and buy a driver's license if I want to drive it.
• We register our marriage and the birth of our children
• If I want to build a garage on my property, I have to buy a building permit
• Fishermen need to buy a license before putting a line in the water

So what is it about guns? I know that the Conservatives rely on the rural voters to get elected but how hard can it be to comply?

It make me a bit nervous when I wonder what it is they are trying to hide. Here in Saskatchewan, bumper stickers with the slogan "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers" are a bit too common here for my liking.

The registry is accessed by police departments in Canada 9000 times a day. Frankly, if I was a cop, as a starting point, I'd like to be able to look up, on line somewhere, if that guy who is having a bad day and is holed up with a gun taking pot shots at his neighbors, has a bunch of weapons in his closet.

I support the gun registry and tougher gun laws 100%. Guns only really serve one purpose and that is to kill things and to be honest killing things isn't part of my cultural experience.

Oh yeah, if you in the NDP are paying attention. I will remember your role in all this election day.