More gun restriction legislation in Canada

[Lisa]

Liberal Leader Paul Martin is proposing a sweeping ban on handguns to combat growing gun-related violence in Canada's cities.
"Handguns kill people -- that's why they exist, and they're taking too many Canadian lives," said Martin during his "safer communities announcement" at a school near Toronto's violence-plagued Jane and Finch area this morning.
Details of the Liberal proposal include:

• a new 250 officer unit from the RCMP dedicated solely to fighting gun-related crimes, as well as other organized crime and drug trafficking;
• 75 new officers at Canada Border Services to combat illegal importation of handguns from the U.S.;
• tougher sentences for gun-related crimes, by changing the Criminal Code to double the mandatory minimum sentences for such crimes;
• encouraging community-based gun prevention, with help from a $50-million Gun Violence and Gang Prevention Fund to focus on youth at risk;
• waving the re-registration fees for owners of long guns in order to encourage compliance with the Canada Firearms Program; and
• a gun amnesty and buy-back program that draws from an Australian model, including a gun stoppers initiative aimed at ensuring the turn-in of illegal weapons.

http://www.lufa.ca/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=5493

and more here:

In a statement yesterday, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters criticized the Liberals for trying "once again to stop crime on the backs of legal, law-abiding firearms owners."
Martin, however, was certain his anti-crime plan will make a positive difference.
"This strategy will get handguns off our streets, will toughen penalties for those who are convicted of gun crimes, and will choke off the supply of illegal weapons," Martin said.

http://www.lufa.ca/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=5498

 

[Grenadier]

His unpopular government is sinking, and with the new elections around the corner, he's trying to rally his supporters, doing anything he can to bolster his sagging popularity.

My question is this: is he more unpopular than Jean-Paul Chretien was?

 

[Lisa]

His unpopular government is sinking, and with the new elections around the corner, he's trying to rally his supporters, doing anything he can to bolster his sagging popularity.

My question is this: is he more unpopular than Jean-Paul Chretien was?

I would put both of them in the same vat of boiling oil

I really thought he was gone last election. I hated watching the Liberal commercials that had a handgun pointing out from my TV stating that the Conservatives were going to diminish "good" gun control.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for good gun control, gun control that will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and give stiffer penalties to those that use them.

 

[arnisador]

I'm not convinced that this is a growing problem. Are there statistics to back up his claim?

 

[Lisa]

I agree that the problem is growing. However his methodology of getting rid of the problem is not IMHO going to decrease this growing statistic.

The overwhelming majority of handgun crimes are committed by people who don't legally own those weapons. Instead, they get them from three sources that are not likely to be affected by the proposed ban:
1. The flourishing black market in handguns. Hundreds of these are believed to be in Toronto alone, selling for about $1,000 apiece.
2. Handguns smuggled from the United States, often beneath trucks, probably the largest single source.
While some traffickers might be deterred by the government's proposed doubling of the minimum penalties for gun smuggling, the huge volume of cross-border traffic will still make it impossible for Canadian authorities to examine more than a fraction of vehicles.
Customs Excise Union president Ron Moran said 232 roads connecting Canada and the United States are unguarded, and about 1,600 vehicles simply drove past Canada's unarmed border guards without stopping last year.
3. Break-ins account for up to half the handguns on the street, police say. Perhaps that's what's chiefly on the mind of the Martin government: Get legally registered handguns out of private homes and gun shops and they can't be stolen. The trouble is, many of those burgled handguns are not legally owned in the first place.

http://www.lufa.ca/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=5499

 

[Lisa]

Came across this article written by Ralph Weller of GunNews Daily regarding Primeminister Martins new gun laws.

http://www.gunnewsdaily.com/rw729.html

Interesting read, IMO
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