Just the Facts - on the Gun Registry

We should be supporting those MPs who supported retaining Canada's Gun Registry. Yes, it could be better, but not eliminated.

 In 1995, Canada passed the Firearms Act, requiring all gun owners to obtain a renewable license and register all firearms once. Canada's gun laws are recognized internationally as an effective tool to reduce gun violence. Last September, we saved the gun registry by a mere two votes.

The evidence is clear, the gun registry is effective, efficient both in cost and function, and most importantly, saves lives.

* Most firearm-related deaths in Canada are caused by rifles or shotguns. All guns are lethal, and any gun in the wrong hands is dangerous. We need controls on ALL guns.
* Although there is more opposition to gun control in rural areas and in the Western provinces, there are also higher rates of gun death in those areas. While many gun owners oppose gun control, the vast majority of people living with gun owners support the legislation, especially women living in rural areas.
* A recent poll has shown that two thirds of Canadians support the gun registry. Even in rural areas, supporters equal opponents. Although they are less vocal, the majority of rural women support the registry.
* According to the RCMP, abolishing the long gun registry would save between $1.5 and $4 million per year. These costs are dwarfed by those incurred as a result of firearm death and injury (estimated at $6.6 billion per year in 1995).
* Canada's gun control law is supported by police, women's safety, public safety and crime prevention experts, public health groups, victims, and most Canadians.
"In the next election if we can succeed in turfing a large number of the turncoat Liberal and NDP MPs who abandoned us when we needed them it will serve as a warning to others that gun owners are a group that can no longer be ignored. In the U.S., the NRA has exploited the voting power of gun owners to great effect and particularly in closely contested races Republicans and Democrats often both clamour for the support of the NRA which regularly sees 80%+ of its endorsed candidates elected. (...)" from The Sporting Clubs of Niagara Newsletter, Vol 16, No 4.