The Wiong Enu of the uun

1here are over 78 mllllon flrearms reglsLered ln Canada as of SepLember 2011 1here
are many more Lhe llberals have suggesLed as many as 16 mllllon flrearms as of 2001 when
lncludlng Lhose LhaL are unreglsLered (LawAbldlng unreglsLered llrearms AssoclaLlon 2003)
Cf Lhe reglsLered flrearms 7137386 are nonresLrlcLed or long guns" (Scrapplng longgun
reglsLry" 2011) non resLrlcLed flrearms are your ordlnary rlfles and shoLguns wlLh a barrel
lengLh of 047m or abouL 183" and an overall lengLh of 066m or abouL 26" (Canadlan llrearms
rogram 2011) A cenLer flre rlfle musL have a magazlne wlLh a capaclLy of no more Lhan flve
rounds lf lL ls a rlm flre rlfle or shoLgun Lhere ls no resLrlcLlon Lo Lhelr magazlne capaclLy
nelLher of whlch may be fully auLomaLlc Lo classlfy as nonresLrlcLed 1here are many
excepLlons Lo Lhese rules one of whlch ls LhaL lf a nonresLrlcLed gun comes from Lhe facLory
wlLh a barrel lengLh less Lhan 183" lL ls sLlll consldered nonresLrlcLed (8arrel and llrearms
LengLhs 2003) So why ls lL slgnlflcanL as Lo whaL consLlLuLes a flrearm as belng nonresLrlcLed?
lf SLeven Parper and Lhe ConservaLlves are able Lo geL blll C19 Lo pass Lhere wlll be an
addlLlonal 71 mllllon flrearms ln Canada LhaL have no reglsLered owners LhaL can be sold
wlLhouL recordlng Lhe LransacLlon and LhaL could end up ln Lhe hands of crlmlnals much easler
Lhan Lhey can currenLly 8lll C19 ls Lhe Lhlrd aLLempL aL amendlng Lhe crlmlnal code and
flrearms acL Lo no longer requlre flrearm owners Lo reglsLer a long gun when Lhey acqulre lL and
all exlsLlng records of long gun ownershlp wlll be desLroyed essenLlally abollshlng Lhe long gun
reglsLry (1he gun reglsLry debaLe" 2011) As clLlzens of a Canada we musL do all we can Lo
make sure LhaL blll C19 does noL come lnLo force lf lL does Lhere wlll be Lhe poLenLlal for a
slgnlflcanL lncrease ln flrearm relaLed crlme LhroughouL Canada

lor Lhose of you unfamlllar wlLh whaL Lhe gun reglsLry ls Meagan llLzpaLrlck (2011) a
reporLer for C8C explalns LhaL lL ls " a cenLrallzed daLabase overseen by Lhe 8oyal Canadlan
MounLed ollce LhaL llnks flrearms wlLh Lhelr llcensed owners" lL deals wlLh Lhe reglsLraLlon
and Lransfer of ownershlp of all flrearms ln Canada 1he gun reglsLry plays an lmporLanL and
necessary role ln our socleLy 1here are several reasons LhaL Lhe opposlLlon of Lhe long gun
reglsLry say Lhey wanL lL scrapped As Candlce Poeppner (2011) arllamenLary SecreLary for Lhe
MlnlsLer of ubllc SafeLy sLaLes 1oday ls a deflnlng momenL for our governmenL 1he long
gun reglsLry ls noL gun conLrol and because of LhaL lL ls an lneffecLlve and a wasLe of Laxpayer's
hardearned dollars vlc 1oews (2011) publlc safeLy mlnlsLer feels slmllarly as he sLaLes 1haL
wasLe ls flnally comlng Lo an end lL ls a preLLy common argumenL of Lhe opposlLlon LhaL Lhe
longgun reglsLry does llLLle Lo prevenL crlmes (10 Lhlngs abouL Lhe longgln reglsLry" 2011)
pollce are generally agalnsL lL and LhaL Lhe cosL far ouLwelghs Lhe beneflLs

1he mosL lmporLanL duLy of Lhe gun reglsLry ls Lo prevenL gun relaLed crlmes ln Canada
wlLh a prlorlLy glven Lo prevenLlng gun relaLed homlcldes Mlchele vardy (2011) a supporLer of
Lhe blll Lo scrap Lhe longgun reglsLry sLaLes her feellngs LhaL Lhe long gun reglsLry ls lncapable
of dolng Lhls As a woman Lhe longgun reglsLry does noL make me feel any safer or secure lL
ls wasLeful lneffecLlve and reduces fundlng Lo do real Lhlngs 1he long gun reglsLry does
noLhlng Lo proLecL women 1he long gun reglsLry does noL LargeL crlmlnals lL LargeLs normal
law abldlng lnnocenL people 1hls ls a common argumenL of Lhe opposlLlon of Lhe longgun
reglsLry LhaL lL does noL prevenL any murders or even LhaL lL has noL prevenLed a slngle crlme
1he opposlLlon has sLaLed numerous Llmes LhaL Lhere are no sLaLlsLlcs Lo prove lL has prevenLed
gun crlmes 1hls ls far from Lhe LruLh as Lhere are many sLaLlsLlcs ouL Lhere LhaL show LhaL slnce
Lhe lnLroducLlon of Lhe gun reglsLry gun relaLed crlmes have decreased slgnlflcanLly 1991 saw
Lhe lnLroducLlon of sLrlcLer guns laws semlauLomaLlc rlfles and large capaclLy magazlnes were
puL on Lhe resLrlcLed or prohlblLed llsL (Mauser AC no daLe ) slnce Lhen Lhere has been a
63 reducLlon of homlcldes by long gun and a 37 reducLlon of homlcldes by any Lype of
flrearm Slnce Lhe lnLroducLlon of Lhe gun reglsLry ln 1993 Lhere has been a 41 reducLlon of
homlcldes commlLLed by long guns (see flgure 1) A SLaLlsLlcs Canada reporL released on CcL 26
2011 of shooLlng homlcldes ln 2010 shows Lhere were 170 homlcldes whlch accounLed for
abouL 32 of all homlcldes 1hls year saw Lhe lowesL homlclde raLe slnce 1966 lL ls clalmed
LhaL Lhese murders are noL belng commlLLed wlLh reglsLered guns and Lhus Lhe gun reglsLry ls
noL LargeLlng crlmlnals ln Lhe same SLaLlsLlcs Canada sLudy lL was shown 30 of flrearms
recovered by pollce LhaL were used ln homlcldes were reglsLered (Scrapplng longgun
reglsLry" 2011) amela Parrlson (2011) 1ranslLlon Pouse AssoclaLlon of nova ScoLla makes a
good polnL when she brlngs up Lhe lmpacL of spousal homlclde 1he raLe of spousal homlclde
by gun has gone down 69 per cenL and we aLLrlbuLe mosL of LhaL Lo Lhe lmpacL of Lhe gun
reglsLry WlLhouL quesLlon we need lL ln Canada Sulcldes have also been affecLed by Lhe
reglsLry ln a poslLlve way Accordlng Lo a 1992 uS sLudy ln Lhe new Lngland !ournal of
Medlclne lL ls 48 Llmes more llkely LhaL a home wlLh a flrearm wlll be Lhe scene of a sulclde ln
2004 Lhere were 473 sulcldes lnvolvlng a long gun whlch ls 340 more Lhan Lhose lnvolvlng a
hand gun Slnce Lhe lnLroducLlon of sLrlcLer gun laws ln 1991 Lhere has been a 43 decrease ln
flrearm relaLed sulcldes as of 2009 (Scrapplng longgun reglsLry" 2011)

AnoLher lssue Lhe opposlLlon has wlLh Lhe reglsLry ls Lhe cosL Lo Lax payers When Lhe
reglsLry was lnLroduced Lhe governmenL clalmed lL would cosL Lhe Lax payers 2 mllllon dollars A
LoLal of 119 mllllon would be needed buL 117 mllllon would be offseL by reglsLraLlon fees 8uL
from 19932009 Lhe reglsLry has had a neL cosL of 123 bllllon dollars (Scrapplng longgun
reglsLry" 2011) 1o Lry Lo glve Lhls number some conLexL lL Look 14 years for Lhe reglsLry Lo
accumulaLe Lhls amounL of spendlng whereas Lhe budgeL for [usL Lhe C8 and C20 summlLs was
12 bllllon dollars (C8 spendlng won'L be released" 2011) 1he 123 bllllon lncluded Lhe long
gun resLrlcLed and prohlblLed porLlons 1he laLLer Lwo porLlons are noL up for debaLe of
wheLher or noL Lo abollsh Accordlng Lo consulLlng flrm lelad Canada for Lhe 8CM LhaL
conducLed an esLlmaLe ln 2009 Lhere would be a relaLlvely small savlngs of 14 mllllon dollars a
year by removlng Lhe long gun porLlon (Scrapplng longgun reglsLry" 2011) 8uL lf shooLlngs
were Lo go up due Lo Lhe scrapplng of Lhe long gun reglsLry would Lax payers sLlll see Lhe
savlngs LhaL were predlcLed by lelad Canada? Accordlng Lo a sLudy publlshed ln Lhe Canadlan
Medlcal AssoclaLlon !ournal ln 1993 Lhe average cosL of a gunshoL survlvor admlLLed Lo Lhe
hosplLal ls abouL $300000 ad[usLed for lnflaLlon Lhls would be $433000 Loday We can see
LhaL as more people are belng shoL whlch LhaL sLaLlsLlcs seem Lo suggesL would happen lf we
abollshed Lhe long gun reglsLry Lhe lncreased medlcal cosL would soon far ouLwelgh Lhe lnlLlal
flnanclal savlngs noL Lo menLlon Lhe lncrease ln courL cosLs

1he conservaLlves ofLen clalm LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy of Lhe 8CM and varlous munlclpal
pollce forces do noL wanL or use Lhe gun reglsLry lL ls unclear how Lhey came Lo Lhls concluslon
buL Lhe acLlons of Lhe pollce seem Lo dlsagree wlLh Lhelr loglc Cn May 6 of 2010 Lhree naLlonal
pollce assoclaLlons Lhe Canadlan AssoclaLlon of Chlefs of ollce Lhe Canadlan ollce
AssoclaLlon and Lhe Canadlan AssoclaLlon of ollce 8oards came LogeLher for Lhe flrsL Llme on
arllamenL Plll Lo defend Lhe longgun reglsLry1hls should noL be abouL us versus Lhem Cr
rural versus urban or even pollce versus pollLlclans sald Charles Momy (2010) who ls Lhe
presldenL of Lhe Canadlan ollce AssoclaLlon whlch represenLs rankandflle offlcers 1he
flrearms reglsLry represenLs a valuable Lool ln asslsLlng pollce ln dolng Lhelr [ob lL ls a valuable
Lool whlch has slgnlflcanL prevenLaLlve and lnvesLlgaLlve value ln keeplng our communlLles
safe (1he gun reglsLry debaLe" 2011) When a pollce offlcer runs a llcense plaLe or persons
name ln Lhelr daLabase Canadlan llrearms 8eglsLraLlon Cnllne (Cl8C) ls auLomaLlcally searched
and Lhe offlcer can check lf Lhe person has a flrearms llcence and lf and whaL flrearms Lhey
have reglsLered Lo Lhem 1he Cl8C ls querled an average of 17402 Llmes per day (Scrapplng
longgun reglsLry" 2011) lf Lhe long gun reglsLry was abollshed pollce would have a much
harder Llme Lrylng Lo prove lf a gun was sLolen lllegally lmporLed acqulred or manufacLured
noL only wlll be pollce hlndered ln Lhelr lnvesLlgaLlons by Lhe abollshmenL of Lhe reglsLry buL lL
could also provlde a poLenLlally much more dangerous work envlronmenL Cf Lhe lasL 18 pollce
offlcers kllled ln Lhe llne of duLy as of AugusL 2010 14 of Lhem were kllled by long guns
(Scrapplng longgun reglsLry" 2011)

lf Lhe long gun reglsLry ls abollshed Lhere wlll be no records of who owns a parLlcular
nonresLrlcLed flrearm 1here wlll be no records of nonresLrlcLed flrearm Lransfers lf a flrearm
llcensee wanLed Lo Lhey could sell some of Lhelr nonresLrlcLed flrearms Lo a poLenLlal crlmlnal
LhaL does noL have Lhe requlred llcence and Lhere would be no paper Lrall back Lo Lhe seller lf
someone Lrled Lo do Lhls now lf Lhe flrearm LhaL was sold was found by pollce lL could be
Lraced back Lo Lhe seller Also lf Lhe pollce were called Lo Lhe seller's house and Lhey lnqulred
abouL Lhe flrearm LhaL was mlsslng Lhere could be an lnvesLlgaLlon as Lo where LhaL flrearm ls
8uL why would crlmlnals be lnLeresLed ln Lhe so called hunLlng rlfles and shoLguns LhaL make up
Lhe nonresLrlcLed class? 1here are many LacLlcal rlfles and shoLguns whose sole purpose ls for
kllllng human belngs LhaL are ln Lhe nonresLrlcLed class lmages 1 2 and 3 are all nonresLrlcLed
flrearms lmage 3 refers Lo a 8uger S822 rlfle and slnce lL ls a 22 callbre rlfle Lhere ls no llmlL Lo
Lhe magazlne capaclLy 1here are books onllne LhaL can be accessed by anyone for free LhaL
show how someone wlLh some baslc Lools and skllls can converL lL Lo fully auLomaLlc (luLL
Au1C" no daLe) 1here ls now Lhe posslblllLy of crlmlnals armlng Lhemselves wlLh fully
auLomaLlc hlgh capaclLy LacLlcal rlfles aL a fracLlon of Lhe cosL of whaL Lhey would pay now for a
black markeL seml auLomaLlc plsLol LhaL can carry much fewer rounds of ammunlLlon lL soon
becomes apparenL as Lo Lhe enormous lmpacL LhaL Lhe abollshmenL of Lhe long gun reglsLry
could have on Lhe Canadlan publlc Many owners of unreglsLered nonresLrlcLed flrearms wanL
Lhe reglsLry Lo be abollshed so Lhey can once agaln use Lhere flrearms wlLhouL fear of breaklng
Lhe law and Lhe consequences of belng caughL 8uL lL ls no longer dlfflculL Lo reglsLer Lhelr
prevlously unreglsLered flrearms ls lL really worLh puLLlng your son daughLer wlfe or loved
one ln danger because you don'L wanL Lo spend a few mlnuLes reglsLerlng your long gun? lf blll
C19 passes and comes lnLo force llves wlll be losL Lax payers wlll suffer flnanclally from
lncreases courL cosLs and medlcal bllls pollce wlll lose a valuable Lool and maybe you end up
belng on Lhe wrong end of Lhe gun








llgure 1

lmage 1

Source wwwcanadaammocom
lmage 2

Source wwwcanadaammocom

lmage 3
Source wwwfronLlerflrearmsca


esouices:

Scrapplng Lhe longgun reglsLry some relevanL numbers" (CcL 26 2011) C8C news
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwcbcca/news/canada/sLory/2011/10/23/f
flrearmsnumbershLml

Canadlan llrearms rogram (!uly 20 2011) 8oyal Canadlan MounLed ollce
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwrcmpgrcgcca/cfppcaf/faq/lndex
enghLm#a3

8arrel and llrearms LengLhs (lebruary 23 2003) naLlonal llrearms AssoclaLlon
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwnfaca/resourcelLems/barrelandflrearms
lengLhs

10 Lhlngs Lo know abouL scrapplng Lhe longgun reglsLry" (CcL 26 2011) C8C news
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwcbcca/news/pollLlcs/sLory/2011/10/26/pol
gunreglsLryquesLlonanswerhLml

1lMLLlnL | 1he gun reglsLry debaLe" (CcL 23 2011) C8C news
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwcbcca/news/canada/sLory/2009/10/06/fgun
reglsLryhLml

Mauser A C Cun ConLrol ln Canada Lncyclopedla of Cuns ln Amerlcan SocleLy
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from
hLLp//wwwsfuca/mauser/papers/encyclopedla/CanadlanCunConLrolpdf


luLL Au1C 8uCL8 10/22 luLL Au1C CCnvL8SlCn MAnuAL
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwscrlbdcom/doc/31709732/8uger1022lull
AuLoConverslon

Culck lacLs" LawAbldlng unreglsLered llrearms AssoclaLlon
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//wwwlufaca/qulckfacLsasp

updaLe 8eporL on C8 spendlng won'L be released AudlLor Ceneral says" (Apr 11 2011)
naLlonal osL
8eLrleved november 28 2011 from hLLp//newsnaLlonalposLcom/2011/04/11/Lorlesmlsled
parllamenLLogeLg20fundlngaudlLorgeneralsreporL/