NEWS RELEASE

June 19, 1995 

For Immediate Release

THINGS I WOULD HAVE SAID IF THE LIBERALS HADN'T INVOKED CLOSURE (1)

"Rock defies logic - gun control means more crime, more violence and more death."

Ottawa - Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, vowed to continue his fight against the costly, intrusive and ineffective gun control laws even though the Liberal government has forcibly ended debate of Bill C-68. Most of the measures proposed in Bill C-68, defy all logic. "Gun control will not improve public safety, it will do the exact opposite. Gun control and registration of all firearms will mean more crime, more injuries, more expense, more deaths and more victims." Breitkreuz described his reasons for making this statement:

Criminals Will Know Which Homes Have Guns and Which Do Not

The RCMP admit there is nothing they can do to stop criminals from gaining illegal access to the gun registry system to quickly identify those homes with guns and those without. If they want to steal guns they will break into a gun owner's home while the owners are away. If they want to steal valuables they will break into the unarmed homes any time they want. "Gun control and in particular the proposed firearm registration system will make crime easier for criminals not harder," predicted Breitkreuz.

Gun Ownership Reduces Burglaries

In Britain, 59% of attempted burglaries were committed while someone was at home. In the USA, only 9% were. Allan Rock's gun controls will reduce the number of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens and restrict immediate access when needed most. More and more real criminals in Canada will realize that they have little or no fear of being captured or shot during a robbery, and therefore violent crime will increase in Canada, just like it did in Britain. "There doesn't have to be a lot of guns to keep the real criminals in check, the trick is the criminals must never know who owns guns and who does not," Breitkreuz explained.

Police Will Get Hurt If They Rely on Flawed Gun Registration System

Supposedly with the registration of all guns, police will now know who has a gun and who does not when they approach an incident or domestic dispute at a private household. But what if their system shows that there are no guns at the house and the person inside actually has one? What if the police let their guard down, for even an instant, as a result of the false information in their system? "What if more police officers get shot because they relied on a registration system that will have at least a 25% error rate?" asked Breitkreuz. "And what if police believe there is a gun in the home - will a person be more at risk if the police come to do an "inspection" armed-to-the-teeth? Some searchs of law-abiding collectors, responsible firearm owners and dealers have been held at gun-point by police swat-teams!"

Police Will Be Too Busy Doing Paperwork to Deal with Real Criminals

The Edmonton City Police already have five staff working full time to administer the federal government's ineffective gun control laws. The Metro Toronto Police report that it takes six hours to process just one application for a Firearms Acquisition Certificate. During this time there are an average of 17 burglaries, 18 assaults, 2 sexual assaults, 4 robberies, 46 reportable traffic accidents including 14 with injuries or a death and 202 Criminal Code offences of all types. Those with criminal intent don't apply to the government for permission.

553,000 Banned Handguns Are Safe in the Hands of the Law-Abiding

"Further, what convoluted logic is the Minister using when he says that over 500,000 handguns are so dangerous they need to be banned but not dangerous at all when left in the hands of their law-abiding, responsible owner through grandfathering?" asked Breitkreuz. "As further confirmation of this flawed logic, the government amended Bill C-68 to allow these "so-dangerous-they-have-to-be-banned-guns" to be passed on to the owner's responsible, law-abiding heirs."

Toy Guns Don't Kill or Injure

Bill C-68 proposals will ban the sale, import and manufacture of replica firearms or, in other words, toy guns. This will force the real criminals to resort to using real guns and more innocent victims will be injured or killed as a result. "I hope I never get robbed, but if I do, I hope it is with a replica gun and not a real one," said Breitkreuz.

Banning "Saturday-Night Specials" Forces Criminals to Use Bigger Guns

The government's proposals to ban .25 and .32 calibre handguns and all handguns with barrel lengths of less than 4.14 inches long will force real criminals to resort to using even larger, more deadly handguns or sawed-off shot guns.

Tighter Gun Controls Mean an Increase in the Black Market

Real criminals will always be able to get guns no matter how many controls are in place. Illegal gun dealers in the USA are already praising the Liberal gun control proposals because it will increase the demand and price for handguns on the black market in Canada. "Any increase in black market activity increases smuggling and trafficking which increases real crime and causes more work for the police."

Guns Save Lives When Used for Self-Defence

Gun control laws restrict immediate and easy access to firearms when they are needed to defend yourself, your family, your home and your property which means fewer citizens (about 30,000 a year) will be able to defend themselves with firearms when they are in a violent confrontation with real criminals and more innocent victims will be killed or injured as a direct result.

Gun Owners Less Likely to be Killed or Injured During Robberies or Assaults

Research shows that victims of attempted robbery and assault are less likely to be injured if they defend themselves with a gun than if they offer no resistance, also that the robbery or assault is less likely to succeed in these instances. Gun controls mean fewer guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, restricted access to the ones they have and therefore fewer defensive uses of firearms when justified. The end result: more successful robberies and assaults and more injuries and deaths during the commission of these violent crimes.

Made-in-Ottawa Criminals Will be Used to Justify Even More Gun Controls

Finally, measures proposed in Bill C-68 will result in the police charging many heretofore law-abiding, responsible gun owners with criminal offenses for improper storage and non-compliance with the gun registration laws. "The Liberals will no doubt count these as so-called "gun crimes" to justify even stricter gun controls in the future," concluded Breitkreuz.

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For more information please call:

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa: (613) 992-4394