PUBLICATION:
The
Province
DATE:
2004.02.26
EDITION: Final
SECTION:
News
PAGE:
A11
SOURCE:
The Province
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94%
of guns seized by Vancouver police are bought legally in States
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In
Vancouver, the guns that kill people are usually U.S. weapons. Statistics
unveiled yesterday show that 94 per cent of guns seized by Vancouver police are
bought legally south of the border. And because of a gaping Washington state
loophole, those guns can't be traced.
About
60 gun shows a year in Washington state offer state residents the ability to buy
10 guns simply by showing a valid driver's licence. So far, so good -- even
without a background check, the gun still belongs to an individual who can be
traced.
But
once those individuals get their guns, they are free to turn around and sell
them to anyone they like, with no paperwork.
"The
majority of the firearms we seize are purchased legally in the U.S., then
smuggled into Canada and sold to organized crime," said Vancouver police
Insp. Rob Rothwell.
He
said the smuggling is often a two-way street -- B.C. marijuana is smuggled into
the U.S., then exchanged for illegal firearms.
Washington
CeaseFire, a group advocating gun control down south, has called for gun-show
restrictions and the background checks required at gun shops.
"We
can no longer turn our backs and look the other way as criminals use
Washington's lax laws as easy access to guns," said Laura Lockard, the
group's executive director.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLICATION:
The
Province
DATE:
2004.02.26
EDITION: Final
SECTION:
News
PAGE:
A11
BYLINE:
Ian Austin
SOURCE:
The Province
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Gerry
Kahrmann, The Province / Seized firearmsdisplayed by Vancouver police yesterday
included a Glock 17, Ruger P94, an AK-47, a sawed-off shotgun and a Tech-9
machine pistol.
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Vancouver
police target handguns
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Vancouver
police, alarmed by the proliferation of handguns, are forming a "firearms
interdiction team" to target chronic gun-users and get weapons off the
streets. With three of the city's first four 2004 murders involving shooting
deaths, police say they're planning a crackdown.
"It's
a concern to the safety of the police, and the safety of the public," said
Insp. Rob Rothwell, who heads the city's criminal-intelligence section.
"Guns are connected to criminal activity, gangs, organized crime and the
image of a tough guy."
Rothwell
said two police analysts will be deployed to scrutinize data and determine who
to target.
"We
plan to seize firearms from these individuals, lay charges and do
follow-up," said Rothwell, who unveiled half a dozen of the city's most
popular firearms yesterday.
"This
is the classic AK-47, the weapon of choice for terrorists," he said,
pointing to one of the weapons.
Det.-Const.
Martin Bruce, who's part of the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, said
many criminals are armed round the clock.
"We
go into nightclubs to do a walk-through and we'll find firearms discarded on the
floor," he said. "There's more money involved, the stakes are higher
and the risks are higher."
Bruce
said handguns are the most popular weapon of choice for criminals, with Glocks
and Rugers two of the more common makes.
In
2002, 41 firearms were seized by Vancouver police, 17 of those from organized
crime members.
The
latest figures available, for the first 10 months of 2003, show the seizure of
45 firearms, with 13 of those seized from organized crime members.