August 2002
Dear Brother or
Sister;
When I wrote the
attached article in 1998, I ended the attached essay with the prediction that if
the law enforcement community continued to enact “modern gun control” of the
type embodied in the Firearms Act we
might “shoot ourselves in the foot”.
As of mid 2002, the
Act is still not yet entirely enacted. After almost seven years of watching the
law enforcement community fumble, stumble and bumble enacting it, I remain
convinced that not only was my essay prescient, the predictions I made in it
were a gross underestimate of the negative effects the Act would have.
Since
it’s proclamation;
1) Violent criminals continue to access and use firearms.
2) Costs have ballooned to nearly $1 billion.
3) Police are still being diverted from patrol duties into shuffling Firearms Act related paper.
4) There have been no less than 4 delays in the implementation of certain sections of the Act.
5) Most provincial governments have refused to participate in enforcing the Firearms Act.
6) Police officers from coast to coast remain confused by the complexity and size of the Act.
7) The relationship between hunters, target shooters, collectors and the police continues to falter.
8) Many previously law abiding gun owners have chosen to become “civilly disobedient” because of their treatment by the government and have either engaged in sneaky (but legal) actions to frustrate the requirements of the law or have simply refused to participate in it.
9) The Canadian Firearms Center remains unable to accurately or consistently define how many guns or gun owners there actually are in Canada
10) The accuracy of the information in the firearms registry has become frighteningly inaccurate.
11) The setup and maintenance of the registry has been privatized.
12)
The warrantless search powers found in S.117.04 (1) of the Act have been
ruled unconstitutional by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
In view of the real
issues facing Canadian law enforcement such as lack of prison space, terrorism,
increasing youth crime and shrinking funding, I ask you – wouldn’t the
obscene amounts of money being wasted to register duck hunting guns be better
spent addressing the REAL issues?
Please withdraw your
support from this costly sham. Let’s
work towards gun laws that actually work and stop disgracing our profession by
continuing to offend and alienate those people we swore to serve.
Sincerely,
John A. Gayder
St.Catharines, ON
Attachment:
Is Modern Gun Control Hazardous to Police?