[Image] NFA PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO COPY AND DISTRIBUTE THESE PAGES VOLUME XI, NUMBER 10 1994, OCTOBER EDITORIAL RENEWALS: Due to automating of the insertion of magazines and Pointblank, it is no longer possible to place the mailing label on the renewal notices. PLEASE, in order to speed things up in processing your renewals, it really helps when you put your mailing label on the notice. Even just copying the membership number does help. SURPRISE PACKAGE: THE CANADIAN FIREARM CONTROL DEBATE: Did you like it? If you did, and have not recently sent in a donation, we would appreciate receiving one to cover costs and add to our court challenges capabilities. Sales of this book have been going very well. Finally we are able to get some real and truthful data to the public and media. REFORM PARTY POLICY CONVENTION: On 15 Oct, 1994 the Reform Party passed two resolutions that definitely set them apart from all the other major political parties in Canada at this time. 1. If elected, the Reform Government will introduce legislation by which the criminal misuse of firearms will be severly punished, and the right of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms will be protected, (passed by 93.7%) 2. Resolved that the Reform party support the right of citizens to protect themselves and their property, against criminal acts using all reasonable means, and that their right to do so has priority over the offender's rights. (Passed by approximately 95%). While the NFA does not support any Party, we do report on how Party actions affect the recreational firearms community. This favorable action by the Reform party is powerful; and a powerful reply is worth considering. If you join Reform and/or donate money to it - specifying your reason as Reform support for your firearms interests. If you tell MPs from other parties - including Jean Chretien - what you have done, it will affect them also. A SENSIBLE TELEPHONE POLL: Working with the Canadian National Survey Inc. of Prince George BC, we will be running a 900 telephone poll asking two questions. We are hoping to obtain information to refute claims made in other polls. Unlike other polls there will be a short preamble giving basic facts before asking the questions. These are: Canada's violent crime rates have been rising steadily since 1926. Since 1933, the government has enacted ever more severe and expensive firearms control, which criminals ignore. Police protection is seldom available when a violent crime is actually in progress; the police usually come when it's all over. Questions: 1-900-870-1177 ext. 200 - If you had access to a recreational firearm, would you use it, when necessary, to protect your home and family from violent criminals? Please answer Yes or No. 1-900-870-1177 ext. 300 - If the law-abiding are hampered in possessing recreational firearms by severe laws, will that succeed in protecting your home and family from violent criminals by disarming the criminal? Please answer Yes or No. These calls will cost a flat rate of $1.29 per call. We would strongly request that you, and all your friends make use of this process to help us build an answer for the latest attempt to use us as scapegoats. A MESSAGE TO YOUR MPA AND MLA Islington Sportsman's Club - Sept. 15, 1994 This is my first attempt at public speaking. I am very nervous, please bear with me. I was pleased when Les asked me if I would like to air my views at this meeting tonight. I'll tell you a little story first. On the weekend of June 29, 1992, my son Wes Young and his best buddy, Santo Michelin were at a cottage near Baysville visiting friends. On the way home that Sunday night, being the nice kids that they were, they stopped to offer their help at a single car accident on Highway 117. Both of the boys were repaid for their kindness with a .38 caliber bullet in the head. Their bodies were left in the middle of the road. Wes Young and Santo Michelin had just turned 19. The two murderers then proceeded south on Highway 11 in Santo's new Ford pick-up truck. When they got to Barrie they were pulled over on a routine speeding check by an OPP Constable. That Officer, the father of two young daughters, was shot three times, also with a .38 caliber revolver. Luckily and amazingly he lived. To the credit of all the cooperating police forces, the two men were apprehended later that day in Hamilton. They were arrested and each was charged with 2 counts of first degree murder and 1 count of attempted murder of a Police Officer. After an intensive search the gun was found and the OPP were able to trace it to some gun shop in one of the southern states. Obviously it had been smuggled, like thousands of others, across the border and through an elaborate underground network ended up in the hands of two very evil men. The other guns that the men allegedly carried that night were never found. Now, when these men came into possession of this gun, the murder weapon, did they have an FAC? Did they register it? Did they store it safely? Of course not. Criminals or wanna-be criminals don't respect our country's gun laws. Safe storage to them is having the gun stuck down the back of their pants or insude a boot until they need to use it. With the right connections and a few bucks even a 12 year old child can buy any restricted weapon if he wants to on the streets of any Canadian city. And as we all know, none of these guns will ever be registered. My husband, J.R., and thousands of other honest, responsible, law-abiding citizens enjoy owning rifles and shotguns for their once a year hunting trip. If our government has its way it will be easier for these hunters to tap a moose on the shoulder and convince him to get into the back of their truck than to buy ammunition for their guns. The innocent people are being punished by laws that don't even affect the guilty. Wes and Santo are dear. It doesn't matter to me that they were killed by a gunshot wound. They could just as easily have been stabbed, beaten or mutilated. The end result is the same. Our children are dead. The gun didn't kill them. The two poor excuses for human beings did. And what's the penalty for that? I'll tell you. One of these men, after intensive plea barganing, plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter, one count of aggravated assault and numerous gun related charges. All these added up to 39 years. He was sentenced and is now in Millhaven. However, as per the Corrections and Conditional Release Act of Canada, he will be eligible for Unescorted Temporary Absence in March of 1996, Day Parole in Sept. 1997 and Full Parole in March of 1998. Ridiculous isn't it? What message does such a lenient sentence for such heinous crimes give to other potential criminals? Where is the deterent to make people think twice before committing such serious offences? This is the problem that our Justice Minister should be addressing. We need criminal control, not gun control. But, instead, honest legitimate gun owners are being treated like potential criminals and the actual, proven criminals are being given a slap on the wrist. It upsets me to know that in just 18 months my child's murderer will be let back out into the community unescorted. One of the conditions put on him by the courts is that he never again own a firearm or ammunition. Yeah right. What is wrong with this picture? I strongly believe that the entire judicial system in Canada needs to be re-vamped and toughened up. Gun charges should not be dropped during plea bargaining. If a gun is used in connection with a crime an additional 5 mandatory years should be automatically tacked on to the sentence. There is too much plea bargaining done in the courts these days anyway. That night on the hignway Wes and Santo must have tried to plea bargain for their very lives. What good did it do them? Why should the men who killed them get any leniency from the courts? Serious offences should be treated as such. Life should mean life. We need to let the criminals and those contemplating a criminal act know through the courts that we Canadians are fed up with it and arent willing to take anymore. The victims pay. Some pay with their lives. Others, the families, pay for the rest of their lives. It's time for the criminals to pay too. This should be the priority of our Justice Minister, to address what I feel is the real cause of the crime problem and leave the hunters and their annual treks into the beautiful wilderness alone. Original Signed by Deborah L. Ure. In Memory of Jonathan Wesley Young & Santo Wesley Michelin 1973 - 1992 Further Information: Mr. Les Penzvlato 1-905-584-9782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BE PART OF THE HAMMER, NOT JUST ANOTHER NAIL! JOIN THE NFA! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [NFA Home Page] [Point Blank Index] [Bill C-68 Info] [Other Studies] [Full Document Index] [Cdn Firearms Home Page] [Other Firearms Links] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remington Nevin remnevin@interlog.com January 30, 1995