GUEST COLUMN -- By David A. Tomlinson Most people assume that adding more firearms control laws will somehow reduce violent crime in our society. Research evidence clearly proves that firearms law does not have that effect; indeed, it often increases the violent crime rates in a society. Canada's murder rate is very low--about 200 per year, which is good for a country of 30 million people; much higher than US murder rates. Because of our gun control laws? No. The American Journal of Epidemiology compared homicide and aggravated assault rates per 100,000 population for provinces and states which touch each other. Remember, the US has local gun control laws, and ours are national. Surprise! The best rates are in North Dakota, and the worst rates are in Canada's own Yukon territory. New York City, with gun laws far more severe than Canada's, is about as bad as the Yukon; but the rest of New York state (without such gun laws) has rates very similar to Ontario's. Other than the Yukon and Alaska (both quite high, about 4 or 5 times the rates further south), and allowing for the anomaly of New York City, all the rates are quite similar. Those high US crime rates are quite localized. Most American violent crime is located in Alaska, the deep south, and a few cities with savage firearms control laws--like New York City and Washington DC, the murder capital of the US. Switzerland demonstrates a reverse effect. Every able-bodied citizen from 18 to 56 is a member of the Swiss military forces, and must keep an assault rifle with ammunition in his home. Military cartridges are sold at cost, and he is encouraged to shoot as much and as often as possible. It is common to see Swiss civilians with assault rifles on the street, in the tram, or on the train. Handguns are freely available in the stores, and machine gun collectors are quite common. Swiss crime and murder rates are among the lowest in Europe. You can photograph $20,000 worth of Rolex watches in a store window at 2:00 AM, protected only by a sheet of plate glass. Boats, bicycles and cars are frequently unlocked. In Holland, with severe firearms control laws, everything has to be out of store windows and locked up at night--or it won't be there in the morning. 30-year old bicycles use two big D-locks. The society's efforts to reduce bad crime rates are everywhere. Our Minister of Justice is proposing registration of all guns, but it's hard to see why. All handguns have been registered since 1934, but it hasn't prevented handgun crimes, or prevented handguns from being stolen, or deterred criminals from using them. As a method, it's a failure. The test of registration as a method has been running for over 30 years. If registration is ever going to have some good effect, don't you think it's time that the good effect showed up? The last gun control law we have good statistics for came into force on 01 Jan 78. Canada's violent crime rates have increased every single year since 1978, except for 1993. The 0.2 per cent downward change in 1993 was too small to be statistically significant; it may mean nothing. That pattern is interesting. Last year, in Edmonton, where I live, the firearms control office used one sergeant, two constables, two clerks and three rooms of the main police station--at a cost of $387,000--to record the recreational activities of law-abiding citizens with handguns. The criminals completely ignored it. The Minister of Justice proposes to add 20 times as many rifles and shotguns to that control system. That will require 63 police officers, 42 clerks, 63 rooms of the police station, and $8 million to record the recreational activities of law-abiding citizens with firearms--in one medium-sized city. The criminals will still ignore it, so it will be almost entirely a waste of scarce and costly police resources. Let's take your city and divide it into halves. Give each half the same mixture of rich and poor, honest and dishonest, police and citizens. For 1995, Easttown's law will forbid any law- abiding person to possess a firearm. But in Westtown, hunters, target shooters, and collectors who now currently firearms and keep them in their homes will continue to exist as they do today. By the end of 1995, violent crime rates for Easttown will have skyrocketed, while Westtown's rates will have fallen. The criminal will recognize the Easttown law for what it is: a government guarantee of his safety while he is "working." Next, substitute Canada and the US for Westtown and Easttown. Personally, I have never understood why so many people believe that criminals who are willing to violate laws against rape, robbery and murder will obey a gun control law. No, Canadians do not usually buy or own guns for "protection" as many Americans do; but it is true that private ownership of firearms is a powerful deterrent to home invasion crimes. Would you feel comfortable with this sign on your door? "CRIMINALS: THIS IS A GUN-FREE HOME!"