From: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca on behalf of Cdn-Firearms Digest [owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca] Sent: Tuesday, 17 April, 2001 20:52 To: cdn-firearms-digest@broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #724 Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, April 17 2001 Volume 03 : Number 724 In this issue: London Free Press Rebottle New hunters in short supply UN host major conference on international gun control [URL] Marstar offering SECU-LOCK product for AR15 pattern, Native bands want clarification of gun-registry legislation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 20:19:08 -0600 From: "John Evers" Subject: London Free Press Rebottle Well I managed to get a rebottle printed in this mornings London Free Press with regard to Bill Brady's column damning Charleton Heston and his role as President of the NRA. They have not updated their web page as of this morning ( Monday April 16th) www.lfpress.com. However here is the text as I submitted it. ( they only made minor changes ) With regard to Bill Brady's diatribe against Charlton Heston and his role as President of the American National Rifle Association, this sort of rubbish simply cannot go unanswered. I will avoid drawing attention to the myriad of technical errors in the article as they are only of interest to those who actually know something about firearms and their use. It is painfully obvious that Mr. Brady only learns about firearms from such expert groups as Handgun Control Inc. and as such knows very little indeed. This is akin to learning about childbirth from a mortician. I would encourage Mr. Brady to actually read the US Constitution before he begins his pontification on the subject. The spin he places on the subject of the second amendment is farcical at best. It is interesting that this constitution has resulted in the longest surviving democracy in the world, and a leading world power. It is interesting to note that Mr. Brady expends considerable energy pointing out some horrific instances of the misuse of firearms by "confused, bullied or unstable" kids. His solution to these crimes, oddly enough is to get rid of the firearms. This begs the question. Are victims of youth violence with weapons other than firearms any less dead? Might Mr. Brady's efforts better be spent in trying to reduce the number of confused, bullied, or unstable" kids roaming our schools? Mr. Brady then goes on to a vicious assault on the concept of civilians actually carrying guns for self-defense, generally referred to as CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon). He seems to be aghast at the idea that a law-abiding and trained civilian could possibly play a part in the defense of themselves or others. A task he deems the sole jurisdiction of those in uniform. He fails to point out that these people are under no compunction what so ever to aid in the defense of civilians. Police in general due to ever tightening budgets are solely pressed to carry on their most basic duties. This in no small way has resulted in ever increasing delays in 911 response rates. Mr. Brady seems to miss the point, which has been verified by statisticians that in those areas that allow CCW permits crime rates are at the lowest. To find high crime rates on only need look at the nearest jurisdiction with the highest levels of so called gun control. Mr. Brady seems shocked with the idea that Mr. McWilliams a blind man from North Dakota has been given such a permit, even after completing all the required training courses, including accuracy. Does Mr. Brady instead wish to leave Mr. Mc Williams at the mercy of any thug that seeks a venerable target? Mr. Brady closes his piece with the admonition that Mr. Heston and Mr. Mc Williams might spend some time contemplating the commandment not to kill. Might I point out that in most cases merely brandishing a defensive handgun is all that is required to stop an attacker, as case after case in CCW states has shown. We will soon be able to monitor the situation close at hand as the State of Michigan has just recently passed CCW laws. I predict that we will see a significant decrease in violent crime in Detroit, as the criminal element will move on to less challenging targets. With this in mind I would certainly be nervous if I lived in the Windsor, area as Canada' s restrictive gun laws have created a Garden of Eden for the criminal element. I close with a bit of wisdom for Mr. Brady to contemplate: " It is far better to have a gun and not need it, then to need a gun and not have one." Regards John Evers President East Elgin Sportsmen's Association www.eesa.ca ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 20:19:40 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: New hunters in short supply PUBLICATION: The Telegram (St. John's) DATE: 2001.04.14 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Outdoors PAGE: 23 COLUMN: Outdoors BYLINE: Bill Power SOURCE: The Telegram ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Photo courtesy John Morrissey / Some lucky young Newfoundlander or Labradorian and a parent or guardian will win a goose-hunting trip to Riverside, P.E.I. in October under a new Youth Hunting/Fishing Exchange Program. The P.E.I. winner, plus parent/guardian, wins a three-day salmon fishing trip to Reef 9 Lodge on Newfoundland's Humber River. - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- New hunters in short supply - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Never thought I'd see the day when the Provincial Wildlife Division's Hunting and Trapping Guide would feature an interesting contest for budding young hunters/anglers. But there it was, staring me in the face on Page 15: ``Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island Youth Hunting/Fishing Exchange Program.'' It's a chance for one young person from this province, between the ages of 12 and 18, to win a free trip, along with a parent or guardian, to hunt geese in Riverside, P.E.I., Oct. 1-3 this fall. Both governments will share responsibility for the winner's and parent/guardian's travel, accommo- dations, meals, guides and licences. Corporate sponsors for the exchange are Newfoundland Sportsman magazine and Marine Atlantic. How weird, I thought, that a 12-year-old Newfoundlander can legally go goose-hunting in Riverside, P.E.I. -- provided the Safety/Hunter Education Course has been completed -- but can't hunt in his/her own province where 16 is the minimum age. This is ridiculous. It should be dropped to 12 as it is in most North American jurisdictions. In P.E.I., the legal age for hunting is 12 (under supervision). The lucky P.E.I. boy or girl and parent/guardian will come to Newfoundland and fish for Atlantic salmon from Reef 9 Lodge, on Humber River, July 4-6. Our Provincial Wildlife Division had to offer the fishing trip only because, if the P.E.I. winner was under age 16, he/she would not be old enough to hunt here. I understand there's movement to have all four Atlantic provinces involved in this program next year, but let's make sure there's licence-age uniformity first. The exchange program is open to all residents of this province, between age 12 and 18, who have completed the Safety/Hunter Education Course between September 2000 and June 2001. Taking the course automatically puts them into the draw and the winner will be selected in July. This is a great chance for young people to get involved. It's not every day one of our teenagers can win a goose-hunting trip to P.E.I., or a P.E.I. teen gets a chance to fly an Atlantic salmon on our Humber River. So get cracking, and call your nearest College of the North Atlantic to sign up for the Safety/Hunter Education course. Numbers declining I had a chat with Chris Baldwin, training specialist with the wildlife division, during which he explained the reasons for bringing in this forward-thinking kind of program. ``A couple of years ago, Wildlife Habitat Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, a number of other interest groups and wildlife directors from various agencies, concluded that the number of active hunters and anglers in Canada has been declining steadily and, to make matters worse, recruitment of new or young hunters and anglers was also dropping,'' Baldwin said. The reasons for these declines, particularly in hunting, are many and varied, but some are obvious: the new Canadian laws, with its rolls of red tape and additional costs, is probably one of the biggest factors. But there's also the pressure being applied by anti-hunting zealots, anti-fur wingnuts and the animal rights vultures, who feed on well-meaning but misguided bleeding hearts and laugh all the way to the bank. They also have the ears of influential politicians. I'm firmly convinced that unless Wildlife Habitat Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, other agencies and the hunters themselves start fighting back, the future of hunting doesn't look all that promising. Baldwin said that during a recent meeting of Canadian wildlife directors, a commitment was made to do something proactive to address the recruitment problem. ``This program is an example of what we're involved in, but there are many others across Canada and the U.S. where low recruitment to hunting is also a problem,'' Baldwin said. ``This is an attempt to try and encourage new participation by youth in hunting in this province. If they don't, there will be fewer and fewer hunters down the road, and without hunters we lose one of our most valuable wildlife tools. ``Hunters are the front-line resource users and the ones we get information from. They are the eyes and ears of wildlife management.'' It's good to see Wildlife Minister Kevin Aylward supporting this move, and I can only hope it's an indication he also realizes -- or must be shown -- that current government age limits for young hunters are archaic, the most restrictive in North America and a big impediment to our youth who want to be hunters. Why should young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, brought up in a hunting/fishing tradition and culture, have to wait until they are 16 to get a small-game licence and 18 to hunt big game? It's a stupid rule that tends to make lawbreakers out of youngsters who are only doing what comes naturally -- being hunters like their fathers before them. Isn't it better to lower the age regulation to 12 and let these youngsters carry a gun and tag along with their adult family members, who can then supervise them and even educate them while on the hunt? Federal regulations say people age 12 who have taken the Safety/Hunter Education courses can use a firearm under supervision of a person who can lawfully possess . That's a lot better than youths sneaking guns without permission and going off by themselves to hunt, unsupervised and no one to tell them right from wrong. Hunting and angling skills, when properly learned at a young age, usually stay with you for life. The ethics of these sports -- respect for the fish and game, the land and water, and practising conservation and sportsmanship -- also become part of the angler's or hunter's conscience and sense of fair play. Bill Power is a former editor with The Telegram. He can be reached at 722-8779, or by e-mail at bpower@firstcity.net. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 20:50:32 -0600 From: Neal Subject: UN host major conference on international gun control In the hype of gun control in Canada, I have NEVER heard that the reasoning behind it was to protect civilians in the event of war. The following article (NATIONAL POST, April 14/2001) states: "Canada's Liberal government, which considered international gun control to be central to its "human security" goal of protecting civilians in war, quickly signed on. The Canadian International Development Agency chipped in $400,000, a fraction of the $30-million Ottawa has earmarked for "peacebuilding"." To add credibility to this interesting point, does any reader of this email have documentation to indicate that the force behind gun control indeed is a focus on the matter of war, as opposed to what we are readily being told is the reason domestically? _____ UN's African gun control program firing blanks Canadian-backed project has 'very few results that could be described as tangible' Steven Edwards National Post UNITED NATIONS - Less than three months before the United Nations hosts a major conference on international gun control, its showpiece disarmament project in West Africa has been exposed as an utter failure by a confidential internal evaluation obtained by the National Post. Canada was the first country to sign on to the project, which promised to galvanize international efforts against gun-running in a region where rebels have killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of innocents. Donor nations have given up to $9-million in financing, and pledged more. Total budget requirements approach $20-million. But the evaluation says the project, launched in March, 1999, by the UN Development Program (UNDP), has done little or nothing to fulfill its mandate. "Very few results that could be described as tangible have been identified as a result of [the project's] activities," the evaluators' report says. Presented to UNDP behind closed doors less than two weeks ago, the evaluation has caused great concern. The UNDP reacted quickly, removing the project's director, Ivor Richard Fung of Cameroon. One senior UN official called for an audit, UN sources say. Mr. Fung remains chief of the UN's Regional Centre for Peace & Disarmament in Africa, based in Lomé, capital of Togo. But some UN officials fear the controversy will make it harder to renew a West African arms sale moratorium, which expires in October after being established for an initial three-year period in 1998. The officials wanted to postpone Mr. Fung's removal until after the renewal deadline. They were overruled. The document says: "It is essential that some substantive results be achieved [by the project] before the end of the moratorium" to keep West African nations and international donors on side. The turmoil at the top will mean an embarrassing lack of good news to trumpet at the first major international meeting on small-arms control. The Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects is scheduled to take place in New York from July 9 to 20. Though the evaluation contains no allegations of major misdirection of funds, it does list several "financial irregularities." For example, Mr. Fung took over a project vehicle for his "exclusive usage ... on personal grounds," it says, citing the vehicle's log book. It attributes these irregularities to a "lack of competence" in UN bookkeeping procedures in Lomé. Reached in Lomé, Mr. Fung said, "I have rejected the report because it was written by amateurs. I founded the project. I directed it until last week. The report has totally distorted the facts. "We need first and foremost the consent of the country to go and do weapons collection correctly. To obtain that consent needs a lot of time." He also said the report fails to reflect bureaucratic difficulties within the UN system that "have hampered progress on the ground." But he conceded UNDP had "accepted and acted on" the report. "What is important for me is the survival of the project," he added. Omar Gharzeddine, a UNDP spokesman, said, "The agency has no comment at this time." Illicit gun-running has been on the rise around the world as regional and ethnic conflicts proliferate after the Cold War. It is helped by lax export controls, especially in former Soviet bloc countries. Private brokers and front companies, sometimes working with national intelligence agencies, have fuelled wars in Colombia, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia and Sri Lanka. But African countries have suffered the most. In some, "it is easier and cheaper to buy an AK-47 [assault rifle] than to attend a movie or provide a decent meal," says a U.S. State Department study. The West African bid to end small-arms trafficking was sparked by Mali, a landlocked Saharan state, which asked the UN for help in ending a conflict in its north in 1993. A UN advisory commission that visited seven countries in the region concluded small-arms controls were "essential for ... economic and social development." That led to the three-year moratorium on manufacturing and trading in light weapons. The UNDP's project, formally known as the Program for Co-ordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PCASED), aimed to publicize the moratorium, set up a registry to track arms sales and help West African countries establish commissions to destroy confiscated weapons. Mr. Fung was to head the project until he could be replaced by a deputy director, based at the project's headquarters in Bamako, capital of Mali. Canada's Liberal government, which considered international gun control to be central to its "human security" goal of protecting civilians in war, quickly signed on. The Canadian International Development Agency chipped in $400,000, a fraction of the $30-million Ottawa has earmarked for "peacebuilding." No CIDA official with knowledge of the project was available for comment. But by last summer, donor countries had begun to suspect progress was less than as advertised and called for a study. Two evaluators scrutinized the project from Nov. 22 to Dec. 14. Their report rejects Mr. Fung's claims the project has helped destroy weapons, as well as train border and security forces in weapons detection. The evaluation complains about Mr. Fung's "unwillingness ... to recognize the weakness of the program," but admits he has been effective at raising money. "The director has been instrumental in securing donor funding," it says. He is also praised for "facilitating dialogue with [weapons] producers and suppliers." The evaluation suggests Mr. Fung clung to the job, saying he has shown "little inclination to transfer his functions to the deputy director, as originally intended." In deciding to support the project, donor nations had been most impressed by its promises to set up commissions in 16 West African countries to rid the region of illicit light weapons and to establish an arms register to track arms sales. So far, only three commissions have materialized -- in Mali, Niger and Guinea -- and the first two existed before the project began. Plans for the arms register not only remain unfulfilled, but are too grandiose, says the evaluation. Instead of developing a simple information Web site, the project budgeted $360,000 for a sophisticated regional network with "an advanced intranet system or elaborate software configurations." The evaluation recommends pulling the plug on this system, which it says has a "technological capacity far in excess of PCASED's requirements." The money saved should be used to beef up efforts to gather small-arms information from member states. Neal - -- Main site at http://hammer.prohosting.com/~nealking/ mirror site at http://lightning.prohosting.com/~neal/ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood." - Eze 33:6 ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE=================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 20:51:27 -0600 From: "Rod Regier" Subject: [URL] Marstar offering SECU-LOCK product for AR15 pattern, AK47 pattern, Beretta 92 and Glock 19 Sender: owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Reply-To: cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca $C19.95 http://www.marstar.ca/cdnacc/ SECU LOCK magazine locks The only magazine locking system in the world. No more worries about your firearm being accessed by an unauthorized user. This new style gun lock renders the firearm safe and secure, it cannot be loaded or fired when the magazine lock is in place. We offer these magazine locks for the M16/AR-15, the AK-47, the Beretta 92/96, the Glock 19. Only $19.95 \\ This is especially nice for the AR15 pattern rifles, since conventional trigger locks are really unsecure on a receiver equipped with a bottom pivoting trigger-guard. The only real alternative is a cable lock, which works but is a pain. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 20:51:30 -0600 From: Jim Powlesland Subject: Native bands want clarification of gun-registry legislation PUBLICATION: The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal DATE: 2001.04.17 BYLINE: BOB KLAGER Native bands want clarification of gun-registry legislation A Canadian Alliance critic who contends aboriginals are engaged in a near-total boycott of new federal gun legislation may have inadvertently hit the nail on the head, say native leaders in New Brunswick. The Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC) says Saskatchewan MP Garry Breitkreuz has misconstrued national figures on hunting to conclude natives are not complying with controversial mandatory gun licences. However, the MP's conclusions are likely accurate - regardless of how he reached them - and warn of future court challenges rooted in aboriginal and treaty rights, says Trevor Bernard, a policy director with the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs. I wouldn't even speculate on the percentage, but I would suspect it [compliance] is low," said Mr. Bernard, who also participated in a joint working group between the firearms centre and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). "Some communities have stated their intention to avoid the process altogether. There are aboriginal adaptations within the act but the AFN has taken the position that even those are inadequate, he said. It's still the same scenario where government is doing what they think is in our best interest without even talking to us. I suspect there will be court challenges. "I would say he's probably bang on," said Betty Ann Lavalle, president of the New Brunswick Aboriginal People's Council. "And it's actually the government's fault because we can't get straight answers out of them whether the legislation pertains to us or not." Ms. Lavalle said at least half of the estimated 7,500 off-reserve natives in New Brunswick hunt for food. She said the courts have upheld that right. "The problem [is] no one has yet identified where we fit into this," she said. "We've asked, we've had meetings and nobody seems able to give us answers here." In a statement released last week, the outspoken Mr. Breitkreuz pegged aboriginal non-compliance as even "more evidence of the phenomenal failure of the government's controversial gun registry." He said Justice Department figures show just four native individuals in New Brunswick have applied for firearms licences claiming they hunt for the sole purpose of providing food to their families. Across Canada, that number doesn't go beyond 3,000 - "a horrendous rate of non-compliance," he said. David Austin, a spokesman for the Canadian Firearms Centre, called the MP's statements unfounded. He insisted the compliance rate across Canada hovers around 87 per cent. He didn't have specific numbers for New Brunswick but said there's no reason to believe it differs from the national average or among aboriginal communities. "Mr. Breitkreuz asked for and got the number of people who had not paid fees because they were sustenance hunters," Mr. Austin said. "Obviously not all aboriginals are sustenance hunters and not all sustenance hunters are aboriginals. "The government does not have figures on the number of aboriginals who have applied," he said. "But when it comes down to it, the Firearms Act applies to everyone. I'd be concerned if anyone was not in compliance because the law is quite specific." Mr. Austin said government consultations with native communities over adaptation regulations in the gun law are a step toward addressing the confusion and facilitating maximum compliance. However, Mr. Bernard said even those discussions have reached an impasse, adding nothing is happening now and he believes "First Nations will be put into a position where they are forced to use the treaty argument." Reach our reporter tjwood@nb.aibn.com ******************************* ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #724 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:acardin33@home.com List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v03.n198 end (198 is the digest issue number and 03 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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