From: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca on behalf of Cdn-Firearms Digest [owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca] Sent: Friday, 18 May, 2001 13:27 To: cdn-firearms-digest@broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #775 Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, May 18 2001 Volume 03 : Number 775 In this issue: Shooting of beavers angers city resident CORNER-STORE RAMBOS NOT THE ANSWER GUN BUFFS CROW STUDENT CHARGED `Expect the unexpected': Police tactical squad Activists want Gun Owner's Pride Day Election of Directors - Alberta- Manitoba The Priest & Guns -The Bible & "Guns" thinking ahead ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:25:18 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Shooting of beavers angers city resident PUBLICATION: The Leader-Post (Regina) DATE: 2001.05.18 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Third Page PAGE: A3 BYLINE: Tanis Fowler DATELINE: The Leader-Post - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Shooting of beavers angers city resident - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Mary Sutherland awoke to the sound of gunshots early Wednesday morning. The Regina resident was alarmed to find that pest control officers were shooting beavers that had become a nuisance to the Wascana Creek system and the surrounding vegetation. Sutherland feels the process is inhumane and dangerous. ``That we're paying city dollars for people to sit on the dike and shoot beavers is unconscionable,'' Sutherland said on Thursday. ``It's absolutely insane, there are going off in my neighborhood.'' The beaver may be a proud and noble animal, and an enduring symbol of Canada, but it is also impeding reconstruction on the dike, chewing up trees and building dams that have the potential to flood the creek system, said Wade Morrow, the supervisor of pest control for Regina. ``Shooting is used as a last resort,'' Morrow said. ``We've looked at other methods including trapping, but many of the traps used are also inhumane.'' There is a drowning trap that doesn't leave the animal alive, and other traps are extremely expensive, not to mention difficult to use because they have to be placed so near the water, said Morrow. ``We have considered using live animal traps, but they attract other things like pets and children. The last thing we want is for a child or family pet to come across the trap, become entangled and fall into the water.'' Another problem is the lack of places to put the animals once they're caught. ``We can't find any place to dispose or to relocate beavers when we do catch them live. We've made requests of some surrounding municipalities, to see about dropping them off there, but they say, `No, we don't want your pests in our areas for us to deal with.''' The beaver population is very high because fur prices have been so low and fewer people are trapping the animals, said Kelly Neuert, the conservation officer for the Regina field area, . He added that city workers who shoot the beavers are licensed to do so both by provincial conservation officers and the city police. But that is small comfort to Sutherland, who has asked her city councillor to bring the topic up at the next city council meeting. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:25:25 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: CORNER-STORE RAMBOS NOT THE ANSWER PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2001.05.18 SECTION: News PAGE: 7 COLUMN: Inside story SOURCE: Edmonton Sun BYLINE: Doug Beazley HEADLINE: CORNER-STORE RAMBOS NOT THE ANSWER There are better ways of making a living, even at minimum wage. Still, when you hold the staff record for most times robbed, you can't help but feel a modest glow of pride for every month you tough it out. Maria's been toughing it out for seven years. "It's kind of a scuzzy neighbourhood," she said yesterday, getting ready to start yet another night shift behind the scarred Formica counter at a downtown gas bar. "Mostly druggies, transients, hookers and mooches. We've seen it all. People come in here covered with blood all the time. I've been robbed four times. Nothing fazes us." Nothing much - not after last week, when a would-be robber came into the shop and spritzed one of Maria's co-workers in the face with what the bandit claimed was AIDS-infected blood. That one got away empty-handed. Most who come into the shop looking for an easy score wind up disappointed. There's a metal pipe and a crowbar under the counter, for emergencies. The till's usually got $30 in it, tops, and Maria's not giving it up without an argument. "The first time I got robbed, he came in and showed me a crowbar under his jacket and said, 'Gimme the money,' " she said. "He seemed OK, no real threat, just desperate for a fix. I said I wasn't going to give him money for drugs. I gave him a pack of smokes and he left. "The last one, he had a . Or it looked like a real to me. I wasn't going to test it out. He got $65." Hardly a Brinks job, but then convenience store robberies tend to be underplanned exercises born of desperation. Since the start of the year, Edmonton's seen 50 bank robbery attempts and a whopping 175 "commercial" robberies - the vast majority of those aimed at gas stations and corner stores. Most clerks, when facing an anxious man with a knife, will empty the till without a murmur. But despite repeated pleas from city police for convenience store staff to avoid acts of heroism, some can't resist the temptation to play Dirty Harry. "I wasn't even looking at him when he came into the shop. I was on the phone," said the owner-operator of a south-side corner store. He's originally from the Middle East, a neighbourhood known more for sniper attacks and car bombs than corner store raids. He'd rather not see his name in print. "The man was wearing a knithood over his face. He was bigger than me," he said. "He had a hammer and he started smashing up the lottery display, screaming, 'Give me the money!' "I froze for a few seconds. I gave him some of the money in the till, not all of it. He said, 'Give me the rest.' "I was relaxed at that point, and I thought, 'He is the weaker man, the coward. I am the stronger.' I grab the hammer from him and I say, 'I break your head!' "Why do the police say not to fight back when I am robbed? They are encouraging people to rob me, telling them that no one will put up a fight." Actually, the cops have three very good reasons for urging clerks to co-operate with armed thieves. 1. It keeps them alive. 2. Dead clerks make poor witnesses. 3. If Edmonton's corner store clerks decide en masse to start waving crowbars in the face of every bandit with a knife, the bandits are going to start coming back with guns. "If you know you're going to be resisted, maybe you're not going to hit the place pretending you've got a in your pocket," said Edmonton Police Service spokesman Wes Bellmore. "Maybe you're going to bring a real next time." Actually, the cops are in a bit of a bind. They don't want to encourage random Ramboism, but they can't ignore conspicuous acts of bravery. The Edmonton Police Commission hands out civilian awards annually to people who help police to break cases and save lives. Not a few of those plaques go to people who thwart robberies. It looks like a mixed signal. Commission member Dave Ruptash insists it isn't. "We make it clear when we hand out these awards that we don't want people putting themselves at risk," he said. "But they should be recognized for their sacrifices and their efforts." "The plaques tend to go for acts of bravery in defence of the person, not property," said Bellmore. "Who's going to step in front of a knife for $60 of the 7-Eleven's money and a plaque?" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:25:31 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: GUN BUFFS CROW PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun DATE: 2001.05.18 SECTION: News PAGE: 12 BYLINE: Reuters DATELINE: Kansas City, Mo. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- GUN BUFFS CROW - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Flush with optimism about enhanced political clout, the nation's most powerful lobby will kick off its annual convention today in Kansas City. National Rifle Association leaders will share the limelight with a White House Cabinet member Gale Norton in a "celebration of freedom" that promises to draw more than 40,000 enthusiasts. "It's a celebration of freedom and the Second Amendment," NRA spokesman Bill Powers said, referring to the constitutional guarantee of "the right of the people to keep and bear arms." Several protest groups are planning to rally outside the convention hall. Many opponents want to express outrage over the NRA's close ties to the White House. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:25:38 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: STUDENT CHARGED PUBLICATION: The Kingston Whig-Standard DATE: 2001.05.18 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Community PAGE: 5 SOURCE: The Kingston Whig-Standard NDSS STUDENT CHARGED A 19-year-old male student at Napanee District Secondary School was picked up by police yesterday morning after he was reported to be carrying what appeared to be a . The gun turned out to be an airgun. A supply of ammunition was found in the student's locker. The young man told police he'd taken the gun to school to sell it. OPP Const. Michael Ball and Const. M. Martin are investigating the incident. Jason Ray Hart of Napanee has been charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon. He will appear in court on June 19. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:25:44 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: `Expect the unexpected': Police tactical squad PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal DATE: 2001.05.18 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: City PAGE: B1 / Front BYLINE: Chris Purdy, Journal Staff Writer SOURCE: The Edmonton Journal DATELINE: Edmonton ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: File Photo / Constant training required. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- `Expect the unexpected': Police tactical squad is trained to react in a split-second - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- They are trained to rappel down buildings, ram through doors and make split-second decisions. The 27 men of the Edmonton police tactical team unit are chosen for their skills, then trained year-round for high-risk incidents. The more they train for different scenarios -- a hostage-taking or school shooting -- the less likely they will make fatal mistakes, says Const. Dean Hilton, acting head of the unit. ``Everybody makes mistakes, and that's why we train and train and train,'' he says. ``You're prepared to expect the unexpected. You never know what's on the other side of the door.'' On Tuesday night, a tactical officer shot and killed a drunk man who lunged at him with a butcher knife. Hilton, who wasn't on duty that night, says an officer weighs each situation differently. If he can use non-lethal weapons -- like a bean-bag , taser or pepper spray -- he will. He may also choose to use tear gas or a flash-bang device that emits heat, light and sound as a distraction. ``Everything happens really fast and you have to make that split-second decision,'' Hilton says. ``Basically you do what you can to resolve the situation for the best result possible without a lethal confrontation.'' The unit, formed in 1974, consists of three squads of nine officers: one supervisor, two snipers and six entry men. Two unit members are also bomb technicians. One squad is always on shift and the others remain on call. It's been a busy two months for high-risk incidents, says Hilton. When it slows down, officers help out by responding to normal patrol calls as simple as break-and-enters. After each major case, officers are debriefed. Counselling is available and they see a psychiatrist once a year. They move on to another department after five to seven years with the unit. Hilton, who has been on the unit four of his 11 years with the force, says some people get the wrong idea about tactical officers acting like aggressive boys with toys. ``There's been some press that says we're a bunch of weekend warriors.'' Hilton says that's not an informed opinion. ``We're just another tool on the shelf for the police service and the public. What it all comes down to is public safety.'' ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:27:20 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Activists want Gun Owner's Pride Day PUBLICATION: The Leader-Post (Regina) DATE: 2001.05.18 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: News PAGE: A9 BYLINE: Neil Scott SOURCE: The Leader-Post - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Activists want Gun Owner's Pride Day - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Former mayoral candidate Bill Whatcott and a group known as the Christian Truth Activists are asking the city to proclaim a `` Owner's Pride Day'' in Regina later this year. In a telephone interview Thursday, Whatcott said he objects to federal government regulation of guns, as provided by the controversial Bill C-68. That law ``is an attack on liberty and as Christians we oppose this,'' Whatcott said. Whatcott is asking the city to proclaim a Owner's Pride Day on Sept. 8, so owners can ``celebrate their wholesome and cherished tradition of ownership.'' City Clerk Randy Markewich, in a letter to Whatcott, said the request for the pride day is ``under review'' and the city will be providing an answer within a month. Proclamations of special days in Regina are normally done by the mayor but the administrative process involves Markewich initially reviewing the requests and then preparing a report for consideration by the mayor. Approval of proclamations is more-or-less automatic, providing that certain rules with respect to the content and purpose of the proclamation are met. And the issuing of a proclamation does not necessarily represent a full endorsement by the city of the organization requesting the proclamation. The issue about proclaiming special days has occasionally become a hot potato at city hall in the past several years. Specifically, there was a controversy about whether the city should proclaim a gay and lesbian pride day. But city council, after receiving legal advice that it could potentially be in violation of human rights legislation if it refused to proclaim the gay and lesbian pride day, has agreed more than once to declare a gay and lesbian pride day. When Whatcott ran for mayor last October, he promised to end the practice of declaring a gay and lesbian pride day. While Whatcott finished a distant fourth in the mayoral race, he has not completely disappeared from the public stage. And in March, he was successful in getting the city to agree to the proclamation of a Heterosexual Family Pride Day, which will be celebrated on June 18. Whatcott said he is looking forward both to the celebration of the heterosexual family pride day in June and to the owner's pride day in September. But he said he would also be just happy if the city ended the entire practice of having the mayor proclaim special days. The proposed proclamation submitted by Whatcott says owners are ``discriminated against and in need of a special day.'' The tradition in Canada has ``brought great joy and benefit to many mothers, fathers and children,'' the proposed proclamation adds. It is also noted that the firearm and hunting industries provide wholesome recreational opportunities as well as employment for many Canadians. But the proposed proclamation says that federal government regulations have brought ``onerous and unnecessary financial and legal burdens on responsible and law-abiding owners.'' ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:13:26 -0600 From: "Gordon Hitchen" Subject: Election of Directors - Alberta- Manitoba Well here we are about halfway through the Alberta and Manitoba Elections for Directors of the NFA. I am told the ballots are arriving at the Calgary office . To ensure the success of the election we need participation by all the members - not just those online with computers. Please urge everyone you know to send in their ballots , expecially those not online. As a member in Alberta I would strongly urge Alberta members , who have not already voted for Bob Lickacz , the immediate past president in Alberta , to mark Him as the Number 1 choice. Thank you , Gordon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:49:50 -0600 From: awp@datanet.ab.ca Subject: The Priest & Guns -The Bible & "Guns" "....and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Jesus Christ Luke 22:36 " FREEDOM " For those who Fought, Bled and Died for It "FREEDOM" has a FLAVOR THE PROTECTED will Never Know or Savor. Anonymous ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 13:26:51 -0600 From: "TriggerMortis" Subject: thinking ahead I was asked to repost this article I wrote 2 years ago. I had forgotten it. Feel free to circulate it. ============ Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 05:47:17 -0600 From: Alan Harper Subject: Thinking ahead Here's something I was thinking of while mowing the lawn. I have tried to make it pretty generic. ============================================ FIRST CONTACT Have a witness. A third party, during any incident or discussion, is very important. If you think there is the slightest chance that any discussion will lead to a problem, have a witness. Have the witness write down details. The witness should sign and date any statement. Take notes yourself. Sign, date and time them. If you can't take notes during the incident, jot them down soon after. Make sure you mark down who said what. Note a sarcastic tone of voice, dirty looks and any behaviour that stands out, from anyone. When I take any notes, I address them to a judge/arbitrator down the road. Use brief clear statements. Be objective. Make uncomplimentary statements, only where appropriate. Don't use swear words. Put in all appropriate detail. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO WHEN DEALING WITH THE BUREAUCRACY? You need to know the rules, not that you can memorize all the rules, but you need to get an overall idea what they are, and you need to know how to get the details. You need to call up the details fast, when you need them. Computers This being an email list, everybody has a computer. Computers store the rules magnetically, and you can use the "Find" feature to call up the details. You need to have a good keyword to do that. For openers, you should have the rules in storage. In text format, the laws or collective agreement, or whatever rules you have to refer to, don't take up that much space. On my hard drive, I use this much space for: Canadian Criminal Code 1.6 Megabytes Customs Notice N-177 10K Customs Notice N-198 5K C-68 249K C-68 Regulations 73K collective agreement 609K That's quite a bit of stuff, but it only takes up 2.5 Meg. So, get it and save it, for your own reference. When I see a good posting on this list, I save it. When I save it, I make sure there is, at least, one good keyword. If there is not a good one, I will insert one. I use the keyword for the "Find" function to locate. Frequently, the document you are saving will incorporate a good keyword. A keyword is, simply, a word that is easy for you to remember, a word that stands out in the context of the document, a word that is meaningful and somewhat specific to the area of the document that you want to locate. i.e.. - you want to find out what the law says about young offenders, so "young offender" is your keyword. General Rules Don't talk to the bureaucracy when you are not prepared. Get a representative, who is familiar with the rules, to accompany you. Your representative will be a lawyer, shop steward at work, workers comp advocate, whatever. Unless you are very sure of what you want to say, pretend you have duct tape across the lips. Organize your documentation in advance. Sort by date, sort by subject, sort by persons involved, but sort by something. Don't dump a mess of paperwork in front of your representative and expect him/her to organize it. It's your situation. You sort it out and help your rep to make sense out of it. Then, when your rep sorts it out, your rep will present the pertinent information to the judge/jury/arbitrator/caseworker for a decision. I generally organize mine by date of reception. When you can't decide which file to put your document in, make a copy, and put one in each file, with a cross reference. Don't give up your documents to anyone, including your rep. Give them copies and keep the originals. Where the original must be supplied, keep a copy for yourself. Remember, if it isn't written down, it didn't happen. If somebody else loses your documents, you have nothing. Note the date on any written communication. Mark down the date you receive it. Note the cancellation date on a letter delivered by Canada Post. Save the envelope, if the date differs from the date on the letter. Sometimes, the dates on letter and envelope differ by a couple of weeks, and there are time limits, which may be brought into play. During any formal hearing, take notes. Let your rep talk. You take detailed notes. Don't take anything at face value, unless you verify it. Any bureaucrat will pontificate with the utmost sincerity, while being totally wrong in the process. Demand to know which section of the rules apply. Then, you should get corroboration. The person could be telling you: 1. a truth, 2. bull fertilizer, which he/she thinks is the truth, 3. bull fertilizer which they know is bull fertilizer. Stand up for your rights. If you don't, you'll be used as a door mat. Ask for help, from a knowledgeable person, if you need it. IN SUMMARY (not necessarily in this order) 1. Take notes 2. Don't talk 3. Get a witness 4. Get representation 5. Organize your documentation 6. Know the rules 7. Be prepared 8. Exercise your rights ===================================== Bye. Al. SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #775 ********************************** 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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