From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #647 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Monday, December 20 2004 Volume 07 : Number 647 In this issue: Man charged in hostage-taking POLICE INVESTIGATE 'GUNS FOR DOPE' TRADE Toy guns pulled from shops Police seek witnesses to early-morning shooting Families seek out shield from abuse Column: Violent games are more than child's play: Quick now: Which two countries have the highest crime rates ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:32:21 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Man charged in hostage-taking PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: Local PAGE: A4 COLUMN: Local in Brief SOURCE: The StarPhoenix - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Man charged in hostage-taking - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A 26-year-old man is in custody after Saskatoon police surrounded a house early Saturday where a gun-wielding man held a woman hostage. Police arrived at a home on the 3300 block of Caen Street just before 4:30 a.m. after a woman called police, saying her estranged husband had entered her home and was threatening her with a gun, Staff Sgt. Neil Wylie said. Six officers stood around the perimeter of the house while the emergency response team was dispatched. The suspect left the home unannounced at 5:12 a.m. and officers arrested him without incident, Wylie said. He had a high-powered rifle and at least one shot had been fired, Wylie said. Police found the woman inside the home shaken up but not physically harmed. The suspect faces charges of break and enter, assault, unlawful confinement, breach of conditions and firearm-related offences. Police are still investigating the incident. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:36:11 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: POLICE INVESTIGATE 'GUNS FOR DOPE' TRADE PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 5 BYLINE: DOUG BEAZLEY, EDMONTON SUN - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ POLICE INVESTIGATE 'GUNS FOR DOPE' TRADE - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When an Edmonton drug thug is in the market for an untraceable handgun, he usually makes a beeline for Washington state. Local and U.S. authorities agree the state that gave us Starbucks and Nirvana is also source No. 1 for firearms smuggled into Canadian provinces - Alberta included. Proximity, and lax state laws for gun sales, make Washington a natural source for contraband weapons. "There's quite a two-way trade with Washington, and it pretty much overlaps perfectly with the drug trade," said Insp. Bill Carver of the Victoria Police. He's the B.C. liaison for NWEST, the national gun-tracing service. "It's guns for dope. Our hydroponic marijuana goes south, handguns and cocaine come north. "We're just starting to understand how it all works." U.S. gun laws vary widely between states. In Washington, sales made through licensed dealers are registered with the state - but private transactions between individuals aren't. Such sales, which often take place at gun shows, leave police with a very cold trail if the gun in question ends up being used in a violent crime in Canada. Last year, agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced 152 guns smuggled into Canada to origin sales in Washington, more than Texas and Florida combined. Between Jan. 1, 2003, and June 30 of this year, ATF agents traced 1,805 firearms recovered in Canada back to U.S. sources. Alberta accounted for 197 of those guns. Gun smugglers tend to take small shipments across the border - often in backpacks and on foot - said Det. Rick Buckley, NWEST liaison with the Edmonton Police Service. "They tend to be bought up by the drug dealers with the deep pockets, and usually within a few hours," he said. Since B.C. has more border crossings than Alberta, many with light security, smugglers tend to bring guns up through B.C. to buyers throughout the region. Street prices run to triple the retail price. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:38:02 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Toy guns pulled from shops PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: C16 SOURCE: The Associated Press DATELINE: ALBANY, New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Toy guns pulled from shops - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALBANY, New York - Thousands of toy guns have been pulled from the shelves of costume shops across the state as part of a settlement between the New York attorney general's office and two national wholesalers. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had accused the wholesalers of distributing more than 12,000 toy guns in 2001 in violation of a state law that previously applied only to retailers. Most of the wholesalers dealt with costume and novelty shops. The state law bans realistic toy guns from being sold in stores unless they have permanent orange stripes running down both sides of the barrel. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:38:26 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Police seek witnesses to early-morning shooting PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL IDN: 043550103 DATE: 2004.12.20 PAGE: A13 BYLINE: JAMES RUSK SECTION: Toronto News EDITION: Early DATELINE: WORDS: 526 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Man, 25, killed in downtown restaurant Police seek witnesses to early-morning shooting in diner at Church and Gerrard - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JAMES RUSK A 25-year-old man who was shot in the head inside a downtown restaurant in the early-morning hours yesterday died in hospital less than 12 hours later. Police said the man, whose name they have not released, was at the Mr. Tasty Burgers restaurant on Church Street near Gerrard Street about 3:20 a.m. when he was shot once in the head. He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, where he died yesterday afternoon. An employee of the restaurant, who did not want to give his name, said last night that he heard the shot that killed the victim. "He comes in, orders fries, sits down, and in 10 minutes, somebody comes in behind him, uses a gun, and walks away," said the employee, who explained that the shooting was "very traumatizing" to witness. "I didn't see it. I just heard the bang, and then saw somebody walking away." He added that the victim was sitting close to the door. "Somebody opens the door, goes directly at him. So obviously, logically, he was followed. He happens to walk in here, and that's why it happened in here." The man's family had not all been notified of his death last night, said police, who are looking for witnesses. "There were patrons in the restaurant at the time of the shooting, and we're seeking the assistance of those people," an officer said. The shooting, the city's 59th homicide, comes less than two days after the funeral of 18-year-old Tanner Hopkins, who had been stabbed to death Dec. 11 outside his parents' York Mills home. He was killed while trying get rid of a group of uninvited guests arriving at a party given by his younger brother while their parents were away at a cottage. Also last night, another man was reported shot to death in Scarborough. No further details were immediately available. In the past four weeks, the city has been racked with high-profile homicides and shootings. In mid-November, a mother was killed by her boyfriend, who committed suicide in their Lansdowne Avenue apartment. Then Andrea Labbe killed her husband, her three-year-old daughter and herself in their Concord Avenue home. In early December, 16-year-old Andrew Stewart was stabbed to death after defending a female friend in a fight at a restaurant near his school. In late November, two people were shot on a Jane Street TTC bus. Both survived, but police faced difficulties finding witnesses willing to talk. Although media attention to the crimes might suggest otherwise, Toronto is on course to record about the same number of homicides in 2004 as it has in the past five years. Last year, the city recorded 68; in 2002, 63; and in 2001 and 2000, 61 each year. Meanwhile, police said yesterday they are seeking the public's help in regard to a murder attempt on Saturday night. Police said a man, 28, had gone to an apartment in the Islington Avenue and Rexdale Boulevard area at about 9 p.m. with a female friend, where he was attacked and stabbed several times. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:50:44 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Families seek out shield from abuse PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A1 / Front COLUMN: Calgary Herald Christmas Fund BYLINE: Shelley Knapp SOURCE: Calgary Herald - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Families seek out shield from abuse - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's been more than a year since Sandi packed up her children and fled her home. She can still hear the crack of the rifle. She still sees the spot where the bullet ripped through the ceiling. The words her husband of 17 years muttered are seared into her memory: "Leave the room, kids, because I am going to kill your mom." As her children screamed, he laughed. "He fired the gun in the air just to get a reaction out of them," says the 34-year-old as she gazes out at the Calgary skyline. A short time later, her 13-year-old son gave her a life-altering ultimatum. "It's this lifestyle or my life. You choose." She didn't hesitate. She had already chopped down one child that she found hanging in her house. Luckily, he survived. So she made the only choice possible. Clothes were thrown into a bag, four of her five children hopped into her car and in the early morning hours on a warm July day, they drove away from the central Alberta home she spent half her life in. They headed to Calgary to find safety and a place to heal. "I stopped five or six times on the side of the road. I almost turned around and went back. It was the only life I had ever known." Sandi is an alias because her husband doesn't know where she is and she intends to keep it that way. "I am still alive and yet I am haunted. It's kind of scary." When she ran, she not only left behind her eldest son, her home, her belongings and her dogs, but a good-paying job. So she found herself in a new city with little money, no support and tattered emotions. "I acted in desperation to save my kids." Sandi found refuge at Awo Taan Native Women's Shelter. She and the children spent three weeks learning how to live without fear. They spent time with the elders talking about the hell that had been their lives. With the help of the shelter, she found a place to live and some household items so they could begin again. "We got a fresh start. The staff at the shelter are wonderful and caring. I don't know what would have happened without them." Her eldest son, who is 17 and a father to Sandi's five-month-old granddaughter, came to join her and his seven-year-old sister and three brothers -- ages 11, 12 and 13 -- in Calgary. "We still shed some tears. I sometimes think it would be easier if we just went back, but I owe my kids a life." Things are slowly starting to return to normal. Her eldest, who battled alcohol and drug problems, is back in school and looking to attend SAIT in the fall to study to be a chef. Sandi is also contemplating a return to school, to study psychology. "I want to learn how to erase all the scars my children have. I want to understand what they are going through." Sandi can now see that the man she married at 17 was an abuser. It started with him cutting her off from family and friends, then the frequent phone calls to her office to make sure she was working, then the demeaning outbursts. When he started to drink three years ago, it turned violent. "He started drinking and he never stopped. He never sobered up." He never hit her in the face because others would see those marks and he didn't want to be portrayed as a bad guy. "He would pull your hair out, but there's always more to cover it up." She says toward the end, she didn't even recognize herself. The confidence she once possessed had evaporated. "I used to have a fighting spirit." The one thing she is clear on is had she stayed -- or if she goes back - -- she would be dead. "I've done my 10 rounds and I am not going another." Awo Taan, which means "to shield" in Blackfoot, is an emergency shelter that aims to strengthen and heal body, mind and spirit and does so, in part, through healing circles. The native women's shelter is one of 12 groups being helped by this year's Christmas Fund. Last year, 275 families benefited from its services. Please give generously and help people like Sandi break the cycle of domestic violence. sknapp@theherald.canwest.com - - - - To donate, please call 235-7323 Donations to Date: $336,572.22 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:55:02 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Column: Violent games are more than child's play: PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed PAGE: A27 BYLINE: KATHLEEN PARKER SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Violent games are more than child's play: Emotional Distancing; Opposition to hunting via computer has united animal lovers and the NRA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Technological advances continue to bestow previously unimagined gifts - the "delete" button tops my list - as well as unimaginable horrors, from video games in which players simulate murder and violence toward women to Internet hunting expeditions in which desk jockeys kill real animals with the push of a button. Who knew we'd be having such fun? The hunting game is for real, in concept if not yet in practice, and seems with hindsight to have been inevitable. The brainchild of Texas rancher John Underwood, the original plan was to allow hunters to shoot paper targets via their Internet-connected computers. That plan quickly morphed into a more exotic adventure, allowing shooters to kill real animals. Live-shot.com, selected by Fortune magazine as the worst technology product of 2004,would allow hunters to monitor animals through a Web browser connected to a video camera that is mounted on a hunting platform, along with a rifle, at Underwood's 330-acre ranch. From his desk overlooking, say, Lake Eola in Orlando, the hunter can manipulate the camera, panning and zooming in on animals as they come into view. When he's ready, the hunter aims, fires and - voila! Trophy head soon to be delivered. If ever there were a common cause for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the NRA (National Rifle Association), live-shot.com would seem made to order. Killing animals with a computer keyboard from a remote location is so stunningly wrong, almost no one is unoffended, including traditional hunters as well as some Texas wildlife officials. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which oversees hunting rules, is investigating how and whether to stop Underwood, who claims he's trying to meet the needs of disabled hunters or others who can't afford a hunting trip. The hitch for officials is that the animals Underwood intends to offer for "harvesting," such as blackbuck antelope, wild hogs and Corsican sheep, aren't regulated under Texas law,which covers only native wildlife. Moreover, the issue is ethical rather than biological. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department only is supposed to regulate on biological grounds. Absent prohibitions against remote hunting, Underwood hopes to have his faux safaris available by next spring. The ethics of high-tech killing, whether in computer real time or through video simulations, which thus far have escaped government regulation, poses new challenges for those charged with protecting the innocent, as well as for anyone concerned with our fragile humanity. The physical distancing in both cases also permits an emotional distancing that has observers appropriately concerned. Killing is so easy when you only have to push a button. No bloody muss, no emotional fuss. Some of today's video games have pushed the limits of what any sane adult would find acceptable for children, yet we can't seem to apply the brakes. Freedom of speech trumps common sense as children have access to games in which, for example, gangsters kill cops, steal cars, solicit prostitutes and beat them. That's the gist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, named game of the year in the second annual Video Game Awards. The fun, of course, is that the player gets to commit and experience the killing and stealing. Although books and movies inarguably offer vicarious experience, there's a profound difference between imagined and simulated experience. That adults should be free to enjoy these un-trivial pursuits isn't up for debate, but few would argue that children have a right to such "entertainment." Studies show a correlation between video-game violence and increased aggression in children and adolescents, especially among those already so inclined. Which is not to say that a 14-year-old who plays Grand Theft Auto necessarily will pack heat in his lunchbox. Still, it's hard to argue that pretending to kill and maim people is helpful to a civilized society. Why wouldn't we restrict minors' access to such potentially damaging materials? Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is trying to do just that by promoting two bills that would criminalize the sale of graphically sexual or violent games to minors. The video-game industry prefers to continue regulating itself by posting ratings on packaging to help guide parents. Whoever wins this battle, it's clear that the war for childhood innocence will continue to be a long, hard slog. As we pick sides, we might be mindful that the leap from paper targets to live animals in Texas was a puddle jump. We might someday measure with regret the psychic distance between video-simulated rape and murder and the real thing. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:55:30 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Quick now: Which two countries have the highest crime rates PUBLICATION: Times Colonist (Victoria) DATE: 2004.12.20 EDITION: Final SECTION: Comment PAGE: A10 SOURCE: Times Colonist - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Preserving our right to defend: Courts in England and Canada are giving protection to the criminal elements - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quick now: Which two countries have the highest crime rates in Europe and North America? Russia? Turkey? The United States? The answer is England and Canada. In a recent report by the British Home Office, England had the worst score among 35 countries, with a crime rate nearly triple some of its neighbours. Law-abiding Canada came in second. While these rankings hold up across most categories, one area stands out: Both countries have shocking levels of domestic burglary. Canada's rate is more than twice that of many European countries. Worse still, the frequency of "hot" break-ins -- where the occupants are at home when the thieves arrive -- is much higher in Canada and the "old country" than elsewhere. In England, nearly two-thirds of burglaries are of the "hot" variety, and in Canada, nearly half. By comparison, the figure is only 13 per cent in the U.S. While burglary is often discounted as a mere "property crime," its impact can be devastating. Many victims are traumatized far beyond the impact of lost or damaged property. Sometimes the trauma is physical: A study in Toronto showed almost half the "hot" break-ins involved a confrontation. The causes of criminal behaviour are no doubt complex. However, recent changes in legal thinking about some long-held beliefs may be partly responsible. Traditionally, common law placed the right to defend oneself, along with sanctity of the home, above all other considerations. Preservation of the self was seen as a virtually unqualified right, while it was understood that our safekeeping, at the most basic level, rests on the security of our home. It appears now that legal authorities in Canada and Britain are increasingly uncomfortable with these notions. Several recent court decisions in both countries suggest a shift in doctrine. One night in August 1999, Tony Martin heard burglars break into his farmhouse in the south of England. Martin's home had been burglarized several times, and he went downstairs armed with a shotgun. In the dark, one of the burglars shone a flashlight in his face. Martin fired, hitting two men and killing one of them. In a case that polarized the country, prosecutors argued Martin could not claim the right of self defence, because he used more force than necessary. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. (In the ensuing uproar, his sentence was subsequently reduced.) Last year in Edmonton, thieves crashed an SUV through a shop window late at night. The owner, who also lived there, drove them off with a .22 rifle, wounding one in the shoulder. Charges of aggravated assault and intent to endanger life were laid against the owner, along with several lesser offences. Although some of the charges were eventually dropped, he was fined and banned from owning a gun for 10 years. It's unlikely either of these men would have been prosecuted 50 years ago. Each woke to find burglars on the premises, and had reason to feel threatened. In both cases, however, prosecutors raised the bar. While they acknowledged the men feared for their safety, they argued this was not sufficient to warrant their actions. Similarly, though in both cases thieves entered a domestic residence, that was not held to justify the degree of force used. These cases are by no means an exception. By some estimates, victims of burglary and home invasion in Canada who use violent force to defend themselves are now almost as likely to be prosecuted as their attackers. Perhaps some of this stems from a desire to discourage gun-related incidents, though statistics show no significant increase over the last half-century. Moreover, since defensive weapons like mace or pepper spray are already banned, you might reasonably wonder what kind of force is permitted. It appears more radical thinking lies at the root of these changes. Some in the legal community believe that in an ideal world, only civil authorities should be authorized to employ force. They trace much that is wrong with contemporary society to individuals taking matters into their own hands. Such an argument resonates powerfully in Britain, still in the shadow of two world wars. If this reduces somewhat the right of personal self defence, the argument goes, that is a price worth paying. If it requires burglary victims to offer no more than passive resistance, well, damage to property can never excuse loss of life. Unfortunately, that brings us back to burglary statistics and to human nature. It may be these changes in legal doctrine were just what the thieves were waiting for. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #647 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca 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 v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 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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