From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #605 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 Tuesday, November 8 2005 Volume 08 : Number 605 In this issue: [Media Release] O.F.A.H. supports Attorney General's proposal to "You have an option, sir" Letter to Toronto Sun (unpub) ... Christmas Election Guns, guns, guns... Re: Red Star article in Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #596 Be Vigilant Against Gun Law Changes Re: Re:Toughen gun laws Re: Attorney general urges 'zero tolerance' for guns Re: Christmas Election My letter to the Montreal Gazette My letter to the Toronto Star Re: Bullets on keychains among items seized, My letter to the National Post RE: Bullets on keychains among items seized, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 13:25:00 -0600 (CST) From: OFAH.org Website Subject: [Media Release] O.F.A.H. supports Attorney General's proposal to OFAH FILE: 842 November 8, 2005 For Immediate Release O.F.A.H. supports Attorney General's proposal to increase penalties for illegal use of guns The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) applauds the recent proposal by Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant to increase the mandatory penalties for the illegal use of firearms. "The O.F.A.H. has previously suggested to the federal government that they should implement stiffer mandatory sentences for the illegal use of firearms, particularly if they are used in the commission of a crime," said Mike Reader, O.F.A.H. Executive Director. "The Attorney General's position of 'zero tolerance' when it comes to illegal firearms is one we share, as is his opposition to the current one year mandatory penalty. The O.F.A.H. believes that by introducing severe mandatory penalti es for the illegal use of a firearm; providing funding to increase the number of police officers on the street, increasing border inspection and security and not accepting plea bargains in cases where illegal firearms are involved, we can help to reduce the amount of gun violence on our streets and in our communities." Mr. Reader noted however that the Attorney General's suggestion that a regulation be developed to require ballistics identification for all firearms is confusing, given that ballistics pertain to the study of motion and flight of projectiles. "What the Minister seems to be describing sounds eerily similar to the firearms registry which already exists and has proven to be a resounding failure in terms of stopping the use of illegal firearms to commit crimes. Manufacturers already stamp seria l numbers and other information on firearms, which can be used to trace them back to their point of origin. Adding another set of markings, or developing another type of registry doesn't address the problem. However, any in increase in the length of mandatory sentences that occurs in response to Mr. Bryant's initiative is a step in the right direction." - 30 - Contact Greg Farrant Government Relations Manager (705) 748-6324 (705) 875-0274 (cell) Robert J. Pye O.F.A.H. Communications Coordinator (705) 748-6324 ext. 267 Download the PDF version of this release (PDF, 19 KB) © 2005 Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters All Rights Reserved ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:22:49 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: "You have an option, sir" Vic Toews, MP Provencher Official Opposition Justice Critic Daryl Kramp, MP Prince Edward - Hastings News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2005 “You have an option, sir” Cotler could pass mandatory minimum gun sentencing legislation by December OTTAWA – Conservative pressure has finally paid off with Justice Minister Irwin Cotler’s sudden flip-flop on tougher sentencing for gun crime, according to Official Opposition Justice Critic Vic Toews and Prince Edward-Hastings MP Daryl Kramp. The Conservative party has been pushing for criminal justice reform to deal with burgeoning levels of gun-related crime in Canada. Conservative MPs say they will hold the minister to his recent promise to toughen gun laws. Cotler made the pledge to provincial justice ministers this week. “For months, the Minister has dismissed serious concerns from the Conservative party, from law enforcement, and from provincial attorney generals as fear-mongering,” said Toews. “The justice minister should have reconsidered his soft-on-crime policies a long time ago.” Kramp introduced a private member’s bill, also known as Bill C-215, to reform gun crime legislation. The bill would amend the Criminal Code to increase minimum mandatory sentences for indictable gun offences from one and four-year penalties to five, ten and fifteen-year penalties. “The justice minister has now committed this government to meaningful reform,” said Kramp. “If he truly believes in enacting legislation to combat violent gun crime as soon as possible, he should support Bill C-215 when it returns back from justice committee later this month.” “Minister Cotler stated yesterday that he is concerned that new government legislation may not be passed before a possible election call in December,” Toews noted. “Yet passage of Bill C-215 will ensure that tougher sentencing reforms are introduced before the Christmas break. We remind the minister that this legislation has been before Parliament since October of last year. There has been plenty of time for this minister to act prior to the threat of an election call.” - -30- For more information, please contact: Office of Vic Toews at (613) 992-3128 or (204) 326-9889 Office of Daryl Kramp at (613) 992-5321 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----- Vic Toews, dĂ©putĂ© Provencher Porte-parole de l’opposition officielle sur la justice Daryl Kramp, dĂ©putĂ© Prince Edward - Hastings CommuniquĂ© POUR COMMUNICATION IMMÉDIATE 8 novembre 2005 « Cela vous est possible, monsieur! » Cotler peut faire adopter d’ici dĂ©cembre une loi stipulant des peines minimales en cas d’acte criminel commis avec une arme Ă  feu OTTAWA – Les pressions des conservateurs ont enfin portĂ© fruit, puisque le ministre de la Justice, Irwin Cotler, a fait brusquement volte-face et prĂ´ne dĂ©sormais des peines plus dures pour tout acte criminel commis avec une arme Ă  feu, selon le porte-parole de l’opposition officielle pour les questions de justice Vic Toews et le dĂ©putĂ© de l’Île du Prince-Édouard, Daryl Kramp. Le parti conservateur appelle depuis un certain temps Ă  une rĂ©forme du droit pĂ©nal pour rĂ©pondre Ă  la montĂ©e des actes criminels commis avec une arme Ă  feu au Canada. Les dĂ©putĂ©s conservateurs disent qu’ils presseront le ministre de respecter la promesse qu’il a faite rĂ©cemment de durcir les lois concernant ce type d’actes criminels. Cotler a fait cette promesse aux ministres provinciaux de la justice cette semaine. « Depuis des mois, le ministre minimise les prĂ©occupations du parti conservateur, des agences d’exĂ©cution de la loi et des procureurs gĂ©nĂ©raux des provinces qu’il accuse de vouloir semer la peur », a expliquĂ© M. Toews. « Le ministre de la Justice aurait dĂ» durcir ses politiques en matière de criminalitĂ© il y a bien longtemps. » Kramp a prĂ©sentĂ© un projet de loi d’initiative parlementaire, le projet de loi C-215, en vue de rĂ©former la lĂ©gislation concernant les actes criminels commis avec une arme Ă  feu. Ce projet de loi modifierait le Code criminel en portant Ă  cinq, dix et quinze ans les peines d’emprisonnement obligatoires pour les actes criminels commis avec une arme Ă  feu, qui vont actuellement de un Ă  quatre ans. « Le ministre de la Justice a dĂ©sormais engagĂ© le gouvernement Ă  mener une rĂ©forme en profondeur», de poursuivre Kramp. « S’il est persuadĂ© qu’il doit lĂ©gifĂ©rer dès que possible pour combattre les actes criminels commis avec une arme Ă  feu, il devrait appuyer le projet de loi C-215, une fois terminĂ©e l’étude que mènera le ComitĂ© de la justice Ă  la fin du mois. » « Le ministre Cotler a dĂ©clarĂ© hier craindre que les nouvelles mesures lĂ©gislatives ne puissent ĂŞtre Ă©tudiĂ©es si des Ă©lections sont convoquĂ©es en dĂ©cembre », a soulignĂ© Toews. « Pourtant, si le projet de loi C‑215 est adoptĂ©, on est sĂ»r que les rĂ©formes prĂ©voyant un durcissement des peines seront adoptĂ©es avant le congĂ© de NoĂ«l. Nous rappelons au ministre que ce projet de loi a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©posĂ© au Parlement en octobre de l’an dernier. Le ministre a eu tout le temps nĂ©cessaire d’agir et la menace d’élections Ă©ventuelles ne tient pas. » - -30- Pour tout autre renseignement, prière de communiquer avec : le bureau de Vic Toews au (613) 992-3128 ou au (204) 326-9889 le bureau de Daryl Kramp au (613) 992-532 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:32:34 -0600 (CST) From: "Robert S. Sciuk" Subject: Letter to Toronto Sun (unpub) ... GUNFIGHT AT THE MINISTERS' CORRAL (fwd) Dear Sir/Madame, When Ontario Attorney General Bryant says "My focus is guns, guns, guns" he'd of course be wrong, wrong, wrong! While illicit firearms are the favourite tool of the criminal, it should be the criminal that has Mr. Bryant's undivided attention rather than inanimate objects. This is the very same backwards logic which brought us a useless $2B firearms registry, and laws which violate the Charter to attack law abiding duck hunters while completely and flagrantly ignoring the violent criminals. For once, I just wish our politicians at all levels could directly address the problem of criminal activity without levelling the blame at the responsible sport shooters and hunters. Responsible firearms owners were not the problem in 1995 when the Liberals enacted the Firearms Act, they are not a problem now, and they never will be the problem. It's the criminals -- stupid! Sincerely, Robert S. Sciuk Oshawa, Ont. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:35:01 -0600 (CST) From: Rick Lowe Subject: Christmas Election Jesus... lemme outta this country! Ahem... sorry... I am for the nth time beside myself with disbelief at Canada and Canadians in general. Nothing about firearms, but... Having sat here toiling away on a contract with the TV on beside me for the last day, I cannot comprehend the unending woe and gloom about actually having an election campaign in December coming from the tube. I don't get it - what sort of cruel and unusual punishment is entailed in actually going to VOTE in December/January. Hasn't been one in my lifetime of course - but are voters scourged on their way to and from the polls with hawthorn branches? Branded on the forehead with a white hot iron before being allowed to make their mark? Disallowed any mention of "Christmas" if an election is in the offing? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM???? Somebody might get cold feet campaigning door to door. Is our democratic franchise more about convenience than anything else (isn't summer when the kids are out of school also considered somewhat of a bad time)? Is the issue of corruption and confidence in government so minor we don't want to hear about it around Christmas time? We are days away from our annual Armistice Day ceremony to remember the effort, sacrifices, and cost of maintaining democracy, however imperfect that democracy may be. And yet... and yet... all the media, the talking heads, and ALL the political parties are gravely telling the public how bad it is to have an election at this time of the year. Well Christ... tell people something long enough and I guess they'll believe it, eh? And now you know why tigers eat their young. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and start putting together a rigourous mental and physical training program to prepare myself to meet the challenge of exercising my right to vote in December or January. That is, if any of the gutless opposition parties can stop going "No, YOU call the vote of confidence" long enough to actually do it. Not that I think an election will change things one iota, incidentally. King Ralph can't keep his head down, the media slant is still there, where the votes count they're still scared of Harper (or at least more than they fear thieving Liberals), etc, etc. The same-old, same-old... And the probability of another minority government with the Liberals holding the reins, barring something earthshaking between now and then. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:35:21 -0600 (CST) From: Rick Lowe Subject: Guns, guns, guns... > "My focus is guns, guns, guns," Bryant said. How convenient. I would have thought it should be criminals, criminals, criminals. The armed thugs that has Toronto dropping their guts do not possess firearms as their primary criminal activity. They carry firearms because they are involved in gang activity, extortion, drug dealing, etc. The firearms are a symptom of the fact Bryant has done nothing to get these criminals off the street or shut down their criminal activity. I fully support tough sentencing for criminals carrying/using ANY weapon - - not just firearms. However, there is an important question that needs to be put to Bryant: Administration of the criminal law is the responsibility of the province. With that in mind, just how much plea bargaining has gone on in Ontario on Bryant's watch with respect to people charged with all the firearms offences already on the books? Does it make a difference how long the minimum sentence is when you allow the charge to be plea bargained away in the first place? Has Bryant instructed Crown and Police that plea bargaining will no longer be accepted with respect to firearms offences involving other criminal activity/gang activity? I believe the answer to that is "no". And how can you demand the feds change the law to "zero tolerance" when you haven't gotten off your butt and done the same thing yourself? Of course, if Bryant had done that, it would have required making a decision he would be responsible for and spending some money on the Criminal Justice System. Something neither he nor Mayor Millar has the guts to do. Bryant's tough talk is little more than a political strawman. A pox on their houses. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:35:37 -0600 (CST) From: zulu_tango Subject: Re: Red Star article in Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #596 Hi Guys, I'm surprised I haven't heard any comments regarding this little tidbit from the Ontario Attorney General. Just wanted to make sure y'all didn't miss it. I'm drafting a letter. Cheers, Dave Ottawa - --------------------------------------------------- Finally, Bryant wants to see new regulation in place that would require ballistics identification for all guns manufactured or sold in Canada. "This is obviously a useful technique to identify a firearm if it has been used in the commission of a criminal offence. "Where a criminal attempts to get rid of a firearm after an offence, a shooting or a homicide, such a gun may turn up somewhere else, or even be used in another crime in another location," concludes the brief. "Identifying a gun can often be a critical piece of information that can eventually assist in solving the crime." - ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 14:35:58 -0600 (CST) From: "Thomas Empey" Subject: Be Vigilant Against Gun Law Changes Fellow RFC When a noted gun-hater like Mike Bryant [A-G Ontario], wants the federal Liberal A-G [Cotler] to toughen gun laws, ostensibly against criminal using firearms, brace yourselves. Rest assured, these Liberal politicians will slip some innocuous looking legislation into the proposed bill that will further punish hunters and target shooters under the guise of "...keeping guns out of the wrong hands." I know it will not get past Dennis Young and Garry Breitkreuz and that knowledge allows some comfort. It will, however, be embraced by most of urban Canada and the NDP; perhaps the Bloc will also support anything anti-gun. Ladies and Gentlemen, do not let your guards down. Be ready, be vigilant. Tom Empey Belleville, Ontario ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 16:37:42 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: Re:Toughen gun laws - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barry Snow" > Careful what you wish for. I am sure that many of you possess air rifles > which are actually required by law to be registered. They haven't > enforced that part but by law they are still possessed illegally. I have > many hunting friends who are unaware that they are supposed to be > carrying the registration certificate so they leave it home where it > can't be ruined by the simple act of carrying it. If you are caught in > rain or snow, this piece of paper will become unreadable, again you will > be in illegal possession. I'm with you on this aspect.You CANNOT trust government to act legally or responsibly ? ask Bruce Montague. This is just another way of stealing your firearms by "legal" methods .How much will you bet honest law-abiding gun-owners wont come under the new laws before criminals do ? ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 16:38:07 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: Attorney general urges 'zero tolerance' for guns - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Tomlinson" > This is the direct reverse of Liberal policy, which is to minimize prison > time because it is expensive to keep a violent criminal in prison. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > TORONTO - Ontario's attorney general says he plans to spend this week's > meetings with his provincial and federal counterparts pressing Ottawa to > adopt a "zero tolerance" approach to guns and to impose mandatory > minimum sentences for gun crimes. This is just electioneering , trying to take the wind out of the PC`s sails. ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 16:38:38 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: Christmas Election - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Lowe" > Jesus... lemme outta this country! > > Ahem... sorry... I am for the nth time beside myself with disbelief at > Canada and Canadians in general. Nothing about firearms, but... Listening to a talk show on CHML 900 Hamilton this pm and 99% of callers want an election NOW!!!! They dont care if its Xmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they want to get rid of the criminals in Ottawa/This was the gist of the callers It seems its the media once again who is backing the Liberal party by not wanting a vote now, while the iron is hot , so to speak. The public is clamoring for an election, here in Hamilton. ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 17:47:47 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: My letter to the Montreal Gazette Just submitted, not yet printed. Have you written a letter today? - ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Mills To: Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 6:33 PM Subject: Re: States ahead in the murder stakes I don't know how Cait Beattie came up with his figures, but he sure wasn't calculating a "murder rate". "Rate" is a measure of change over time. What Beattie was measuring was some sort of static comparison of the number of murders between the US and Canada. Be that as it may, he misses the point completely. Beattie wants readers to believe that the number of murders is uniform across the United States - far from it! As he points out himself, the vast majority of these are committed in jurisdictions that have the strictest gun control laws in that country. In New York City, private handgun ownership is all but prohibited, and yet, they have almost 10 times the number of murders as Toronto. In States that have passed "Shall Issue" Concealed Carry laws, there is a drop in confrontational crime on an average of 24%. It would seem that the "gun friendly" parts of the US are considerably safer than elsewhere - even here in Canada. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 17:59:17 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: My letter to the Toronto Star Just submitted, not yet printed. Have you written a letter today? - ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Mills To: Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 6:48 PM Subject: Re: When good news = bad news In standard liberal fashion, San Grewal believes that his opinion is everyone's opinion. His comment that "There's no way any credible news outlet would give a product like a replica gun a positive story" is insulting in the extreme. Aside from the fact that these guns are not "replica guns" according to the definition in the Firearms Act, they are legal products being used for a legal purpose. I wonder if Grewal also takes exception to paintball games, too. They have realistic looking "replicas" of guns, and they go around shooting at other people. Contrary to Gerwal's beliefs, there are lots of newsletters and magazines that cater to these kinds of sports. I am sure that any one of them would be delighted to review the products of this company. The Toronto Star is not the be-all and end-all of acceptable thought, and should not think of itself as such. There is no room for such arrogant bias in a supposedly free press, in a free and democratic society. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 17:59:39 -0600 (CST) From: Rod Regier Subject: Re: Bullets on keychains among items seized, The airport security folks are just following orders. Here is a list of all the items considered contraban for commercial flights. LIST OF ITEMS PROHIBITED IN CARRY-ON BAGGAGE ON BOARD AIRCRAFT Below is Transport Canada's list of items not permitted in carry-on baggage on board aircraft. http://www.tc.gc.ca/majorissues/transportationsecurity/baggage.htm The list includes: Ammunition (RSR snip) Ice skates (RSR snip) \\ Don't expect the security folks to be able to distiguish between live and dummy ammunition. I think some of it is silly, but the folks to chase are the list creators... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 18:22:24 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: My letter to the National Post Just submitted, not yet printed. Have you written a letter today? - ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Mills To: Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 7:20 PM Subject: Re: Spot the hunter in the airport lineup Who is Adrian Humphreys, or the National Post for that matter, that they get to decide what is "tacky" or not? Just because deactivated or replica ammunition ear-rings or key-chain ornaments don't fit in with the liberal urban elitist's view of "haute couture", that doesn't make them "tacky". I happen to have both an ear-ring and a key-chain sporting a deactivated bullet, and I think they look just fine, thank you very much. And I don't know of any hunters who use "nunchaku" to bring down big game. As well, I read through the entire article and I did not see one mention of the authorities finding a "loaded gun" as you claim in the second paragraph. While fashion might be subjective, factual accuracy is not. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 21:58:03 -0600 (CST) From: "Jim Pook" Subject: RE: Bullets on keychains among items seized, A number of years ago, I flew from Seattle to Reno. When I through my keys on the tray to go through X-Ray, the guy picked them up and told me that I couldn't take them on board. I had a .44 Magnum round attached to it via a small rod that went through and replaced the primer. I spent some time explaining that it was INERT and could not be used in any way as a weapon, but they would not allow me to take it. I pulled it off the keyring and put a return address lable on it and left it at the airline desk for the airline I was flying with. I intended to pick it up on my return a few days later. As it turned out, they were closed and I never did get it back. That was back in 1983 or '84. This lunacy has nothing to do with the latest 9/11 paranoia, it is a long standing policy. Stupid as it is. Jim Pook Tahsis, BC ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #605 ********************************** 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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