Harper Gov't Needs to Rethink Gun Registry Stance

(Aired on September 23, 2010)

If you ask any RCMP officer what's his or her most dangerous assignment, many will tell you it's domestic disputes. Emotions run particularly high, and you never know what will happen in those circumstances. They will also tell you that the more information they have going in, the better they feel about being able to resolve a situation. Prior offenses, restraining orders, history of violence, all are important.

You know what else is important? Whether or not the people have any firearms registered in their names. That's why I can't understand the Conservative government's desire to end the long-gun registry. The government MPs continue to suggest that the registry is stupid because criminals don't register their guns, that the registry only hampers legitimate hunters and gun owners.

In part, that's true. But the reality is that a high percentage of gun offenses, excluding organized crime hits, involve registered guns. Guns that are used in anger in a confrontation often spurred by domestic tension. The more information police have, the better they can serve. You can't foretell everything even if you have all the details, but it would certainly help in the way you deal with issues.

I don't think the long gun registry is perfect. It costs a lot more money than I think it should. And that's one of the arguments against it. But surely there must be ways of dealing with that problem and keeping the registry alive. I understand the concerns over the registry from rural Canada, but I don't believe their frustration should be considered above safety. If the registry has value for the police, that in itself should top any backwoods hunter from feeling frustrated that he has to register his gun. It just makes good common sense.

The Stephen Harper government needs to reevaluate its policies on this issue, and instead of concentrating on defeating the registry, concentrate on things like the economy, and justice and education, issues that have far higher priority than the gun registry.

Increased Support for Gun Registry Vexing

(Aired on September 8, 2010)

It's a head-scratcher that support for keeping the long gun registry has jumped over the past few months.  Back in April, 42% of respondents to a Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll thought it would be a bad idea to get rid of the registry.  Now, the number is up to 48%. 

That's a significant jump considering nothing has really happened to precipitate it.  As far as I know, there haven't been any dramatic jumps in gun violence during that time.  The Conservatives still want to scrap the registry, and the opposition parties are still largely looking for ways to keep it in place.  Police organizations have reiterated their support for keeping the registry, but that support has always been there.  They say it's incredibly helpful to know which homes have firearms registered to them before they knock on the front door.  That may be true, but the stated purpose of the long gun registry was to make guns involved in crime more traceable, thus leading police to the criminals more quickly and easily.  I have yet to see evidence that actually happens.

It's only common sense that people who would use firearms in the commission of a crime will avoid registering their guns.  And while the residual effects may be positive, the billion-dollar boondoggle doesn't seem to be effective at fighting crime.

On a philosophical, world view level, I'm not a fan of firearms.  In a perfect world, they would not exist.  But it's not a perfect world, guns are a part of society and we would be better served managing their possession and use than trying to rid the world of them.  Politicians need to come up with a better option than the ones we have today.