The Bloc Québécois recently released a new propagandastyle pamphlet related to the on-going long gun registry issue. As expected, they continue to maintain their confidence in the registry and attempt to defend it by comparing it to other common types of government registries such as those for automobiles and pets.
“Since we must register our cars and dogs, why not our long guns,” is a tried and true mainstay of the modern gun-control argument and one which the Bloc Québécois seems to have no problem continuing to promulgate despite its inherent fallacious defects. Obviously the Bloc Québécois loves registries of all kinds.
But the question that begs for an answer is: Do registries really work?
- Has automobile registration prevented accidents and deaths behind the wheel?
- Has it prevented drunk driving?
- Has it reduced the number of drivers going through stop signs or red lights?
- Similarly has dog registration prevented dogs from biting?
The obvious answer to all these questions is no! But the Bloc Québécois believes that by some magical power crimes committed with long guns will suddenly disappear if the guns have been registered into a government database. The Bloc Québécois sees bureaucracy as a miraculous solution. However, even some police officers do not believe in the registry. Julian Fantino, Toronto’s ex-chief of police and current Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner stated publicly that, “The gun registry has not contributed to prevent or solve any gun crimes.”
For the most part, government registries are often rather innocuous and their associated fees are nothing more than disguised taxes. You pay for your car registration, your driver’s license and a licence for your dog. Those fees help pay for roads and the local dog catcher’s salary. Historically, however, gun registries have proven far from the beneficent public policy tool aimed at increasing public safety. In fact, they have a far more insidious, albeit thinly-veiled, raison d’être: confiscation. Registration has historically preceded confiscation, with blanket firearms prohibitions and seizures happening in Australia and United Kingdom cases in point.
Keep in mind that neglecting to register a car or dog kept at home and off public streets doesn’t put the owner in danger of legal sanctions. The same cannot be said for the firearms issue. Owners who fail to register their guns may be arrested, charged and even incarcerated for a simple act of omission. Such “paper criminals” may even end up with a criminal record. How is the public good served or public safety enhanced by such disproportionate and punitive sanctions being implemented against otherwise law-abiding citizens?
Yet, the public safety and crime prevention argument is repeatedly put forth by the Bloc Québécois (and others) despite the fact that in most cases registration has proven wholly ineffective in preventing crime, including a number of high-profile shootings here in Quebec. For instance:
- Corporal Lortie’s rifle was registered as military equipment.
- Marc Lépine’s (Gamil Gharby) gun was registered when he bought it at Checkmate Sports. This was the previous RCMP logbook registry (Bill C-51).
- Valery Fabrikant’s gun was registered.
- Kimveer Gill’s guns were registered under the recent C-68 registry.
Let us not forget, as well, that criminals do not register their guns. As criminals, by definition, they do not obey the law and do not register their illegal firearms. This is a major reason why the Liberal gun registry is a failure; it targets the wrong group. Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem and have never posed any sort of public safety risk. The same cannot be said of the outlaw biker gangs, organized crime groups and drug gangs that have made Quebec’s cities battlegrounds of late.
The Bloc Québécois prefers to ignore reality; all that matters is for them to appear to be “doing something”rather than addressing the actual root causes of gun crime in Canada. Thus, they have opted to continue to support and reinforce the illusion of public safety offered by the Liberal’s failed gun control program; an illusion that the general population is unfortunately all too willing to believe. This must change.
The gun registry is the cornerstone upon which this illusion has been built and to tear it down would result in the Bloc Québécois’ venality and political self-interest finally being exposed to the harsh light of day. This is something they cannot afford to let happen, and as a consequence, the rights of Quebec gun owners are sacrificed on the Bloc Québécois altar of political correctness.
There are far more realistic and effective solutions to dealing with issues of guns and crime. These include:
- Incarceration: A proven social program that insures the safety of tax paying citizens. Once a criminal is behind bars he cannot commit crimes, this coupled with stiff minimum sentences that cannot be plea bargained away would act as a deterrent.
- Mental health issues must be addressed. Lortie, Lépine, Fabrikant and Gill were all mentally ill. Imagine if the $2 billion in our tax dollars that has been wasted registering hunting rifles had instead been used in diagnosing, treating and doing follow-ups on the mentally ill? How many lives could have been saved this way?
- Permitting the exercise of the most basic human right: Self defence. It was criminally easy for Lépine to kill 14 unarmed women. Imagine the outcome if only one or two had been armed? Your life is your most valuable asset. Police officers presently hold the monopoly over the protection of life. Remember, when seconds are of the essence, the police will be there in minutes.
In darker days, Quebec used to be controlled by the clergy that used to want to know everything about its citizen’s personal lives, now the Bloc Québécois wants to re-visit that dark chapter of Quebec history; seemingly in order to continue to exert undue control over the lives of its law-abiding citizens.
Firearms ownership by civilians is a barometer of freedom. Do you really want to live in a country where only the army and the police can possess firearms as is the case in so many communist countries and dictatorships around the world? History has taught us to beware of politicians who want to disarm civilians, especially those who say that it is “for our own good.” I hope that we all remember these lessons the next time we head to the polls; especially when the next Bloc Québécois candidate comes knocking on your door. As responsible firearms owners, we need to stop supporting political parties and candidates that do not support us or our rights as law-abiding citizens.
Stephen Buddo
NFA Director - Quebec