National Post Editorial: Ditch the gun registry
Date: Feb 3, 2006 7:42 AM
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.02.03
EDITION: National
SECTION: Editorials
PAGE: A16
SOURCE: National PostCANADA
WORD COUNT: 452

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Ditch the gun registry

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The federal long-gun registry got little attention in the run-up to last
month’s election. But that has not stopped the debate over its future
from coming to the fore even before Stephen Harper has taken office.

Last weekend, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police president Jack
Ewatski told an interviewer that he intends to give the new government
“some history relative to why we supported the gun registry and gun
control, including the registry, over the years.” Mr. Ewatski added that
he thinks “it’s imperative that we also provide some information to this
government relative to the value of gun control programs within this
country, including the registry.”

While opinion among police as to the registry’s usefulness is mixed, we
can understand why some officers support it: When making house calls, it
is a nice luxury to be able to first check if suspects have registered
firearms. But the reality is that most hardened criminals use handguns
– not hunting rifles. And if they do use rifles, there is a decent
chance they have not registered them.

Simply put, the marginal safety benefits that a gun registry could
theoretically provide simply do not merit the associated costs. Despite
a supposed $2-million price tag when it was implemented by the Liberals
a decade ago, the registry has instead cost taxpayers well in excess of
$1-billion — even as governments have neglected to sufficiently invest
in law enforcement and other measures to reduce gun violence in cities.

Opposition to the gun registry has long been a uniting force among
Canadian conservatives — especially in the West, where it is seen as a
pretext to harass hunters and other legitimate gun users. Yet Mr. Harper
may be tempted to put the issue on the backburner for the time-being.
The registry, after all, is still supported by most of the urbanite
voters the Conservatives are wooing. And given his relatively narrow
plurality of seats, Mr. Harper may not want to risk losing a vote on one
of his party’s core policies so early in its mandate.

Waiting, however, would be a mistake. Already, far too many dollars that
could be much better spent elsewhere have been poured into the registry;
there is no point in wasting even more. Mr. Harper should work
diligently to bring the Bloc Quebecois — rarely a fan of unnecessary
federal bureaucracy — and perhaps even some Liberals or New Democrats
onside. It is difficult to believe that, deep down, any federal
politician wants to keep throwing good money after bad.

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TEN YEARS OF GUN REGISTRY POLLS
http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/issues/guninfo/2005/ffu_07_14.doc