Open gun registry data riles owners:
Date: Feb 13, 2007 8:21 AM
NOTE: Versions of this story also ran in the Ottawa Citizen and the
Regina Leader Post

PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal
DATE: 2007.02.13
EDITION: Early
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
DATELINE: OTTAWA
BYLINE: Glen McGregor
SOURCE: Ottawa Citizen; CanWest News Service
NOTE: Ran with fact box “Gun Search”, which has been appended tothis
story.
WORD COUNT: 460

————————————————————————
——–

Open gun registry data riles owners: Online information a shopping list
for thieves, says firearms lobby group

————————————————————————
——–

OTTAWA – An organization representing firearms owners says the release
of data from the federal gun registry to the Ottawa Citizen is a privacy
violation and could jeopardize public safety.

Using federal data, the CanWest newspaper created an online search
engine to allow anyone to see the records of more than seven million
firearms registered in Canada.

The data were released to the paper under the Access to Information Act
by the Canada Firearms Centre, via the RCMP. The Citizen used the gun
registry data to help research a series of articles on firearms policy.

The data do not include names or addresses of the guns’ registered
owners, but do list the first two characters of their postal codes.

But even an abbreviated postal code is enough information for criminals
to use to target gun owners for theft, says the National Firearms
Association, a group that advocates for freer gun laws.

“It is possible from the information provided to correlate who owns
what,” says Blair Hagen, the association’s vice-president.

Hagen said the names of a small number of firearms owners who listed
themselves as manufacturers of homemade firearms also appears in the
database. Finding these people would be easy, he said. “If you had
somebody with a criminal intent who had some familiarly with the
firearms community in their area, it will be possible,” he said. “It
becomes a shopping list.”

Gun owners concerned about their security will soon file complaints with
the federal privacy commissioner or the RCMP, Hagen said. He also
predicted that the release of the data could further erode public
confidence in the controversial gun registry

A spokeswoman for the RCMP and the Canada Firearms Centre said both
agencies comply with the Access to Information act and the Privacy Act
when it releases records.

The Access to Information Act allows Canadians to get most records held
by the federal government for a $5 fee. But personal information such as
names and addresses are exempt from release.

Ottawa Citizen executive editor Graham Green said the online database
gives Canadians their first opportunity to see the registry and get a
sense of how many and what types of guns are in their communities.

“We believe it is in the public interest for such information to be made
easily accessible while at the same time protecting the privacy of
law-abiding Canadians who have registered their guns with the federal
government,” he said.

The online search feature has generated both curiosity and outrage on
canadiangunnutz.com, a website popular with firearms enthusiasts.

Many users focused on what appeared to be errors and omissions in the
gun registry data they were able to see for the first time.

The Citizen initially asked for three characters of postal code data,
but the RCMP refused, saying that level of detail could be used to trace
firearms to communities of fewer than 40 people.

Some gun owners have enjoyed looking up their own weapons on the
website.

“I was able to find my stuff on there,” said Sean Horne, 18, who lives
in Whitecourt, Alta. “It doesn’t bug me. If they had my name or my exact
postal code it would bother me.”

GUN SEARCH

Search the gun registry database

Go to Online Extras at www.edmontonjournal.com

———————————————————————–
PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/index_e.asp

General Inquiries
For all general inquiries, please contact:
Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376
Phone: (613) 995-8210
Fax: (613) 947-6850
TTY: (613) 992-9190
Our hours of service are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COMPLAINTS
If you believe you have a complaint under the Privacy Act or PIPEDA,
please submit it to us in writing at the following address:
112 Kent Street
Place de Ville
Tower B, 3rd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3

Please include your full contact details in your letter, including your
name, address and the telephone number where you can be reached, and
provide as much detail as possible about your complaint.

Note: The Office of the Privacy Commissioner does not process complaints
via e-mail. Please submit your complaint by mail.

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !