Articles of the Month

The Flip Side - A View on Firearm Registry

This opinion is written in direct response to the article entitled 'To Register or to Register Not?', which appeared in the February News Section of youth.gc.ca.

When someone thinks of the word 'gun', what comes to mind? I think of a handgun automatically? I can only assume that a majority of the population also thinks this way. However, there are more than handguns being registered? there are also rifles, most commonly used by hunters.

Originally, when the thought of firearm registration came about, it was to bring down crime. That was their mantra for the registration. How many rifles are involved in gun-related injuries/deaths across the nation? How many firearms which are involved in gun-related injuries/deaths across the nation were legally obtained firearms?

In the article 'To Register or to Register Not?', the author wonders why people took so long to register their firearm when they knew full well when the deadline was. I can only assume they did not agree with the firearm registration act and wished to prolong the inevitable?

There is nothing wrong with owning a firearm and having it inside your house, as long as it is safely stored away. Registering your firearm is not going to stop the people who leave their firearm in an unsafe location inside their residence. Therefore, in regards to the story about a 7 year old girl accidentally shooting her 6 year old brother? I must wonder if the owner of the firearm would have thought twice about the safe location of their firearm if they had registered it.

If you own a firearm, you have a responsibility to keep it safe and away from danger's way. I still don't understand how registering a firearm will ensure this.

Put the firearm registration into context of a vehicle and obtaining your driver's license as soon as people obtain their driver's license, do they shut off their 'reckless switch' inside of them so they do not speed, or drive intoxicated?

A piece of paper isn't going to stop any of this so why bother having hunters/other non-crime firearm owners paying even more for a hobby?

Ask yourselves some important questions related to this:
How many deaths/injuries involve registered firearms?
How many of them are rifles?
How many registered firearms across Canada *are* rifles?
Does gun registration reduce crime?