Alphecca

Canadian Long Gun Registry Woes

While the new government in Canada is promising to scrap the long gun registry fiasco, it hasn't happened yet and in the meantime the first wave of renewals is due. From the Ottawa Citizen:

...Getting to that happy point [The end of the registry] seems to be somehow more complex than anticipated. The government has provided no coherent answer about how or when it intends to act. That leaves gun owners in a bind. The first big wave of licence renewals has come due and gunowners are looking at paying a licence fee of $60 for a registry program most people never wanted in the first place and the new government says it will scrap.

Can you think of any greater waste of money?

It's not small change, either. The Canada Firearms Centre plans to haul in $18.2 million in licence revenue this year and $22.7 million next year, if the Conservatives haven't gassed it by then.

From a gun owner's perspective, it's not just the money. The intrusive questions and hassle are actually worse. This government agency wants to know if you've threatened or attempted suicide, suffered from depression, alcohol, drug or substance abuse, behavioural problems or emotional problems. The first bunch are none of their business, the last two ridiculously subjective. While they are at it, they want to know if you've had a divorce, separation, breakdown of a significant relationship, job loss or bankruptcy.

Clearly, the only reason for owning a gun is to shoot yourself or someone else. They'd just like to know your plans. Since they only ask every five years, the information is next to useless.

Failure to submit the paperwork and the money on time leaves the gun owner in "criminal possession" of his guns, which means they can be seized by police and can face criminal charges. A first offence is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and/or six months in jail.

Remember that the two million gun licence holders affected by this are the ones who chose to follow the asinine law. The ones who just ignored it are unknown to the Canada Firearms Centre and are unlikely to face any jeopardy. Sound fair?

Rather than direct the gun money toward more police, the existing program wastes police time chasing gunowners who have done nothing more than fail to re-register for a program the government has promised to cancel.