April/May 2010
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Firearms Journal C A N A D I A N
Guns, Schools AND Zero tolerance: The Politics of Terrorizing Kids?
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April/May 2010
C A N A D I A N
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Firearms Journal
Greeting from Head Office
Inside This Issue
Guns, schools AnD Zero tolerAnce: the Politics of terroriZinG KiDs?
Regulars The days are longer, the sun is shining, the birds are singing --- I think it must be spring. The CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held May 14 – 16, 2010 at Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton. This will definitely be an informative and fun weekend. Price for the weekend including guest speakers, all meals, a chance to have a fun shoot at Wild West Shooting Range, round table discussions plus more is only $150.00. If you haven’t already done so please register on-line right away as space is limited.
From the Editor’s Desk ...............................................6
We are always kept busy sending out renewals, receiving renewals, answering the phone and dealing with e-mails. We’d like to say thanks for your prompt replies when we send mailings and alerts out. You make our job much easier and it increases our efficiency.
the nicest people that way.”
Diane is also fortunate enough to be able to attend lots of gun shows in both Alberta and British Columbia these days on behalf of the NFA. Thanks to all the Clubs that donate space and to everyone that comes by and says “Hello”. She really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and as she says, “I always meet
So, become an ACTIVE member of the NFA. Attend the Conference and Annual General Meeting. We’ll see you there!
In closing, please remember Canada’s National Firearms Association needs all of us working together in order to protect our rights as responsible firearms owners. We will succeed in eliminating Canada’s egregious gun control laws!
Sean G. Penney & Grayson Penney
From The Bookshelf - Winchester - An American Legend ................................................7 Wm. Rantz
Fully Committed On All Fronts:
Canada’s National Firearms Association
President’s Column - The Battle for the Future........8-9 Blair Hagen
On The Cover
Vice President’s Column - The Slippery Slope: Registration Does Equal Confiscation!. ...............10-11 Sean G. Penney
Recently a Michigan kindergarten student was suspended from his elementary school for “brandishing his hand in the shape of a gun.” Similar suspensions have happened in Canada and the frequency of such punitive actions seems to be on the rise. These questionable suspensions have been made under the auspices of “zero tolerance” policies toward firearms. The question must be asked are such polices doing more harm than good given the tender age of many of the affected kids.
Bev, Megan, Ted and Diane
Letters to the Editor .............................................12-13 Preserving Our Firearms Heritage - Putting Our Firearms Heritage in Jeopardy Gary K. Kangas ...................................................................15 Politics & Guns - Ottawa Update..........................18-19
Sheldon Clare & Sean G. Penney
The International Front ........................................22-26 Gary Mauser
Legal Corner...............................................................27 Grayson Penney
Members Soapbox - ................................................. 41
Photos: Oleg Volk
Jon McCormick
Mission Statement
Features
Guns, Schools and Zero Tolerance: Canada’s National Firearms Association exists to pro- The Politics of Terrorizing Kids? .........................16-17 Grayson Penney mote, support and protect all safe firearms activities, A Tribute to the Teacher .......................................20-21 including the right of self defence; firearms education Marie Camino for all Canadians; freedom and justice for Canada’s firearms community, and to advocate for legislative change Bill C-391- Countering Ten Misleading Claims ..22-26 Gary Mauser to ensure the right of all Canadians to own and use fireCrime Control by Licensing the Dangerously arms is protected. Law-abiding .........................................................30-31 Bruce Gold
Cast Bullets for Beginners - Part 1 ......................32-35 The contents of the Canadian Firearms Journal are Sean G. Penney copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written The Shootists .......................................................36-39 permission is obtained from the publisher. Jesse L. Hardin 4
April/May
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NFA Book Shelf WINCHESTER: AN AMERICAN LEGEND
By Wm. Rantz
Welcome all to another issue of the Canadian Firearms Journal. This issue has probably been one of the tougher for us to put together and is much changed from what it originally had been planned to look like. Like life, gun politics is rarely as neat and ordered as one would like and we had to scramble to make room for a number of last minute additions that were necessitated by developments coming out of Ottawa. Although this issue is a little more “political” we’ve tried to maintain that potpourri balance our readers seem to like in terms of human interest, technical and more academic content. Probably one of the most inspirational submissions I’ve read in quite a while is the tribute to her firearms safety teacher by Marie Camino. Marie’s story is so honest, so raw and so heart-wrenchingly inspirational that the first time I read it; I knew we had to publish it.
Jesse Hardin is also back with another great story examining the myth and truth of the Old West “Shootist.” What he reveals may surprise many who grew up accepting the Hollywood version of the professional Old West gunfighter. In response to requests from readers, we’re running another how-to primer for shooters looking to save some money and/or find new ways to enhance the fun of reloading by casting their own lead alloy bullets. I hope you enjoy “Cast Bullets for Beginners.” The NFA Bookshelf if full once again with Bill Rantz’ review of Winchester: An American Legend.
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Author – R. L. Wilson Publisher – Chartwell Books Inc. Reprinted 2004 Edited by R. L. Wilson Hard Cover with Dust Jacket 404 Pages, 8 ½ X 11, Colour and Black/White Photographs
It is a great coffee table book that would make a fine addition to any shooter’s library. With Bill C-391 still winding its way through parliament, plus recent unilateral reclassifications of legally registered firearms by the RCMP, and a narrowly averted catastrophic revision of the federal Explosives Act by NRCAN; not to mention renewed threats to firearms ownership on the international front, we’ve included timely submissions from a very diverse group of contributors including Gary Mauser who returns this issue with a timely expose of the 10 gun control myths gun grabbers are using to derail passage of C-391, in addition to his report from the international front. Bruce Gold and Jon McCormick take a look at the firearms issue from two distinct individual perspectives and examine issues of crime control, vigilantism and how law-abiding gun owners fit into the mix. Finally, we have our cover story dealing with the issue of kids and the widespread implementation of so-called “zero tolerance” policies in schools. Not to minimize the tragedies of events such as the Columbine or Virginia Tech shootings, the question has to be asked: as a society, are we doing right by our kids with these draconian policies that effectively tie the hands of school administrators and unduly punish our kids. We hope you enjoy the issue as much as we did putting it together.
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R. L. Wilson, author of WINCHESTER AN AMERICAN LEGEND is a world renowned firearms authority with more than 20 firearm books to his credit. Throughout the years he has developed an outstanding reputation as well as a vast list of personal contacts in the gun collecting fraternity. This has enabled Mr. Wilson to gain access to the finest Winchester firearms ever produced. The knowledge obtained from examining such guns is shared in both text and photographs so that all Winchester enthusiasts may gain from his experience. WINCHESTER: AN AMERICAN LEGEND reflects the general trend in firearm publications towards books which may be referred to as “coffee table” editions. They are intended to appeal to a larger segment of the market rather than the experienced collector. Authors catch the prospective purchaser’s eye with high quality photographs on shiny dust jackets. Titles are specific which will bring the book up in online searches for information on that chosen make of firearms. This marketing strategy allows the author and publisher to produce a quality book which will sell in significant numbers to a vast population of firearm enthusiasts. The high volume is reflected in list prices that are very reasonable for the content and quality of the publication. WINCHESTER: AN AMERICAN LEGEND is an excellent ex-
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ample of such marketing. The only disappointment that I have with this edition is the fact that the spine on my edition has already started to separate from the front cover. It appears that the interior pages are simply too heavy for the type of binding used. Wilson has divided this book into twelve chapters beginning with “Genesis of the Winchester” which familiarizes the reader with the early firearms of makers such as Walter Hunt, Lewis Jennings and the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. The evolution of the famous Henry rifle and the brass framed 1866 Winchester is explained as is Oliver Winchester’s business strategy which enabled him to create a manufacturing empire. Subsequent chapters are devoted to each type of firearm that Winchester produced and the reader will likely consider one of these their personal favourite depending on their specific interests. I found Chapter Three “Perfecting the Lever Action” which focuses on the 1886, 1892, 1894 and 1895 Winchester rifles quite interesting. No doubt other readers may find chapters covering bolt actions, shotguns, military production or even commemoratives catch and hold their attention. Wilson outlines the business decisions that took place in the mid to late 20th century which saw the
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ownership of the company change hands and direction several times. Browning became a major investor in the U. S. Repeating Arms Company and in 1990 became the sole owner of the corporation. The Winchester name will be used for decades to come as it is one of the most familiar names in firearm history. The photographs in this book are outstanding. Subjects range from exquisite engraved rifles to priceless historical images of those who carried these guns over 100 years ago. The number of early photographs which show men proudly holding their Winchester rifles reminds us that these guns were prized possessions. They provided protection from villains, helped control predators and put game on the family dining table. WINCHESTER: AN AMERICAN LEGEND includes a twenty two page appendix of tables which includes a wealth of knowledge pertaining to both the guns and cartridges of Winchester. It concludes with a ten page index which allows the reader to search and locate specific models or information quickly. You can order WINCHESTER: AN AMERICAN LEGEND online or at any major bookstore for around $40. Start by inquiring at your local gun shop so that they know there is an untapped market in quality firearm reference material.
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President’s Message
The Battle for the Future The battle for the future direction of gun control in Canada goes on. Will the civil disarmament agenda set into place by Liberal governments in the 1970’s, and advanced by Progressive Conservative and Liberal Firearms Acts in the 1990’s continue? Or will the Conservative government set a new direction in addressing the criminal misuse of firearms and public safety? MP Candace Hoeppner’s private members bill C-391 proposes to amend the current Liberal Firearms Act by removing the requirement to hold a registration for a non restricted long gun. While a logical step, C-391 doesn’t begin to address some of the most fundamental problems of Canada’s broken firearms control system. Bill C-391 is limited in scope, perhaps necessarily so, given the current structure of parliament. While many opposition MP’s chose to support Bill C-391 based on the clear and widely recognized failure of the “long gun registry,” along with the massive waste of billions of taxpayer dollars associated with its imposition; many still hold bigoted anti firearms attitudes and continue to regard Canada’s firearms community as a threat to public safety that must be eliminated from the cultural fabric of Canada. The civil disarmament lobby has also stepped up its campaign to derail Bill C-391. Political police chiefs, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), left wing feminist groups and the Coalition for Gun Control have all dramatically increased their lobbying efforts to stop even the modest reforms to Canada’s failed firearms control legislation that the dismantling of the long gun registry represents. Despite the massive failure of the Firearms Act, the issue is symbolic for them. To the gun control lobby, forcing people to register their guns, regardless of the effect on public safety, differentiates Canadians from Americans. To the gun haters, the presence of firearms in private hands indicates a lawless society, or worse, a society of individual sovereignty and rights to property, including arms. The civil disarmament lobby holds these up as “American” ideals unfit for Canada. RCMP has also begun the process of confiscating registered Chinese Type-97A carbines from registered owners. These licensed owners, who purchased these firearms in full
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accordance with the Firearms Act, are now receiving letters informing them that their registration certificates have been revoked. How can the RCMP do this despite government promises that registration would never lead to confiscation? In actuality, unbeknownst to most gun owners, the administrative command structure created by C-68 specifically and deliberately empowers them to do so and said powers are written right into the Firearms Act. This was not by pure happenstance. The gun control bureaucrats who wrote the Firearms Act knew that confiscating property was potentially legally dangerous in Canada, they knew that registration in conjunction with empowering firearms control bureaucrats with powers to determine just who was “allowed” to possess what firearm would speed the confiscation process greatly. Facetiously, Liberal politicians, during the period, continued assuring Canadian gun owners that the registry would never be used to confiscate legal firearms; all the while their non-elected minions took legislative steps to fast track their government’s ability to do just that. Obviously there is good reason why Canadian gun owners have come to expect so little from any Liberal government. The Chinese Type-97 rifles aren’t the only legal firearms slated for confiscation. Registered owners of High Standard 10B Shotguns also seem to have been caught up in the RCMP’s zeal to ban guns. These have also been “prohibited,” the registrations revoked, and owners advised to surrender them. Incidentally, the High Standard 10B is a semi auto shotgun marketed in the 1970’s. There are very few registered in Canada. I suppose the RCMP is counting on the fact that only a handful of lawabiding gun owners are affected and thus should expect little protest or comment from the general gun owning public. For those owners who aren’t directly affected by these seizures, you need to ask yourself, “What are they going to ban next?” If you’re a gun owner in Canada, you can no longer afford to be apathetic. Bans have started once again and eventually the gun grabbers will find time for you, no matter if you’re the ‘one-gun hunter,’ genteel collector of fine target revolvers or your basic, unassuming trap or skeet shooter - just as they did in Australia and Great Britain before it.
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This is not the first time firearms have been confiscated in Canada. With each new round of gun control initiatives introduced going back to the 1970’s, police forces across Canada have used both new legislation and the confusion generated by it to confiscate firearms from law-abiding gun owners. As a result of Bill C-17 (1992) and Bill C-68 (1995), thousands of guns in Canada were seized, supposedly in order to determine their legality. Some were eventually returned, but many more were destroyed or simply disappeared when owners could not foot the legal costs to challenge those seizures. Some were prohibited and confiscated outright. The Franchi SPAS 12 and variants were “high tech” advanced pump action/ semi auto shotguns marketed and sold in the 1980’s. When gun control bureaucrats were drawing up the lists of guns that were to be banned in the 1990’s, one of them remembered that “scary looking shotgun from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator movie”. Further investigation revealed that only a few had been imported into Canada, so the gun control bureaucrats decided that the ones that had could be easily prohibited and confiscated without too much public furor. And they were. With no long gun registration in place in the early 1990’s, the police simply went to the guns stores where they were sold, got the names and addresses of those who had purchased them with F.A.C’s from the individual store’s permanent firearms records and paid those self-same owners a visit. In each case, fellow law-abiding gun owners were warned and essentially intimidated into surrendering their shotguns immediately in order to avoid prosecution. There was no compensation paid, as none was required. I recently spoke to one former owner of a SPAS 12; he’d actually only taken delivery of his shotgun the day prior to the visit from police demanding its surrender. At the time, the SPAS 12 was one of the most expensive and technologically advanced tactical shotguns on the market and the confiscation of such was a severe financial loss to many owners.
registration and demand that it be surrendered. All quite nice and legal thanks’ to the Liberal’s gun control program. Think your gun is safe? Think again. Any firearm can be converted to automatic with little trouble. .303 British Enfield rifles were converted to automatic in Australia in WW2 to make up for shortfalls in automatic weapons. Many of you will remember the advertisements in the gun magazines for instructions on how to make your Ruger 10/22 or SKS rifle full auto. In the 1990’s, semi auto rifles were banned outright in Australia, and owners forced to surrender them. Compensation was paid in Australia; it is not required by law in Canada. Is the agenda of RCMP at this point to progressively and unilaterally reclassify all semi auto firearms as prohibited based on the excuse of “ease of conversion to full auto”? The question must be asked, as once the precedent has been set, it becomes easier to make a case by make and model that a firearm must be banned for the sake of public safety. All of this begs the question: “Who is making law and policy in Ottawa?” Is the RCMP doing this with the approval of the minister of public safety and the government? Or is the minister just simply unaware of the RCMP’s agenda? All important questions and answers to which the NFA is currently working to find answers to. One thing is certain. This RCMP action proves that registration does eventually result in confiscation. Now is the time for all gun owners to make their voices heard in their own local communities and in Ottawa. Gun control advocates have been using the argument that the long-gun registry is completely benign and that gun owners are being unreasonable in their opposition to registration and/or support for C-391. We now know that is not the case and have the proof to support it.
The assertion of gun control supporters that registration is not about confiscation is now proved a bold-faced lie. Here we have absolute proof, courtesy of and facilitated by the C-68 Firearms Act. License the owner and then make him unqualified to hold a firearms license. Register the gun, then prohibit it; revoke the
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Vice President’s Column The Slippery Slope:
Registration Does Equal Confiscation! Sean Penney, National VP Communications
By now, most of you, my fellow members and readers know that I feel pretty strongly about the issue of what I call the “modern sporting rifle.” They’re the so-called “black” and “green” semi-automatic rifles that scare the heck out of most gun-hating, liberal elites and which the left-wing media consistently demonize with the moniker “assault rifle.” They aren’t my only interest and if you ask any of my hunting and shooting buddies they’ll tell you I’m just as passionate about my uber accurate bolt guns, my collection of classic .303 British LeeEnfield milsurps, or Detonics 1911 pistols. There are no safe queens in my collection. I view firearms as tools to be used and enjoyed, whether it is harvesting a moose for the freezer, shooting a round of trap or punching paper from the bench. I don’t discriminate over cosmetics, cost or function and I’ve been working hard to instill that same attitude in my fellow shooters from coast to coast. Serving as a member of your national executive the past couple of years has allowed me to overcome some of those subconscious prejudices that almost all shooters have to some degree or another and see the “big picture.” While the pendulum may be starting to swing
back in favour of firearms owners in Canada, there are no assurances that this momentum can be maintained. Every single major political party in Canada can be classified as hostile toward the private ownership of firearms, with the exception of the Conservative Party of Canada. Their seemingly perpetual minority status puts limits on what they can deliver to the recreational firearms community in terms of reforms. As such, we must stay the course and persevere. To do otherwise is to ensure that we go the way of Australia and Great Britain. The “Firearms Issue” is a thorny one and it still remains poorly understood in Ottawa despite the outlay of massive amounts of resources to educate and lobby government. The ephemeral nature of government itself is probably the biggest reason for this, as the cast of characters is constantly changing. Thus National Firearms Association oftentimes must contend with a completely new crop of fledgling parliamentarians following each of our now too frequent federal elections. For opposition MPs it is basically distilled down to a “guns bad - gun control good” equation, with the exception of a handful of rural NDP and Liberal members and, of course, Conservative MPs. While
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I am loath to admit it, for many MPs in Ottawa, the firearms issue is, often considered of lesser importance in terms of policy making than say health care, international trade, EI reform, etc... As a life-long “gun guy” and NFA executive I’ll always see “our” issue as being the most important, personally, yet pragmatic politics also requires us to recognize some key limitations we face. However, we still continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our representatives in Parliament learn to care just as deeply about said file as we do. At times it may seem like we take two steps back for every step forward on firearms reform in Canada - especially when forced to contend with cabinet shuffles every couple of years, but we cannot become disheartened. Instead, we have to buckle down and establish working relationships with each new Minister and their senior staffers as gatekeepers and primary advisors to their principal. We’re in the process of doing just this with the new minister, the Hon. Vic Toews. Time is of the essence, however, and there are a number of extremely important outstanding issues facing us this sitting of the House. While passage of Bill C-391 is extremely important,
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just as important is the re-emerging issue of firearms classifications that almost assuredly will have negative long-term implications for future firearms ownership in Canada. If you remember from last year, National Firearms Association led a dedicated letter-writing campaign aimed at then Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan over our objections to the unilateral reclassification of semi-automatic firearms attempted by the RCMP. We even launched a dedicated, member-driven postcard campaign on the issue to drive home the point that NFA members were prepared to fight to the end to protect our rights as responsible firearms owners on this issue. The message was made clear to the minister that any such actions by the RCMP would not be acceptable, under any circumstances. Frankly, we were staring down the barrel of a very scary gun had this process been allowed to proceed unopposed; as this would almost assuredly proved but the first of many steps onto the slippery slope of eventual prohibition and confiscation of all semi-automatic firearms in private hands. Follow-up meetings with the Minister and staff enabled us to clearly lay out our concerns and objections to the manner in which the RCMP had handled this issue. This intervention led to Minister Van Loan and his senior staff physically walking from the Parliament Building to the offices of the RCMP detachment in charge of the registry and the administration of the firearms control program and personally putting an end to it. Consequently, Firearms Reference Numbers for such firearms as the Norinco M-14S, Armalite AR-180B and other similar black guns that had mysteriously disappeared from the table, reappeared with just as little fanfare. The one sticking point that we weren’t able to get a positive resolution to was www.nfa.ca
the issue of the status of two additional black rifles, the Norinco Type-97 semi-automatic .223 rifle and a shortbarrel version of the VZ-58 semi-auto rifle in 7.62X39mm, that were already going through an official review process. For their own reasons, the RCMP deliberately kept the status of these firearms in bureaucratic limbo for countless months, refusing to release an official decision in a timely manner, while millions of dollars of firearms that had been pre-approved for import languished in Canada Customs warehouses. As a result, the principal importers of the firearms were unable to initiate legal action to challenge the reclassification, as no official determination had been made. Consequently, the T-97, would languish in legal limbo for almost an additional year, when just a couple of weeks ago the RCMP finally ruled that it was a prohibited firearm because it could “easily” be converted to fully automatic. Bull-pucky! Given a talented gunsmith or machinist, enough time and a fully equipped machine shop, any style or type of firearm can be converted into a machine gun. John Moses Browning, inventor of the Model 1911 pistol and many of the still popular Winchester lever action rifles actually converted a Model 1973 Lever Action to fully automatic over 100 years ago. Even knowing how he did, I can’t say as I would be able to replicate his feat, even though I consider myself something of an amateur gunsmith and have a decent workshop. My point here is that given the resources of the RCMP technical laboratory, it isn’t surprising that they were able to effect this modification. In fact, given the sheer amount of resources they committed to it and the thousands of man hours they poured into this particular firearm conversion, I’m surprised it took them as long as April/May
it did. However, they currently are refusing to share with importers of the Type 97 rifle, retailers, owners and the National Firearms Association how exactly they managed this conversion. Access to Information requests filed with the RCMP, CBSA and federal government have yielded heavily redacted documents that have blacked out the processes involved. This makes it almost impossible for a legal defense team to cogently respond or refute just how “easily” this conversion is in real-world terms and just how likely the average gun owner would succeed in completing such a conversion; no matter that he/ she would be breaking the law by doing so. NFA will definitely have more to say about this issue in the days to come. For now, we’ve made contact with the new Minister of Public Safety and laid the groundwork to counter these latest developments. In the weeks ahead we’ll be preparing a formal briefing paper and will continue to coordinate with affected businesses and owners. Bear in mind that these stakeholders acted completely in good faith, had the appropriate paperwork in order and had the nonrestricted FRT number in hand when they placed their orders with factories in China to the tune of millions. Also, the RCMP’s continuing promulgation of what equates to an official institutional anti-gun policy brings with it some pretty scary ramifications for the future of firearms ownership in Canada. I’m sure there many of you right now muttering to yourselves that what is the big deal anyway? It may be to some, an ugly, over-priced, Chinese rifle, so who is going to miss it? However, I can tell you anyone who currently owns a semi-automatic firearm or who has hopes of owning such a firearm in the future will miss it dearly. VP Message Continued on Page 46
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Letters to the Editor Dear NFA, I really loved the varmint hunting article featuring the Swiss Arms Blue Star that ran last issue. Can you tell me where I can purchase my own? Mike K. Hi Mike, Thanks for your letter. We’ve been very surprised and pleased with the positive response that particular article has generated and have fielded dozens of calls, E-mails and faxes about where to purchase Swiss Arms rifles in Canada. I purchased mine from The Shooting Edge of Calgary, Alberta (Ph. 403.720.4867). They were the original importers of Swiss Arms products and the gang we need to thank for bringing these great rifles into the country. There are a number of other retailers including Wolverine Supplies located in Virden Manitoba (Ph. 204.748.2454), Ellwood Epps (Ph. 705.689.5333) and Target Sports Center (1.877.988.4867) in Ontario, along with a number of others across the country. Prices have been fluctuating with the exchange rate on the loonie, so it pays to shop around. As far as I know, importation of the Blue Star has been superseded by the more muted grays and blacks of its twins, the “Classic Green” and “Black Special” models. Editor
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Editors Dear NFA, I am a life-long hunter and target shooter. I’ve recently relocated to a new town after accepting a temporary twoyear job contract. My new position keeps me extremely busy and allows little time for shooting. The nearest approved shooting range and gun club is also several hours drive away from my new home. I don’t want to have to purchase an expensive club membership that I’ll never get to use, but my CFO requires that I provide “proof of club membership” before he will approve transfers of recently purchased restricted firearms. Can the CFO do this legally? Doug H.
Dear NFA, My great-uncle just passed away and as part of the estate there were a number of live and deactivated firearms in his collection. My aunt is serving as executor and it was her husband’s desire that his collection be distributed amongst his nephews. I’m the only real “gun guy” and the only nephew currently holding a firearms license. There were only three live firearms in the collection and all were properly registered and have been legally transferred into my name. My non-shooting cousins were worried about the legal ramifications of accepting one of the deactivated guns as a keepsake of our favourite uncle as there is no paperwork on them other than an old receipt from the gunsmith who did the deactivations years ago. James C.
Hello James, You can reassure your cousins that they can go ahead and accept their mementos without worry as deactivated firearms are legally classified as non-firearms under current legislation. No license or registration certificate is required for possession. Making photocopies of the gunsmith receipt to give to each recipient will probably give them some additional peace of mind, but isn’t necessary. Once deactivated, those firearms became nothing more than expensive wall-hangers.
Hi Doug, You are under no legal requirement to purchase a club membership in order to get restricted firearms approved for transfer under the “target shooting” justification for purchasing said firearms. Literally thousands of Canadian shooters participate in legal competition and target shooting activities as an official guest of other club members and never possess a membership of their own.
NFA has been working to put a stop to such practices and if you hang tough, they will eventually approve the transfer. Unfortunately, they’ve had great success thus far bullying unsuspecting gun owners into complying with this “non-regulation.” We hope to change that with the aid of stalwart, law-abiding firearms owners such as you who are willing to say NO to being bullied by our non-elected public servants. Editors
Questions?
Do you have a question? Something you want clarified? Please send us a letter or an e-mail. We would love to hear from you. Letters should be directed to the Editor. Legal and political questions should be directed to the NFA Legal Department. Letters must include the Name, Address, and Phone Number of the sender. P.O. Box 52183 Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2T5 e-mail: info@nfa.ca
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Firearms Journal
The Official Magazine of the National Firearms Association
Editor .................................................... CFJEditor@gmail.com Sean Penney & Grayson Penney Advertising .............................................................info@nfa.ca Diane Laitila (780) 439-1394 Accounts / Membership / General Info .... membership@nfa.ca Legal Inquiries ...................................................... legal@nfa.ca National President .............................................(780) 439-1394 Blair Hagen natpres@nfa.ca National Vice-President Communications.........(780) 439-1394 Sean Penney natvpc@nfa.ca National Vice-President Finance .......................(780) 439-1394 Henry Atkinson natvpf@nfa.ca
Provincial Contacts
British Columbia .................................................bcpres@nfa.ca Sheldon Clare (250) 563-2804 Alberta ....................................................................info@nfa.ca (780) 439-1394 Saskatchewan ......................................................skpres@nfa.ca Dan Lupichuk (306) 332-3907 Manitoba ......................................................mvormeng@nfa.ca Mike Vormeng (204) 886-2667 Ontario ................................................................onpres@nfa.ca Bill Rantz (705) 385-2636 Quebec ................................................................pqpres@nfa.ca Phil Simard (514) 365-0685 Vice-President sab@nfa.ca Stephen Buddo (450) 430-0786 Nova Scotia .........................................................nspres@nfa.ca Dave Udle (902) 567-3600 New Brunswick .......................................................................... Harland Cook (506) 459-7416 Newfoundland ....................................................natvpc@nfa.ca Sean Penney (709) 598-2040 Creative Design by The AD Guys .................... (780) 488-5776
National Firearms Association
Box 52183 Tel: (780) 439-1394 Edmonton, Alberta Fax: (780) 439-4091 Canada T6G 2T5 info@nfa.ca www.nfa.ca
Continued...
Canadian
National Executive
This requirement is one of those “made-up regulations” that provincial CFOs have dreamed up unilaterally, with absolutely no basis under existing firearms law. Thus they are unable to provide a written reference or supporting sections of the Firearms Act when asked to justify their position.
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Notice of 2010 Annual General Meeting May 14 -16th, 2010 Hello Members; We would like to invite you to attend the 2010 AGM. We have spent many hours preparing for this event and we hope you enjoy yourselves. Check our website for more information. There are a few things to remember during this fun filled weekend. Everyone must have their NFA membership card and name tag at all times, you will not be allowed to enter any of the buffets, meetings, fun shoot or banquet without it. You will require meal tickets for all meals.
We will supply you with information to help you get around West Edmonton Mall. Please pay close attention to WEM attractions page, if you have free time this page gives you great ideas on how to spend your time. If you have any questions or concerns about this weekend call us at 780 439 1394 and we will try our best to help you out. Thank you. We look forward to meeting you at the 2010 Annual General Meeting. Diane Bev Megan
National Firearms Association Registration Form: 2010 Annual General Meeting - May 14 -16, 2010
Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton 1-800-737-3783
Full Conference Fee:
Includes: Administration Fee, Registration, Wine & Cheese, Seminars, Wild West Shoot, Meals, AGM and Banquet
AGM Administrative Fee:
$150.00
Name: $10.00
Saturday Banquet Dinner Only: $50.00 Guest(s) for Banquet: Total for AGM Weekend Prices include GST and Gratuity
$50.00
YES - I will attend the Wild West Shoot (Full Conference Fee required to attend)
Membership # Address Phone # Payable by Cheque Mastercard
Visa
American Express
Card # Expiry Date:
Complete Registration and Mail to: National Firearms Association PO Box 52183, Edmonton, AB T6G 2T5
Preserving Our Firearms Heritage PUTTING OUR FIREARMS HERITAGE IN JEOPARDY By Gary K. Kangas
Controversy arises once more! There are individuals in the firearms community who would censor what is published in outdoor magazines. They take it upon themselves to determine what is a good firearm and what is a bad firearm based on its cosmetic appearance. Is a Ruger 10/22 (which looks like a WW2 M1 Carbine) a plinking and small game .22 or an assault rifle? Or does it transform into an assault rifle when an AR style stock assembly is bolted to it? When does a firearm begin being an assault rifle and when does it stop being an assault rifle? Is the individual loading the Brown Bess loading an assault rifle? How about the competitor shooting a Henry clone or an 1863 Sharps, a .577 Snider, perhaps an Enfield in .303? All the foregoing were military rifles at one time. Does that designate them as assault rifles under today’s considerably broader definition? There are all types of black rifles available today. Those who would censor what is advertised and what we can own should visit their local gun shop. I doubt they could identify what is a .22 target rifle and plinker from serious competition rifles to hunting rifles. Some that are illustrated: Remington 597 VTR .22LR, Remington R-15 .223, Ruger Mini-30 7.62X39mm, Ruger Mini-14. 223 Remington, Beretta CX4 Storm, Norinco M14 .308 Win, and Polytech M305.308 Win.
I also had the good fortune in June 2009 to shoot an Auto Ordinance Thompson in Wyoming (where they are legal to own). Was I using an assault rifle? There are no good firearms or bad firearms, there are only firearms. Some have military roots and some recreational beginnings. One or the other does not designate the correctness or value. Should baseball bats that are often used in assaults be labeled assaults bats? How about golf clubs that are improperly used, should they be called assault clubs? Any consumer product can and most likely will be used in an inappropriate manner. The item cannot be held responsible, it is inert until it is used. No firearms owner or enthusiast should be misled by someone labeling an item. A firearm is only a tool. At the end of the day, we’re all fellow firearms owners, no matter the type of firearm we own. It is up to each and every one of us to ensure that no fellow gun owners fall prey to this deliberate ploy by gun control advocates to mislead. To do otherwise places our firearms heritage in jeopardy.
Guns, Schools
and Zero Tolerance:
The Politics of Terrorizing Kids? By Grayson Penney
Before I retired some years ago, I was an educator and school principal. Probably the most important requirement the job necessitated was common sense and the ability to exercise good judgement. Rarely was any problem, issue or situation requiring my input or intercession totally black or white. That held true for such diverse issues as managing teacher workloads, or problems in the cafeteria to dealing with student disciplinary problems. Over the years I had to play ‘Solomon’ to many dust-ups and school-yard fights. Most were dealt with by a trip to the principal’s office where they received a stern lecture, loss of privileges or a trip to detention. For the worst offenders, the mere threat of calling their parents was often enough to cure 16
them of their need to act out; as their folks often meted out far harsher penalties than I did. Only in the most extreme cases were kids suspended and only then when all other options had been explored. Guns and gun violence wasn’t even a concern back then. In fact, while teaching in many rural communities around Newfoundland, rarely was an eyebrow raised when students were encountered toting a shotgun or .22 rifle to school. In those days, the instant assumption was that the student planned to go hunting immediately after school, not that a “school shooting” was in the offing. As long as the actions were open, the firearms unloaded and safely stored in their lockers during school hours there wasn’t a problem. Unlike today, we didn’t lock down the school and immediately call the police if someone discovered a spent piece of .22 rimfire brass in the parking lot. For those of us born and raised in a true hunting or gun culture, firearms were seen as wholly non-threatening and were viewed as useful tools and not offensive weapons. We weren’t afraid of them and we didn’t force our children and students to fear them either. That isn’t to say that our attitude toward firearms was blasé. Kids might not have been taught to fear firearms, but they sure as heck were taught to respect them! Every local kid knew that if they were seen horsing around, their folks would know before the day was done and they could expect severe repercussions; not the least of which was loss of their firearm. What initiated this trip down memory lane you may be wondering? It was the story of kindergarten student Mason Jammer, age 6, who was suspended from his elementary school for using his hand to form a “gun” a couple of weeks ago.
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That’s right, a finger gun. Sadly, this isn’t the first case of what I call “liberal lunacy” infecting the North American education system. Political correctness, the domination of the liberal point of view toward education, and emotiondriven, knee-jerk policy making has saddled teachers and school administrators with an idiotic “zero tolerance” policy. A policy that is destroying children’s trust in their teachers and needlessly inflicting emotional harm; all in the pursuit of some warped belief that terrorizing kids will somehow make them safer and prevent some unknown future tragedy. However, “zero tolerance,” as a policy, has not and cannot work; just as gun control will never equal crime control no matter how much liberals wish it. Young Mason hasn’t been the only victim of this idiotic policy initiative. A couple of years ago Billy Barnes, age 8, from East Sable River, Nova Scotia was suspended from school for pointing a breaded chicken finger at a teacher during lunch and saying “Pow.” Billy’s school had a zero tolerance policy for “weapons” and consequently he was suspended for firing his “chicken finger gun.” Kyle Walker, age 7, was suspended from his primary school for www.nfa.ca
drawing a stick figure wielding a crudely drawn “stick figure gun.” Kyle had given the picture to a friend, and that child’s parents lodged a complaint with the school after they found it. Kyle was subsequently suspended because his drawing violated the school’s zero tolerance policy. In February, 4th grader Patrick Timoney was suspended for bringing a toy weapon to school. Patrick had brought along some of his favourite Lego Blocks to play with during lunch. These included a Lego “soldier” armed with a 2” plastic “rifle.” The 9 year old was removed from the lunchroom, without being told why, and was immediately suspended for breaking his school’s zero tolerance “gun” policy. There have been a rash of similar cases over the past decade and they seem to be becoming more frequent. The sheer insanity of this blatant attempt at socially re-
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engineering our society, via schoolsponsored indoctrination of our kids, can only be characterized as criminal. Kids are taught to fear guns and by association gun owners. There is no differentiation made between actual criminals and law-abiding gun owners. Instead, the focus is wholly upon the firearm itself. Our school systems, like our society, have some very real socio-political issues to deal with; but terrorizing and ostracizing children with inflexible rules and emotion-driven policy making is NOT the answer. Common sense and good judgement are. As a principal, I had a set of standardized guidelines I had to follow. However, I also had the power and a responsibility to make and enforce rules, and to mete our punishment appropriate to the infraction when those rules were broken, and/or the good order and discipline of my school disrupted. We had discretion and our superiors expected us to not only exercise good judgement, but ensure that we were acting in the best interests of the individual student as well as the general student body. Zero Tolerance Continued on Page 46
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Politics & Guns
Ottawa Update
by Sheldon Clare & Sean G. Penney
NFA Legal Affairs Committee Chair Sheldon Clare met with David Anderson, who is the Parliamentary Secretary to Natural Resources Canada Minister Paradis, and executive staff on March 26th in Ottawa to discuss the NFA’s legal opinion on the Explosives Act Regulations.
Photo: Sean Penney
Mr. Anderson shared many of the same concerns that we at NFA held and was very well briefed. He indicated that the ministry was not interested in making any unnecessary changes to regulations affecting storage of powder and hand loading in dwelling houses. He did enquire if NFA had any concerns with the current regulations. In response, NFA put forth the position that the status quo is preferable to changes and proposals made by a recent NRCAN study group that would’ve negatively impacted many high-volume hand loaders, competitive shooters, black powder shooters and historical re-enactors. As a NATIONAL organization, NFA is unwilling to sacrifice the rights of minority members of the Canadian recreational firearms community to satisfy purely regional interests. NFA had already taken the precaution of drafting an alternative proposal for former Minister Riatt. However, assuming the status quo was maintained, immediate NFA’s current concerns with the Act could be satisfied merely via clarification and definition of a few points within the language of the Act itself. Our recent legal opinion commissioned on this subject was a helpful point of reference that coloured the discussion. Mr. Anderson related his own experience as a hand loader and shooter which was certainly helpful in building a sense of mutual understanding. In addition, NFA Legal Affairs Chair Sheldon Clare met with the executive assistant to our new Public Safety Minister Vic Toews for a wide ranging and frank discussion on several critical issues affecting the firearms community including
High Standard
Type 97a
the UN small arms marking issue, and the unilateral re-classification efforts of the RCMP regarding the Norinco Type 97 rifle and the Model 10B Police Shotgun. NFA positions regarding current magazine capacity issues, grave concerns about current bureaucratic controls of the process and a need for more ministerial oversight were covered. The issue of reclassification of semi-auto firearms will require further follow-up and NFA has prepared a briefing paper on the subject, including the issue surrounding the Norinco Type 97 and High Standard shotgun specifically. It has been forwarded to the minister and is available on-line on our website. As such, NFA continues to partner with strategic stakeholders within the shooting community and will be working closely with the original importer, Lever Arms on the issue. A professional firm in the firearms industry will be retained in order to provide us with an impartial expert opinion and potential testimony to refute claims made by RCMP technicians that said firearms are “easily convertible” to full-auto and thus must be prohibited.
Finally, the Minister’s representatives also broached the subject of metal identification strips and enquired as to what NFA’s position would be on same? The point was made that NFA was unequivocally opposed to that option as it would ultimately prove just another overly expensive and unnecessary form of marking; especially as there seemed to be an intention to make marking retroactive. It was an encouraging exchange in which there were no promises made, but the door was opened to further discussions. It is an unfortunate consequence of our political system and every cabinet shuffle that NFA must devote extenPhoto: Sean Penney sive resources and time to re-educating key staffers and new ministers on firearms related issues. However, from initial discussions we are confident that the basis for good working relationships has been established with these new ministers, just as we did with their predecessors. Editors Note: Full copies of NFA NRCAN proposals and our legal opinion on the issue are available on-line at www.nfa.ca
To date, the RCMP have refused to release information as to how exactly they were able to effect this “conversion” and all information related to this issue was redacted or “blacked-out” following an “access to information” request of the RCMP, CBSA and federal government on the subject. RCMP refusals to release this information certainly makes it unnecessarily difficult for NFA, Lever Arms or other importers/owners to offer an informed counter to the “official” opinion that took RCMP labs months to prepare. It certainly raises some red flags and brings into question exactly how the RCMP defines the term “easily convertible.” Simply saying something can be converted to full automatic is not a valid argument for prohibition and confiscation when even bolt and lever actions can be made to fire full auto - given enough time, a well equipped workshop and a talented gunsmith or machinist. For instance, the Charleton and Howell conversions of the bolt-action Lee Enfield rifle done in World War II, or the conversion by John M. Browning of an 1873 lever action rifle by using the gas to operate the lever completed in the late nineteenth century. Neither rifle is currently on any prohibition list, so where is the line drawn and what determines a “good” gun from an officially determined “bad” gun?
www.nfa.ca
Photo: Ken Lunde
Sheldon Clare (NFA) meeting with Shawn Fried, (Senior Staffer for Public Safety Minister the Hon. Vic Toews)
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By Marie Camino Canadian firearms owners were under the gun of a deadline implemented by the government’s mandatory changes to Canada’s gun laws effective January 1, 2001. Consequently devoted shooters had no recourse but to bite the bullet or surrender their firearms. Personally, I wondered if it was worth it to continue being a gun owner and voluntarily become embroiled in another political quagmire? I really didn’t need more stress in my life to go along with my ongoing health problems, including a 12 hour neurosurgery for a brain tumour. Due to post operative realities I had had to make certain painful decisions, including changes to my lifestyle due to chronic pain and fatigue. Formerly an avid athlete, my health forced me to give up many of the activities that once brought such joy into my life and forced me to the sidelines as a spectator. Shooting was one of them. However, my gray cells were still intact and I was not prepared to simply surrender my firearms because of my health and needless over-regulation - no matter the red-tape. My firearms license was still valid and so I opted to make some additional inquiries as to exactly what the new government regulations would require so that I could legally keep my firearms. The first firearms licensing instructor I contacted sounded like personable individual who factually gave me the low-down. At that point I was unable to physically attend formal classes due to the long drives required. After explaining my situation, he suggested a workable alternative plan for me. I could pick up the student handbooks and undertake to study at home and challenge the exams. Having been an
omnivorous bookworm all my life I leapt at this opportunity. A time was arranged to come to his residence and pick up the manuals. This was my first meeting with Bert Cronkwright, a gentleman who was to become my firearms mentor and friend for many years to come. Right from this introductory contact he put me at ease and instilled confidence in me. Only later did I find out he does this with every aspiring student. In reality I was rife with anxiety, but on parting Bert advised me to feel free to call him if I ran into any difficulties. Upon perusal of these handbooks it became evident the focus of the course was on safety regulations. However, some of the information seemed incomprehensible and so I contacted Bert and he clarified the terminology for me. Due to my aphasia, it was only after prolonged studying sessions and note taking that I began to fully absorb and comprehend the gist of the material. Although somewhat leery, I thought it was time to take a shot at writing the tests. I gave Bert a call and after expressing my apprehension, he suggested that perhaps I’d feel more comfortable taking just the non-restricted course exam first and attempting the restricted test at a later time. Having put so much work into my studies to this point, and with Bert’s quiet encouragement that I knew the material inside and out, I resolved to take both tests at once instead. Again I made the trip to Bert’s residence and again my nerves acted up, but ever the consummate teacher, Bert was able to reassure me that I’d be fine as I had applied myself in my studies and
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with a good dose of common sense I couldn’t go wrong. Hence, I proceeded to write the tests and complete the required practical exam. When Bert informed me of my scores the relief I felt at passing was palpable. My hard work had paid off and my sense of accomplishment was my reward. To the able-bodied it might seem silly, but even my sense of self-worth was ratified by the result; as too many times in the past I’d had to endure the needless questioning and justifications required by self-important firearms bureaucrats. I’d shown them, albeit for now my guns would remain safely stored in a state of disuse. However, one never knew what opportunity might eventually present itself to reverse this scenario. Bert and I eventually began exchanging hunting and shooting stories and a friendship was kindled. I gleaned a better picture of this kindly, open person and it became obvious how wholeheartedly he was dedicated to helping anyone who expressed an interest in learning more about firearms and their safe use. We kept up our friendship, running into one another at local hunting or gun shows where Bert seemed ever present with his repertoire of safety literature and Canadian Firearms Safety Course materials. Having been a firearms instructor since 1980 he was always promoting the opportunity available to any wouldbe firearms enthusiasts to explore this innovative and satisfying sport. It soon became apparent his presence was a fixture amongst the local recreational firearms community. Whenever we ran into one another, Bert encouraged me to join him for a visit at his local club, the Townsend
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A Tribute to the Teacher Windham Fish & Game Club. Bert had been a member of the club for over 30 years and he provided a through explanation of all the amenities and shooting opportunities it offered. He certainly made it seem appealing, even if the distance I would be required to travel was still daunting given my health. However, there simply were not any other clubs that I could join closer to home. Bert was an accomplished competitor and had taken many prizes in small-bore handgun competition with his 1950s vintage Ruger MK I pistol.
Bert had almost convinced me to join when I suffered a further devastating blow; sustaining additional injuries which necessitated three separate surgeries on my back, left knee and shooting arm, as well as my shoulder in three places. My plans to rejoin the ranks of active shooters were once again on hold as I recovered. My new cane made getting around more difficult and operating my standard jeep even more onerous, however, I had not forgotten Bert’s encouragement to join his club and go shooting with him. It was on the way back from one of a seemingly endless number of appointments with my orthopaedic surgeons that I remembered Bert’s invitation and on the spur-of-themoment asked my volunteer driver to swing by the Townsend-Windham Fish & Game Club. It was all Bert had said it was, with a broad range of facilities for trap, skeet, rifle and pistol, including an indoor handgun range, plus a very nicely accommodated clubhouse. Impressed, I submitted my application that same day along with a cheque for my membership. www.nfa.ca
It would be some months before my rehabilitation was complete enough for me to set aside my cane, but by May of the following year I was ready. During this time I had consulted with Bert extensively and he was kind enough to permit me to try a number of different guns in order to figure out what would work best for me. In the end we decided that my own Remington Model 1100 would do if we replaced the hard rubber plate with a softer, more absorbent recoil pad. I was going to need the maximum protection available to protect my damaged shoulder. He recommended a talented local gunsmith and fellow trap shooter to effect the upgrades to my Remington and the results were more than pleasing. I was ready to rejoin the ranks of my fellow shooters and because of Bert’s tutelage and faith in me I found my love of the shooting sports rekindled.
Bert was the consummate teacher and the epitome of patience as he reintroduced me to the sport. At first I was so gun-shy prior to our first round that I expressed to him my fear that I would flinch so badly at the expected recoil that it would be impossible for me to shoot accurately. However, Bert once again calmed my fears and to my surprise found the recoil from the light trap loads so mild that the kick was barely perceptible to me, even with a damaged shoulder! My confidence even grew to such a degree that I went so far as to try a number of other shotguns, in addition to my 1100, just in case I could shoot them better. Ultimately, I realized that my Remington was the gun for me and I was determined to master it. Having decided upon Skeet as my
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game of choice, Bert offered to give up his evening’s planned outing to the club to shoot Bulls-eye handgun, and instead shoot skeet with me. He must have sensed my feelings of trepidation at going it alone to the club on my first solo shoot. It was with great excitement that we arrived at the club where the report of shotguns resonated in my ears immediately. Bert walked me through the required club protocols, including checking in, paying for our clays and locating the available skeet range. A brief safety refresher followed and Bert gave a rundown of the expected path of the different clays from each station. In order to demonstrate and teach, Bert offered to shoot first to illustrate what he meant. In his usually self-effacing manner, Bert stated that skeet wasn’t his strong suit and then proceeded to shoot a clean string! Now it was my time to step up to the plate. So much to remember and me frazzled and scared that I’d forget something. Bert, cognizant of my hearing disability, remained on my right side and my functional ear and spoke clearly and distinctly when offering instruction as I shot, but mostly he offered encouragement. It wasn’t until Station 3 that I finally connected and Bert’s words, along with the pointer’s I’d gleaned from a book I’d picked up by former championship skeet shooter Lee Braun finally, kicked in. I started breaking clays and my “jinx” was gone. Not even an improperly installed O-ring in my shotgun’s gas system could throw me off my stride that evening.
Teacher Continued on Page 46
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Bill C-391-
According to the Canadian Firearms Program, the number of people with valid firearm licences is just under 2,000,000 (RCMP, various years).
Countering Ten Misleading Claims
December 2005 1,979,054 December 2002 1,912,939 Depending upon the year, the homicide rate for licensed Canadian firearms owners varied from 0.35 per 100,000 to 0.85 per 100,000 firearm owners. In other words, less than one licensed firearm owner per 100,000 gun owners is accused of murder in any given year.
By Gary Mauser, Ph D www.garymauser.net/ Editor’s Note: The following paper was presented to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security by Professor Mauser in response to misleading claims made by Ms. Wendy Cukier and the Coalition for Gun Control concerning passage of Bill C-391.
Executive summary
Bill C-391 is a simple and straightforward bill that proposes to dismantle the long-gun registry for non-restricted long guns, nothing more. Bill C-391 leaves in place the rest of Canada’s gun control regime, including the requirement to obtain a licence, the screening of applicants, the requirement to register restricted and prohibited long guns, the need to take and pass the firearms safety course, and the rules on safe storage and transportation of firearms. The evidence demonstrates that the repeal of the long-gun registry will not reduce public safety in Canada and may even improve it. After a brief review of the arguments, I examine and rebut the key points in the Coalition’s letter sent to MPs on October 20, 2009. The statistics provided here clearly shows that the long-gun registry has not been effective in reducing criminal violence and most especially that it has not saved lives. The multiple murders by shooting that have occurred since the registry was put in place prove that it is a waste of time and money. Bill C-391 deserves support because the long-gun registry has failed to protect Canadians from gun violence and diverts vital police resources away from more effective efforts. In her report to Parliament, the Auditor General of Canada found that the long-gun registry cost taxpayers at least one billion dollars; later research doubled this estimate. She also noted that the Department had been unable to substantiate whether the long-gun registry had increased public safety or saved lives, which is surely the standard by which any success of the program should be measured. 22
Every one of the claims made by Ms Cukier made in her October letter to oppose bill C-391 is false or misleading. Before countering the specific claims made in the October 20th letter, it is important to briefly review the Canadian firearms control system: * Handguns have been registered since 1934. * Police screening has been required for long-gun purchasers since 1979. * Bill C-17 introduced greater restrictions on all gun owners in 1992. * The legislation setting up the long-gun registry and owner licensing (Bill C-68) was passed in 1995, but virtually none of the regulations were put into effect until 1998. * The long-gun registry began operations in 2001 and all long guns were required to be registered in 2003. In response to the misleading claims made by the Coalition for Gun Control, please consider the following information.
Over the same time period, the Canadian national homicide rate ranged from 1.74 per 100,000 to 2.06 per 100,000 people in the general population (Beattie, 2009). In other words, approximately two people out of every 100,000 Canadian residents are accused of murder. Thus, the likelihood of a licensed Canadian firearms owner committing murder is less than one-half that of the typical Canadian. It follows that, on average, Canadians who do not own firearms are more likely to commit homicide than those who do.
Claim #1: Access to a gun increases the risk of murder.
This should not be surprising since prospective firearms owners have had to pass criminal record checks since 1979. Also since that date, the conviction of a violent crime has been grounds to revoke a firearms licence (or FAC). The police should find this information quite helpful. When the Canadian Firearms Database (via CPIC) shows that an individual is a licensed firearm owner, the police will be able to know that he is less likely to be dangerous than other Canadians. Of course, it goes without saying that the police should always be wary and take all reasonable precautions. Criminals do not tend to see themselves obliged to obey gun laws.
False: Canadian gun owners are less likely than other Canadians to commit homicide.
Claim #2: Rifles and shotguns are the weapons most likely to be used in domestic homicides.
Based upon statistics from the Homicide Survey and the Canadian Firearms Program, the probability of a licensed Canadian firearms owner committing murder is less than onehalf that of the typical Canadian.
False: The problem is the murder of family members, not the means of killing.
In any given year, there were between 7 and 17 people accused of homicide who possessed a valid firearms licence or an FAC (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2006).
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
17 2002 10 2003 11 2004 7 2005 11
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Focusing on murder weapons - whether long guns, hand guns, or knives - is a red herring. It is false to assume that if there had been no gun of a particular kind available in a particular incident there would have been no murder committed. There is copious research that shows that when laws are directed to restricting particular instruments such as firearms, the murder rate stays the same (See Kleck, 1991, 1997; Kates and Mauser, 2007; Mauser, 2008). Spousal murderers are opportunistic in that they use whatever implements are available to them to kill. Every home has many normal obwww.nfa.ca
jects, such as baseball bats, hockey sticks, kitchen knives and rifles which can be used for assault or murder. Nevertheless, Ms Cukier has raised this issue of weapon use, and even in this, she is incorrect. Knives, not long guns (rifles or shotguns), are the weapons used more often to kill women than firearms. A recent study found that in the period 1995-2008 knives were used in 31% of the murders of female spouses (Casavant, 2009). Long guns are involved in only 18% in female spousal homicides. Firearms of any kind are used in 29% of homicides of female spouses. See Tables 1a and 1b. In a typical year there are almost 600 homicides and 60 female spousal murders; long guns are involved in the deaths of 11 female spouses. Table 1. Female spousal homicides (Annual average 1995 to 2008) 1a. Types of Firearms Used in Homicide Number Percent Handgun 5 11% Long gun (rifle or shotgun) 11 18% Other type of firearm or unknown 2 3% Total homicides involving firearms 18 27% Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, (Casavant, 2009).
1b. Types of Weapons Used in Homicides Number Percent Spousal homicides involving firearms 18 27% Knife or other cutting/piercing tool 19 31% Total (average annual number of female victims) 60 100% Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, (Casavant, 2009).
Illegally possessed handguns pose a much greater problem. In 2008 handguns were involved in over 60% of homicides involving firearms. This follows from the discussion above: licensed firearms (including handgun) owners are a safer group than those who do not own firearms, and by a very considerably large margin. Those who illegally hold handguns are outside the law and consequently are criminals. Claim #3: Spousal murders with guns have fallen threefold since the law passed, while spousal murders without guns have remained the same. False: Spousal murders (with and without guns) have slowly been declining since the mid-1970s. Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, (Casavant, 2009).
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This claim confuses the date the law passed with when the long-gun registry began. The law setting up the current firearms system was passed in 1995, but the long-gun registry did not begin until 2001 and all guns were required to be registered by 2003. The female spousal murder rate fell by more than 50% from 1979 to 2000 (the year before the long-gun registry started); it has slid only 15% since that time. It is unknown why spousal murders have become less frequent over the past few decades but what is certain is that this decline is a long-term trend. It is logically incorrect to link it to the legislation of the last few years. Bill C-391 does not interfere with licensing or screening, but only changes the long-gun registry. Licensing and the screening of persons wanting to own firearms legally will continue as before. The long-gun registry and licensing are rarely useful to police in solving spousal homicides; in almost all cases the accused is immediately identified. The firearms used by abusive spouses to kill their wives are almost all possessed illegally. One study of long guns involved in homicide found that approximately 4% were registered and 24% of homicide suspects who used a firearm had a valid FAC or licence (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2006). It has been illegal since 1992 for people with a violent record to own firearms. Despite this, we do not currently have in place a system that would track prohibited offenders but choose instead to track legal, law abiding, licensed duck hunters, farmers and recreational sport shooters. Police reports show that 63% of spousal victims come from a family known to have a history of violence (Dauvergne, 2005). Approximately two-thirds of those accused of homicide were known to have a Canadian criminal record; the majority of these were previously convicted of violent offences. Over one-half of the victims were also known to have a Canadian criminal record; most had been convicted of violent offences (Homicide in Canada, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).
Claim #4: Stronger gun laws have helped reduce gun violence. False: Ms Cukier’s letter begs the question of the effectiveness of gun laws against crime. Instead of showing how changes in gun laws have reduced homicide or suicide rates, she trots out the names of all the women’s groups who oppose Bill C-391. Rationally, this approach cannot support her claim that gun laws reduce violence against women. The rate of homicides committed with a firearm generally declined from the mid-1970s to 2002. This steady, longterm decline has been driven by economic and demographic changes. However, the use of firearms in homicide has increased since 2002. In 2002, the percentage of homicides that involved firearms was 26% in 2002, but by in 2008 it had jumped to 33%. Firearm homicides increased despite the registering of long-guns between 2001 and 2003. See Table 2.
Table 2. Percentage of Homicides that Involve Firearms 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Percentage of homicides that involved firearms 27% 31% 34% 31% - Long-gun registry started 26% 29% - Long-guns required to be registered 28% 34% 31% 32% 33%
Source: Table 4, (Beattie, 2008)
Over the past 30 years, the use of handguns to commit homicide has tended to increase, as a result of gang-related activities, while the use of rifles and shotguns has generally declined. The long-gun registry began in 2001 and all longguns had to be registered by 2003. (See attached Chart 2). The long-gun registry had no effect on this long-term decline. Ms Cukier is again incorrect. Gang-related homicides have been increasing since the early 1990s. In 2008 about one in four homicides were gang-related. (See attached Chart 3). Of the 200 homicides committed with a firearm in 2008, 61% or 121 were with handguns (almost all illegally possessed). There were also 34 homicides committed with rifles or shotguns. Again, Ms Cukier is incorrect.
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Over the past 10 years, firearms were involved in approximately as many homicides as knives; long-guns (rifles and shotguns) are involved in 8% of all homicides. See Tables 3a and 3b. Again, Ms Cukier is incorrect. Guns are not uniquely dangerous. Table 3. Homicides involving firearms (percent total homicides) 3a. Types of Firearms Involved in Homicides (Annual average 1998 to 2007) Number Handgun 106 Rifle or shotgun 45 Other type of firearm or unknown 25 Total involving firearms 176
Percent 18% 8% 4% 30%
Source: Table 5, (Beattie, 2008).
3b. Types of Weapons Involved in Homicides (Annual average 1998 to 2007) Number Homicides involving firearms 176 Homicides involving knives 198 Average annual number of victims 584
Percent 30% 31% 100%
Source: Table 4, Beattie, Homicide in Canada, 2008.
Again, Ms Cukier is incorrect. The long-gun registry has not reduced gun violence. The rate of homicides committed with a firearm generally declined from the mid-1970s to 2002. However, the use of firearms (overwhelmingly illegal ones) in homicide has increased by 24% since 2002 despite the introduction of the long-gun registry. Claim #5: Firearms stolen from legal owners are a significant source of crime guns. Registration is essential to prevent dangerous individuals from getting guns. False: All studies of crime guns (or guns used in murders) agree that stolen registered firearms are infrequently involved. It is the criminal record check, which is part of licensing, and certainly not registration, that stops criminals from getting guns legally. Bill C-391 will not change the current provisions for obtaining a firearms licence. Registration simply refers to the firearm, not the owner. The claim about stolen firearms is disingenuous. Ms. Cukier should know better. A study, co-authored by her, reported that more than 66% of crime guns seized in Canada have their origin south of the border (Canadian Press, 2009). A study of homicides between 1997 and 2005 reported that 13% of all firearms involved in a homicide could be found in the www.nfa.ca
registry (Dauvergne, 2005). A variety of police studies have found that between 2% and 16% of crime guns were stolen from legal owners or were ever in the Canadian gun registry. Even stolen guns rarely end up being used by criminals to commit subsequent crimes. An Australian study of almost 1,500 firearms stolen over the two-year period, 2004-05, found that just 1% had later been identified as having been used in a serious crime (Borzycki and Mouzos, 2007). We consequently find that the bulk (54% - 69%) of crime guns are smuggled into Canada by criminal gangs. (Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2006; Toronto Police Services, 2004, 2005; Toronto Police Annual Report, 2001; Project Gun Runner, 1993). It is abundantly clear that long-gun registration has no effect whatever on guns used in crime. The gun registry merely ties up police time and funds, and thereby contributes to blocking more effective means of prevention. The key to preventing dangerous people from getting guns is police screening and criminal record checks. Bill C-391 will not change the strict firearms controls in Canada. The claim by Ms. Cukier and the Coalition for Gun Control that the repeal of the long-gun registry will make it easier for people to get a gun is disingenuous, given that she knows (or should know) that it is the firearms licensing system, and not the registry, that determines who can or cannot have legal access to a firearm. In addition, the amount of time, effort and money directed towards preventing criminals from having easier illegal access to the guns of lawful owners is not as effective as increasing police staffing and directing it against criminal activity. One undetected container load of illegal firearms fuels criminal needs for decades. Claim #6: Firearms pose more problems in smaller cities where there are more gun owners. False: Homicide is a particularly acute problem in large cities where ironically there are fewer legal gun owners. Canada’s major metropolitan areas are increasingly plagued with gang-related homicides that predominantly involve handguns imported by criminal activity. Ms Cukier talks about “firearm problems” rather than homicide because she wishes to use the term “gun deaths” which are mostly suicide. Suicide is a greater problem in small rural communities than in large cities, but suicide rates cannot be reduced by gun registration. Firearms are involved in only 15% of suicides; hanging (or asphyxiation) is much more prevalent. What is needed is greater effort in suicide prevention programs.
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Table 4. Homicide Rates in Rural and Urban Canada Homicide rate per 100,000 population by census area (2008)
Census metropolitan areas (population 500,000 and over) Census areas less than 500,000 population Canada
1.93 1.73 1.85
Source: Table 3 (Beattie, 2008)
Table 5. Firearms ownership is lower in urban areas than in rural areas Urban Rural
Firearms-Owning Households 13% 30%
The term ‘gun deaths’ is a red herring. One of the most important aspects of understanding the debate about guns is to be clear that observing so-called “gun deaths” is not an appropriate measure for evaluating firearms laws. If the point of gun laws is to improve public safety, then the proper goal for stricter gun laws is to reduce homicide or violent crime, the figures for which have been kept for many decades in all civilized countries. The primary goal of public safety is to protect the public from criminal violence, and secondarily to diminish suicide rates. The term “gun deaths” has been widely adopted by activists when closer scrutiny shows that it is a red herring which masks changes in more important indicators. Table 6. “Gun deaths” consist primarily of suicides. Gun deaths (Canada, 2005) Number 593 223 17 833
As expected, and at the urging of National Firearms Associa-
Table 7. Trends in Suicide Methods in Canada (selected years)
The extension would involve the three existing complementary measures to help bring law-abiding Canadians into compliance with the firearms licensing system. These are: • a one-year amnesty to give owners of non-restricted firearms an opportunity to register those firearms and re- new expired licences without fear of prosecution; • a one-year waiver of the fee for firearms license renewals or upgrades; and • allowing eligible holders of expired Possession-Only Licenses to apply for a new one within a year.
1991 1995 2000 2003 2005
Source: GPC Research (2000)
Suicide Homicide Accidents Total
Lives cannot have been saved if the number of “gun deaths” declines but there is no corresponding drop in total homicides or suicides. This is known as “the problem of method substitution.” Yet those criticizing gun ownership assume that removing guns would automatically stop the crime (or the suicide). This is false as can be seen immediately in Table 7. This “substitution effect” is not limited to Canada, but can be seen in other countries, such as Australia, where suicide by asphyxiation immediately filled the gap left by a decline in firearm suicides (Baker and McPhedran 2007; Klieve et al, 2009; Lee and Surardi, 2008). In New Zealand, suicide rates continued to increase after the 1992 Firearms Act (Beautrais, 2006).
Percent 71% 27% 2% 100%
Note: 2005 is the most recent year suicides and accidental deaths are available nationwide.
Total suicides 3,593 3,968 3,605 3,764 3,741
Firearms 1,110 916 685 618 593
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced March 15th that it was the Conservative Government’s intention to re-extend the current firearms amnesty for registration of long-guns. The further extension of the amnesty is intended to allow time for the Private Member’s Bill C-391, which is now at the committee stage, to go through the steps necessary to eliminate the current registry.
Hanging 1,034 1,382 1,546 1,662 1,682
Source: Statistics Canada: Causes of Death
The long-gun registry has saved no lives. There were 3,605 suicides in 2000 before the registry started and 3,741 in 2005. Clearly, this analysis suggests that the money wasted on registering guns would have been better spent on suicide prevention efforts. Table 8. Number of Homicides in Canada, 1991 to 2008 (selected years) 1991 1995 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
tion and other stakeholders, the current CPC government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has opted to once again extend their “Compliance Incentives Amnesty” for another year.
Number of homicide victims 756 588 558 546 533 - long-gun registry started 582 549 - long guns required to be registered 624 663 606 594 611
l a g e L r e n r Co b
enne son P y a r yG
y
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For more information call the CFP’s toll-free number: 1-800-731-4000
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The amnesty permits the following: • Licensed individuals can obtain a registration certificate for their non-restricted firearm; • Individuals with expired licences as described above can obtain a registration certificate after renewing their licence. • All individuals can: ◦deactivate the firearm so that it is no longer a firearm; ◦sell or give the firearm to a public service agency (such as police service), to a business (including a museum) that holds a licence authorizing the acquisition, or to an individual who holds a PAL; ◦export the firearm in accordance with all legal requirements, including those of the importing country; or ◦turn in the firearm to a police officer or a firearms officer for destruction or other disposal. The amnesty does not apply to individuals who have never obtained a Canadian firearms licence (POL or PAL).
Source: Beattie, Sara (2009) Homicide in Canada, 2008 Source: Statistics Canada: Causes of Death
An amnesty has been enacted to protect non-compliant owners of non-restricted firearms from criminal liability while they are taking steps to comply with the licensing and registration requirements of the Firearms Act. This amnesty will be in effect until May 16, 2011.
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ignore government weapons because the UN recognizes their sovereignty, regardless of the nature of the government. Many governments, as a matter of security, manufacture “unofficial” weapons which they distribute to their clients in the third world. Since the UN deliberately excludes government armaments, the very core of the problem is ignored.
SALW and the United Nations By Gary Mauser
“It is not merely a mistaken analysis but an evasion of responsibility to suppose that we can prevent the horrors of war by focusing on its instruments. They are more often symptoms than causes.”
- Margaret Thatcher, 1982 speech at the UN General Assembly
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as we’re told, who should we blame? The gullible idealists whose naiveté got them into trouble, or the cynics who exploited their vulnerability? This summer, we will see, once again, this age-old drama unfold; this time at the UN Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action (POA) in New York.
(SALW) that will meet in New York this June. (The UN loves acronyms). Every two years, the “Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” meets at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. (Or, in UNspeak, the BMS on the POA to combat SALW). It may sound ridiculous, but there is nothing funny about the dangers these UN-driven programs pose for normal, peaceful firearms owners in Canada or elsewhere. The UN claims that these controls are needed to help countries protect their citizens from “fear and violence,” but their goal is the strict control of firearms. Unfortunately, because the UN demonizes all firearms, this goes so far as to include confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens. Here is how the UN justifies their war on guns:
Disarmament at the United Nations is gaining more and more impetus in a bid (at least theoretically) to take guns out of the hands of terrorists. At the same time, there are forces at work in the shadows which jump at the opportunity to remove any and all guns, including those that have been lawfully held for generations. The United Nations will in effect take another important step towards disarming peaceable civilians.
SALW/firearms are lethal instruments. They have been used to kill thousands of men, women and children who are not a party to a war or armed conflict. Left uncontrolled or unregulated, the misuse of such weapons can cause significant damage to peoples’ livelihoods, health and security, as well as create an environment of fear. (ISACS03.30).
The NFA and the World Forum (the World Forum on The Future of Sport Shooting Activities) will be there to defend your rights. The Canadian Firearms Journal has published several articles warning readers about the disarmament efforts of the UN. Instead of attempting to disarm dangerous dictators in Asia and Africa, the UN prefers to pass highsounding resolutions that turn out to be more successful at taking guns from civilians instead. African farmers are disarmed, not tyrannical governments.
Their language emphasizes “control” and “regulation,” not “collection” or “confiscation.” One might ask how could it be any worse than the Canadian firearm licensing and registration system we are familiar with? The UN has made it clear now that the goal of their disarmament processes is to eliminate civilian firearms ownership.
Every year, the UN holds numerous meetings in a variety of countries to coordinate the efforts to restrict or eliminate civilian gun ownership. The most important decisions are taken at the BMS on Small Arms and Light Weapons 28
What can be done to oppose the UN’s plans for civilian disarmament? The World Forum is virtually the only international group that is fighting for the right of civilians to own and use firearms. Thanks to your support, the NFA is one of the leaders in the World Forum. NFA members can be proud of their involvement in the world-wide battle for all civilians to own firearms. The NFA is there when it counts. Under Dave Tomlinson originally, and now with Blair Hagan and myself, the NFA speaks for Canadian firearms owners at the United Nations. See http://www.wfsa.net/. The UN’s effort to disarm civilians is becoming ever more relentless. There are a variety of international initiatives that NFA and the World Forum are actively monitoring: the Arms Trade Treaty, the Programme of Action, the United Nations Firearms Protocol, and International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) program.
The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) The goal of the ATT is a treaty that will subject all international transfers of arms and ammunition to strict control under international law under United Nations authority. The ATT is scheduled to be adopted in 2012; it is strongly pushed by the United Kingdom and other European countries. When Obama replaced George Bush, the United States switched
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David Penn, BSSC, Gary Mauser, NFA, Vito Genco, Italy at World Forum, Austria meeting.
The World Forum had a representative at the recent meeting of UN Arms Trade Treaty. This was the first ATT Group of Government Experts (GGE) meeting during the week of February 1 in New York. The Forum is concerned that there is an unprecedented level of secrecy. The ATT GGE met again in the week of May 12, 2008 and again from July 28 to August 8, 2008. The World Forum was present at both meetings. Not only are these meetings being held virtually in secret, but the participants do not appear to recognize the legitimacy of civilian firearms ownership. The original justification for the ATT was terrorism, but, with the presence of anti-gun NGOs at the conference, that is shifting to crime control. This is quite alarming as it implies even more restrictions on civilian firearms. The World Forum’s presence is very important at ATT events. If the ATT meetings are more open, then other gun-rights organizations will be more able to participate. In light of the world’s optimism when the UN was founded after World War II, it is extremely disappointing that the UN has not been more effective in ushering in a better world. The UN is increasingly being seen as worse than ineffective. Even the UN’s strongest supporters are dispirited by the UN’s inability to cure itself of widespread corruption.
A programme of weapon registration may be established as the first step towards the physical collection phase. Such programmes can provide both the international community and the local security agencies with an indication of the scale of the problem. (ISACS05.40) Why doesn’t the UN rein in tyrannical governments? As surprising as it may seem, the UN’s disarmament resolutions
from opposition to support.
Gary Mauser in front of an Austrian Gunsmithing School
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While some countries (and NGOs) may support disarmament out of idealism, others, particularly those run by tyrants, cynically recognize that they will be able to better control (or in some places even eliminate) annoying civilians in their own countries once they have all the guns. While the UN has the power to make agreements that affect compliant nations, it has so far shown little or no power to distinguish adequately between violent rogue governments and peaceful civilian populations. All too often, the UNs legislative efforts affect the wrong people. April/May
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Crime Control
by Licensing the Dangerously Law-abiding
By Bruce Gold
One argument supporting gun control is the assertion that law-biding gun owners and the “gun culture” are the root causes of violent crime. This argument also appears in more restrained forms, for example, blaming the victims of theft for “supplying” criminals with guns. This distrust of the law-abiding is one of the ideas supporting our current gun control system. As the Auditor General noted in her 2002 report, (Auditor General Report 10.67- 68) the Department of Justice told the Government that it wanted to “focus on the minority of firearms owners that posed a high risk while minimizing the impact on the overwhelming majority of lawabiding owners.” The Department later admitted that the focus had, “changed from high risk firearms owners to excessive regulation and enforcement of controls over all owners and their firearms.” This shift from known problem areas such as drug gangs to all firearms and all owners resulted in convoluted and very expensive regulations that were based on the belief that, “the use of firearms is in itself a “questionable activity” that required strong controls, and there should be a zero-tolerance attitude toward non-compliance with the Firearms Act.” This article examines how the shift from “problem guns” to “guns as a problem” has affected the efficiency and effectiveness of our crime control efforts. We will pursue this question by looking at the how our system “helps” the police by allowing them to trace firearms and firearms owners and by doing so solve crimes. We begin with a look at Canadian crime statistics. Since the statistics on violent crimes committed with guns are extremely difficult to separate from other violent crime statistics we will examine the much clearer statistics of homicides.
Licensing and Registration as Crime Fighting Tools
Year
Yes
No
unknown
total
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
17 10 11 7 11 14 14 16 11
24 24 27 30 18 18 15 15 24
14 10 6 6 8 2 0 5 4
55 44 44 43 37 34 29 36 39
Total
111
195
55
361
Registered owners accused (111/9) avg. = 12 per year Homicides committed with a firearm, by registration status 1997 -2005 Year registered not registered unknown
total shootings
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
98 75 79 96 101 81 109 110 157
193 151 165 184 171 152 161 173 222
906
1572
10 11 7 12 7 19 10 19 23
85 65 79 76 63 52 42 44 42
Total 118 548
Homicide gun registered (118/9) avg. = 13 per year
Summary of Firearms Homicides Statistics 1997 - 2005 (Source Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Homicide Survey)
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Did the Accused Possess a Valid Firearms License
To understand these tables we must compare them to total homicide statistics. From 1997 to 2005, there were 5,194 homicides in Canada. Firearm homicides (1,572) accounted for 30% of all homicides. Our first observation regarding
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regulatory effectiveness is that since our gun control regulations are solely focused on the control of inanimate objects rather than criminals they will have absolutely no affect on 70% of homicides.
• • • •
We can now address the relationship between regulating abiding gun owners (the ones our bureaucratic system actually captures) and our homicide statistics. There where only 111 registered owners accused of homicide, an average of 12 per year. This represents 111/1572 = 7% of firearms homicides and 111/5,194 = 2.1% of all homicides. If we compare registered guns to unregistered and unknown firearms we find that only (118/ (548 + 906)) 8.1 % (13 per year) of homicide guns are actually traceable through the licensing system. We can ask if the millions we spend on firearms paperwork is really the best way to spend our crime control dollar when the paperwork is only relevant to such a small percentage of the problem.
“Crime Fighting” Activity • Refused 348 license applications • Revoked 2,262 licenses • Supplied 2,636 court affidavits • Responded to 1,840,787 CFRO enquires
We can also note that these 25 leads per year (12 licences, 13 registrations) do not prove that the police solved 25 crimes using firearms paperwork. It is entirely possible that the police only identified a paperwork holder after something else drew them to police attention. Determining the direction of discovery is critical in determining how useful our paperwork system is. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine the direction of discovery from the statistical tables. Since this is a critical bit of information, we can also attempt to discover the direction of discovery from the historical record. Unfortunately, this historical data is also missing. The Department of Justice admitted in 1995 that they had no data and could not identify a single instance where handgun registration helped solved a crime (Hansard, 1995, p. 12,259). (Off Target pg. 2, Hansard) This dismal admission reveals that the government had run a handgun registry for 61 years without ever bothered to investigate whether there was any empirical evidence to justify the effort and expense.
Canadian Firearms Centre as a Crime Fighting Tool The current firearms control system is a bureaucracy designed to control guns and gun owners with paperwork. To examine how this crime control effort affects the real world we must look at what the Firearms Centre (now the Firearms Program) actually does. Canadian Firearms Centre’s Activities in 2005-2006 (2005-2006 CFC) Administrative Activities to Maintain the System • Maintained records on 1,964,988 licensed individuals
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New licenses 269,760 Licenses renewals 217,194 Maintained records on 7,079,855 firearms New registrations 373,772
The first two items, refused and revoked licenses, are often sold as a wonderful crime fighting measure that prevents dangerous people accessing firearms. Unfortunately, this official claim is wishful thinking. What denial of paperwork actually does is prevent these people from getting legal access to guns. A look at the homicide table above tells us how successful this denial of paperwork actually was in preventing gun crime. Unregistered homicide guns outnumber registered guns five to one (548 to 118). This denial of paperwork has no impact on the 70% of homicides that are not gun related. The production of court affidavits is also sold as an important crime fighting measure that supports the police. In a sense this is true, unfortunately the only information the firearms bureaucracy can provide relates to licensing and registration. Hence, the whole exercise is self-referential. The firearms system reports on the paperwork status of persons in the system and has no expertise to do anything else. The only “crimes” addressed are those that system itself creates. One wonders who is kidding who with this Alice in Wonderland exercise. This leaves us with the Canadian Firearms Registry On-line (CFRO) system. This system supports Canadian police agencies by providing them with real-time access to the firearms paperwork system. In theory, this increases the effectiveness of the police and keeps them safe by giving them advanced warning of where the guns are. “(This rationalization is a return to the idea that law-abiding gun owners are the threat and that owning firearms is a “questionable activity.”)” If we look at the government’s own homicide data, we can note that 97.9 % of killers are not in the firearms paperwork system so 97.9% of the time the police will not be warned about the people they actually have to worry about. A number of police forces have set up their information systems so any query of a person or address will automatically result in a query of the CRFO. To sort out what is happening we need to separate inquires that are actually about guns Crime Control Continued on Page 45
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Reasonable precautions must be taken beforehand, and as with any hobby of its sort, I always strongly recommend new bullet casters invest in a good handbook such as that published by Lyman. Dealing with molten metals can be dangerous and there are certain safety protocols and practices that must be followed in order to stay safe.
Safety Rules: 1. Always treat molten metals, especially lead, with respect. 2. Cast bullets in an area with good ventilation. You want to avoid breathing any noxious gases, etc...if possible.
Cast Bullets For Beginners By Sean G. Penney
Living in rural Newfoundland you are forced to accept certain truths. One of them is that if you want to load your own metallic cartridges you aren’t going to be buying your components locally. Between the devastation that Bill C-68 left in its wake throughout the retail firearms market and outmigration, dedicated gun stores are few and far between. The population just isn’t there to support them. Even fewer shops are to be found that carry any sort of reloading components and those that are available are almost always prohibitively expensive. Not surprisingly, buying in bulk is often the norm and unless you can a friend or relative driving back to the Rock that are willing to pick up your order for you, mail-order is often the only option. I eventually decided to get into reloading and later casting my own bullets as a cost saving measure; and to allow me to shoot more often and to put back into action old war horses of battle rifles and more esoteric calibers that factory ammo was no longer available for or that which was prohibitively expensive. As shipping costs piled up over bullet orders, I started to seriously explore cheaper alternatives to commercial offerings and finally broke down and bought my first bullet mould a short time later. From the start I was hooked. What is really great about bullet casting as a hobby is that you can get into it extremely cheaply. All you really need is an old camp stove, an old cast iron pot, a soup ladle, and a bullet mould with handles and you can start turning out perfectly shootable bullets. Most of this stuff you probably already have kicking around or can be acquired from your local junk store or Salvation Army thrift store. Bullet moulds excepted of course!
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3. Always wear quality safety gear including proper safety glasses/goggles or a full face shield, thick leather work gloves or welder’s gloves, long-sleeve cotton shirts, pants and closed top work shoes or boots. No T-shirts, shorts or sandals! 4. Absolutely NO LIQUIDS in the casting area. Extreme care must be taken to ensure that no liquid of any kind comes in contact with the melt. Even a single drop of perspiration can result in a dangerous lead explosion that can spray molten lead about the casting area. 5. No eating (or smoking if you are a smoker) while casting and make sure to thoroughly wash your hands before doing so in order to remove any traces of lead residue. Done properly, casting is perfectly safe and lead levels in my blood are no different than that of the average adult male of my age group even after years of casting. The above safety rules and the potential “dangers” they represent are probably responsible for scaring most potential new bullet casters off. The relatively cheap cost of quality commercial cast and jacketed bullets may have also swayed some of the less industrious into choosing the path of least resistance, but the benefits to casting your own are obvious. I’ve already touched on them briefly.
into improved accuracy and it is a rare firearm that cannot be made to outshoot its counterparts using jacketed bullets. In poor bores and those that are pitted, frosted or extremely worn, cast bullets can often give such firearms a second lease on life, as their accuracy using jacketed bullets simply does not deliver. My own cast bullets for my 1911s in .45ACP, 9mm & .38 Super, revolvers such as my .357 & .44 Magnums and even rifles as disparate as the .303 Lee-Enfield and .45-70 Government deliver far superior accuracy than even premium jacketed bullets. 3. Availability. As I noted before, there are a lot of less popular, obsolescent and obsolete cartridges out there that either you can no longer buy factory ammo for, or which you’ll have to pay an exorbitant amount for. Many of my old military surplus rifles use unusual or non-standard diameter bullets, or they have oversize/undersize bores due to the exigencies of war-time production. Ordering a custom bullet mould or sizing the dropped bullet to a different diameter can often translate into excellent accuracy and allow you to get a firearm back into action that otherwise would have languished in your gun safe. Those are three pretty compelling reasons for gearing up and getting into the casting game and it doesn’t look like bullet prices are going to come down anytime soon, so perhaps that will provide the impetus needed to get more shooters off the fence. I’ll admit that the entire process may seem a little daunting or even scary at first glance, but in actual practice, bullet casting is one of the easiest and most satisfying hobbies related to my recreational firearms activities. Using just the simple junk store gear I listed above and a used mould I picked up on eBay, my first ever casting session yielded over 500 excellent quality bullets for my .45s. Later, when I was at my reloading bench, loading those same bullets, I couldn’t get over the sense of satisfaction I got from each pull of the reloading
Reasons to Cast Bullets 1. Economy. Wheel weights are readily available from local tire stores and garages and make great cast bullets. Local scrap dealers and metal dealers are also good sources of cheap linotype, pure lead, tin etc... That translates into bullets that cost just pennies per hundred. Recent jumps in lead and copper prices on international metal markets have seen substantial increases in the price of both commercial cast lead bullets and jacketed bullets as well. Those 30%-50% price increases make casting your own bullets all the more attractive, especially if you have to pay for shipping as well.
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What I found even more satisfying is seeing my groups shrink anywhere from ½ inch to well over one inch with a variety of 1911s. I would later see the same pattern repeated for many of my revolvers, auto-loaders and a number of my long guns, including several Winchester and Marlin lever guns chambered in pistol calibers and my big boomers, such as my prized Marlin 1895 Cowboy lever action with 26” octagonal barrel, Ballard rifling and chambered in the classic .45-70 Govt.
What do I need to get started? Lead Pot or Electric Furnace You can get as cheap or as fancy as you want with this piece of kit. An old cast iron bake pot or Dutch oven will work just fine. I’d buy the largest I could find but even a small 1.5L pot will do the job. I eventually added several additional pots to my collection and dedicated one pot to smelting wheel weights and scrap lead into ingots, another to my preferred pistol alloy and a third to a harder alloy intended for my rifles. If you can luck into one, a used plumber’s pot will also work very well, or you can pick up a commercial electric furnace manufactured by one of a number of different companies. If you go this route, I strongly suggest that you not opt for the cheapest furnace, but opt for either an RCBS or Lyman tool. There are others that may offer good value, but in almost all cases I’ve seen, the guy who buys the cheap pot eventually upgrades to an RCBS or similar furnace. I’ve always found it cheaper in the long run to buy the best and thus buy only once. With respect to electric furnaces, the presence of an adjustable thermostat and bottom pour spout is a must for me; otherwise I prefer to stick to the basic cast iron pot and ladle. Capacity is also important and I generally want the largest pot or furnace that I can find. Large capacity means greater consistency from bullet to bullet and will require less unproductive down time as you are forced to add additional ingots and wait for the melt to once again reach the proper temperature for casting, etc... A 20lb furnace is a good place to start in my experience, although you can get by with some of the smaller pots depending on the volume of casting you plan on. Quality electric furnaces offer casters the options of utilizing the bottom pour spout or dipping lead. If you decide to go this route or opt to stick with the cast iron pot, you can get away with using a simple steel or iron soup ladle purchased from the junk store or donated to the cause by a spouse, girlfriend or parent. A slotted spoon with holes is also quite useful when it comes time to skim the gunk and clips floating on the surface of your melt.
2. Accuracy. More often than not, a proper cast bullet can yield the absolute best accuracy from your personal hand gun or rifle. As a caster, you can deliberately cast and size your bullets to perfectly match your firearm’s internal barrel diameter and ensure you get full obturation. That translates
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press. At that moment I finally understood the old tongue-incheek admonition that only casters are true bullet makers; all the rest are merely assemblers. ☺
If you prefer the old school method, you’re going to need to
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scrounge up an external heat source to use with your pot and to melt the lead. Most shooters probably already have an old Coleman or similar camp stove kicking around their garage, basement or attic. Propane or naphtha/Coleman Fuel, either works equally well. I’ve even used the small single burner back pack type stoves on occasion and even the large Turkey Cooker type propane burners. Necessity is the mother of invention, so with a little ingenuity, you can get almost any type of stove to work for you. I wouldn’t advise trying this on your kitchen stove however! Bullet Moulds You generally get what you pay for when it comes to bullet moulds. I mostly prefer quality iron mould blocks, but have a number of excellent aluminum and brass moulds in my collection as well. The latter are generally from small, custom mould makers that have cut moulds to my exact specifications. Probably the most accessible moulds currently available to the new bullet caster are those from LEE Precision. The price is certainly right and the fact that they already come with handles make them very attractive. By and large, with proper set-up and adjustment, LEE moulds can be made to cast perfectly acceptable bullets, but there are better choices out there. Some of the better makers include RCBS, H & G, Lyman, SAECO, Rapine, NEI, and some of the smaller custom/semi-custom mould makers such as NEA or Mountain Moulds. Most commercial moulds today are available in one, two, three or four cavity versions. In years past, makers such as H&G produced multi-cavity “gang” moulds with as many as 8-10 cavities. Other than the LEE moulds, most commercial moulds do not come with handles and the purchase of a set is required. Often the number of cavities a mould has and the particular make of mould will determine what types of handles are required. Unfortunately, three of the most popular makes of moulds, RCBS, Lyman/Ideal and LEE all use their own, proprietary mould handles, and are not interchangeable. Others, like SAECO, can utilize Lyman handles, but not those of any other manufacturer without alteration. Prices for the better quality commercial handles have increased dramatically over the past couple of years. Luckily, a new Canadian mould handle producer has recently entered the market. I suggest that you check out KAL Tool & Die handles, the same handles that I reviewed last issue in our “Made Right Here” feature. No matter the make, if you abuse your mould, you will ruin it and you will be unable to produce quality cast bullets. You really need to look at quality bullet molds as precision instruments, just like that Mitutoyo dial caliper you got for Christmas. You need to keep it clean, well oiled and must
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take care never to drop it on a hard surface or strike it with anything harder than the metal of which it is made. Therefore, using an old carpenter’s hammer as a sprue plate/mould hammer is a definite no-no and a sure fired way to ruin an expensive mould. I generally oil any moulds that I’m not using and zip tie the mould halves together to prevent accidental damage due to peening of the metal while in storage. Unsecured mould halves can damage its mate if they hit one another with sufficient force. Other casters prefer to leave lead in the mould cavities in order to bind the halves together; but for long-term storage I prefer not to keep dissimilar metals in such close contact for fear of a potential future chemical reaction between the mould and trace elements within the alloy. To keep the oil from evaporating and to maintain constant low moisture content I store all my moulds in .50 cal surplus ammo cans, along with a handful of the small silica gel desiccant packets that I have my local pharmacist save for me. The desiccant packs are shipped with bulk orders of pharmaceuticals and with a short stay in the oven can be dried out and reactivated in just minutes. I’ve never had a single problem with rusting or pitting of moulds as a result. If you take good care of it, your mould can last indefinitely, and in turn, provide you with numberless quantities of great-shooting bullets. Lubrisizers and Sizing Dies For the typical lead bullet caster, you will need to acquire some sort of tool that may be used to apply lubricant to the bullet and fill its lube grooves and/or size the bullet to the preferred diameter. Proper lubrication prevents gas cutting of the bullet as well as leading of the gun barrel. Some of the more fiscally conservative will opt to pan lube by placing their cast bullets base first into a shallow pan of melted lubricant which is then allowed to harden. Using a hollow tube-shaped cutter the same diameter as the bullet, the individual projectiles are then cut from the now hardened lube. Often, bullets lubed thusly are also shot without additional sizing. One of the great benefits of casting bullets of soft alloys is that you can safely get away with shooting slightly oversize bullets (within reason). However, this is a time consuming process and certainly not practical for even moderate volume casters. Therefore, you will need to invest in a combination luber/sizer tool or press that will lubricate your cast bullet while it sizes and uniforms the bullet to the desired diameter. RCBS, Lyman, SAECO and STAR all make quality tools that offer a lifetime of use. My personal preference is for the RCBS, simply because of the build quality of their tools and their outstanding warranty. Break it or suffer a tool failure, RCBS will fix or replace the
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tool no questions asked. Most of these tools work in much the same fashion and have a knob or ratchet that is worked to mechanically force lubricant through pre-drilled holes in the component sizing die that the user would’ve installed in the press. For instance, sizing for the typical .45 ACP pistol, most casters will opt to size their bullets at either .451” or .452”and will utilize a sizing die in that diameter. The RCBS and Lyman sizing tools can use either company’s sizing dies interchangeably, as well as the required top punch that is associated with the particular pattern of mould that you are casting with. The particular top punch number that fits the nose of the bullet pattern is generally listed by the mould maker and can be purchased for around $10.00 or so. Often, you can use a similar top punch as a substitute or make a dissimilar punch fit by using compounds like 5 minute epoxy, devcon aluminum, etc... to fill the cavity of the punch and to permit the caster to mould the punch to the shape of the bullet by placing a freshly dropped bullet into the still curing epoxy. A few hours later, you have a top punch that is an exact match for your bullet. You don’t have to invest in these tools immediately if your finances do not allow. LEE offers a relatively inexpensive, diameter specific, sizing kit that sizes bullets nose first and makes use of LEE liquid ALOX lubricant and your own reloading press. The process is pretty simple, albeit sticky.
Where to Buy? If you don’t already have a basic starter set of tools, things like cast iron pots and camp stoves can often be purchased cheaply from local thrift stores, garage sales and from your local newspaper or on-line classified ads. Most small mom & pop gun shops carry at least a limited selection of bullet casting equipment and can basically order in whatever you need. The drawback is that you’ll often pay more than you would at the larger stores and via mail-order. On-line casting forums and auction sites such as eBay are also options.
Before You Start Producing accurate, useable bullets is not that hard, even for a new caster. Generally, almost any type of lead can be used to cast satisfactory bullets. For basic handgun and plinking use your alloy need not be super hard given the relatively low velocities involved. As a rule of thumb, generally any alloy that is sufficiently hard not to “lead” your barrel is fine and you don’t have to devote an extraordinary amount of time
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playing with alloys unless you want to. I cast for a wide range of firearms, running the gambit from an old, obsolete .38 S&W Webley (not Special), to .45ACP, and .357 Magnum, right on up to super-fast .44 Magnum loads for my T/C Contender. Same goes for my rifles where I cast big, slow-moving .4570 pills for my Marlin lever guns and Sharps Buffalo rifle, to odd-ball military bullets like 7.7mm Jap to the tiny .22 cal bullets I’ve been experimenting with in my .223 and .22-250 varmint rifles. No matter the firearm or caliber, your loading preferences will play a role here. Mild loads may succeed with very soft bullets but the hotter the load; the harder the alloy required and the addition of a gas check may also be necessitated. Traditional muzzleloaders and bullets for black powder cartridge loading, by contrast, are generally cast of very soft alloys. Velocities are usually comparatively low and, as a consequence, leading isn’t an issue just as long as a good bullet lube or barrel butter is used. Old school bullet casters often simply ran a fingernail across a bullet to judge hardness, but there are better and more consistent options available today, including several different designs of lead hardness testers. The Redding/SAECO lead hardness tester is perhaps the most widely used and has been on the market for decades. However, LEE has recently released their own that seems to be getting good reviews and is offered at substantial savings over the move expensive Redding tool. There are several other testers, such as that produced by LBT that enjoy a very good reputation; however, they aren’t as readily available as the others. Whichever tool you choose, it does take the guess work out of the equation and permits you to tailor your alloy to the particular load or caliber you’re casting for. When a formerly “good” load goes south on you, it is a simple matter to check to see if you had inadvertently cast with the wrong alloy, or accidentally used a bullet with the incorrect lead hardness number. The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook has recipes for creating your own specific alloys using base metals including lead, tin and antinomy. You can purchase commercially prepared alloys, but half the fun is making up your own using metals you’ve scrounged yourself. Old printing houses are good sources of linotype, as is your local metal salvage yard, wheel weights can often be had for free from local tire stores and your local plumbing supply store can provide you with all the tin and antinomy you require in the form of plumbing solder. In all honesty though, most of my plinking and competition bullets for handguns are cast from straight wheel weights.
Watch for Part 2 of Cast Bullets for Beginners in our next issue.
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The Shootists By Jesse L. Hardin
The popular image of the Old West gunslinger is far from accurate... and yet there was much about the true shootist that we’d all do well to emulate today. Dave Tutt had every reason to believe that there would be a serious confrontation if he were to ignore the heated admonitions of the ex-Union scout. Yet there was no way this proud professional gambler was going to bend to threats of violence, not even when uttered by a towering fellow veteran and already well known “pistoleer.” A Southern gentleman as well as unrepentant rebel, Tutt arrived at the Springfield, Missouri public square dressed for the occasion, in full Victorian wardrobe in spite of the hot and humid summer weather. This included his finest long tailed-suit, pin-striped breeches, thickly felted hat and knee high riding boots. On his belt hung a black leather holster, its protective military flap long ago cut off and discarded in order to improve ease of access, filled to overflowing with a .44 calibre, percussion-fired Colt’s Army revolver. Dangling from a pocket of his genuine silk brocade vest, could be seen a glinting gold chain securing a pocket watch held as collateral against the scout’s recent gambling debt... the very one that he’d been warned by a sentimental James B. Hickok not to dare wear out in public. As soon as they saw each other, the men began to draw and take aim, each betting on his equipage, fortitude and accuracy to prove the righteousness of his cause. Two individuals bravely faced off one-on-one on that July, 1866 day, with no attempt to hide or take cover, and with every intention of ending the life of the other. Within the first couple of seconds Tutt had produced his revolver and sent a nearly 36
half-inch diameter slug sailing in his antagonist’s direction, and roughly a second later the man who would come to be known as “Wild Bill” had completed his fateful reply, sending a .36 calibre ball from his own Colt Navy model slamming into dapper Dave’s upper chest. It was an impressive shot indeed, using a gun designed for and tested by the Army at only 25 yards, to take down an opponent standing over 225 feet away! Ignoring the dying man’s gun and wallet, Hickok reached into his vest for the watch that some say his mother had given him, then stood waiting patiently for an officer to investigate, and in the end, vindicate him; Thus was born the archetype of the classic western gunfight, recreated multitudes of times from the best selling 1902 Owen Wister book “The Virginian” to the 1960’s television show of the same name, and to the robotic duel of the film “West World.”
More often in that period of Western expansion, 1866 to 1916, gunfights were between poorly shooting robbers and ill-trained lawmen, and most commonly involved two or more drunken cowboys who, while easily offended, were more often than not extremely unpractised in their aim. It’s no wonder, given how little money outriders and herders made during the period. As such, most cowpunchers lacked the funds for the amounts of ammunition needed to ensure proficiency; choosing to spend what little they did make on a few celebratory nights of whiskey and women. For them, the Colt or other handgun was a tool on the range as well as a badge of their independence and manhood, paid for with months’ worth of wages, not the practiced brush of the gunslinger’s art. Press accounts are filled with reports of barroom altercations where dozens of rounds were fired, many through an alcoholic haze and cloud of gun smoke too thick to see through, causing only a minor wound or two, or perhaps only resulting in “the untimely retirement of the saloon’s expensive imported mirror.” In Wilcox, Arizona in 1900, Wyatt Earp’s brother Warren once got the worst of a gunfight by drunkenly standing up to challenge someone before realizing he’d forgotten his gun! And a study of old newspaper and hospital records indicates that “accidental discharges” provided black suited frontier undertakers with far more business than assassinations and shootouts combined. Even the supposedly proficient Ben Thompson had only 4 confirmed kills in over 14 armed altercations. The “Gunfight At The O.K. Corral” was actually the “Gunfight In The Alley Behind Fly’s Photography Studio”, with 75% of the rounds fired missing! The famed combatants loosed some 32 rounds at distances of no further than 12 to 15 feet... and yet only 12 of those shots struck paydirt. Fact is that even the majority of bona-fide western lawmen and outlaws, robbers and “no-goods” limited their target practice to occasional pot-shots at whiskey bottles or the playful eradication of noisy town roosters. At the stickup
Not even the Tutt/Hickok fight conforms completely to the most common stereotype, however. Not only was the altercation deadly – without the preferred TV effects of guns mercifully shot out of hands – but neither gunfighter fired from the hip, and Wild Bill actually steadied his Colt over his opposite forearm and took careful aim in order to make what proved to be a single telling shot. And clearly the much trumpeted speed of draw was not the determining factor, but rather, it was deliberation and determination deciding events, not with the first round fired but the first to hit a vital area of the enemy’s body.
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distance of 3 to 6 feet, much murderous mayhem was possible with the short barrelled handgun, but beyond that, pistol shots were more effective at providing cover than eliminating train guards or decimating pursuing posses. For this reason, the handgun was never the first choice for personal combat, but rather, the firearm most likely to be conveniently close at hand when unexpected trouble arose. Contrary to the myth, the most serious offensive attacks by lawmen and outlaws alike were made using Winchester lever action rifles, and the most effective defense of stagecoaches and railcars was more apt to be thanks to shotguns stuffed with a formidable stack of buckshot. The most successful attacks were often committed not only with longarms, but were ambushes launched by hidden rifleman protected by cover. In the 1962 John Ford movie “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, a character named Stoddard has won election as a Senator in part thanks to having shot down the evil Valance, only to find later that it was really a rifle shot from afar that brought down his tormentor. When he asks a newspaper editor to print the real truth behind the reported events, the newsman tears up his notes and famously tells him “No Sir, this is the West. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend!” Then, like now, the press could be counted on to sensationalize if not outright fabricate, using appealing archetypes and contrived bogeymen to boost readership and profits. Just the fact of packing an arm was never enough to make someone a true gunslinger. Nor did a single occasion of firing a gun in defense or anger necessarily mean that one was a formidable gunfighter. It is nonetheless true that there were a select sampling of characters in the Old West who were notable exceptions to the rule, nerve-honed individuals who did indeed “live and die by the gun,” for whom the drawing of blood and metallic taste of danger and fear were as familiar to them as the horses they rode in on. Such a person can credibly be called a “gunmen” or “pistolero.” However, my preferred term is “shootist,” a moniker that denotes a degree of skill and professionalism much like “dentist” or “scientist” that the other terms simply do not convey for these men were truly professionals. The shootist was neither a bushwhacker, robber or assassin per se, but rather, a highly efficient if sometimes volatile fellow whose violent deeds where either spontaneous responses to perceived insults or slights, or else deliberate and premeditated acts typically motivated by principle more so than greed. He was more likely to be a loner than either a gang or posse member, and whether reprising the roles of sheriff or outlaw – white hat or black – he usually filled the part well. Silent, pleasant or petulant, he exuded both character and style. He felt safer and perhaps saner outside the bounds of conventional society, and likely trusted his own intuition, discernment, instincts and skills above all others and all else.
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Slow to enter into alliances of purpose or convenience, the shootist was likely to adhere to the classic martial dictum that “offense is the best defense.” And he seldom backed down, not because he was inhumanly fearless but because he knew how to use his fear as fuel for assertive and sometimes explosive direct action. Whether others thought him right or wrong, the shootist acted out of a moral certainty, true to himself and his notions, adhering to his own personal code of honor even when breaking existing laws and cultural taboos. By this measure, Wyatt Earp qualifies as a shootist, although most often in the capacity of an advantage-seeking vigilante rather than as the stand-up artisan of arms more emblematic of the breed. So does his tubercular friend Doc Holiday, a tragic Shakespearian character ready to draw down over any imagined slight, though in truth more willing than accurate, missing far more times than he connected and remarkably only ending the lives of 2 men unassisted... out of 8 known gunfights! The homicidal “Wild Bill” Longley was a shootist by most measures; his 11 confirmed kills out of 12 encounters easily showing up not only Holiday but most of the famous western gunfighters. So too was John Wesley Hardin; guns always at the ready, fearlessly prepared to face all-comers, no matter how tough the opponent, nor how many. This eventu-
ally resulted in what is believed to be 30 or more in-your-face encounters! And we can include without question the likes of handsome “Longhair Jim” Courtwright, and King Fisher who were known to exhibit style as well as lethality, dandily dressed for even the bloodiest of occasions, quick with clever verbal comebacks and a fast draw of the pistol just like in the movies. Hickok’s total of 11 dead is impressive, averaging as he did 1 administered fatality per fight, but his record would have been a lot bloodier if not for the very nonmovie-like penchant for using the butt of his revolver to “brain” or “buffalo” miscreants instead of shooting them. On the other hand, while the famed Jesse James was indeed deadly with a six-gun, he was more of a guerilla raider and thief, preferring the support of a sizable outlaw gang, avoiding like the plague anything approaching a oneon-one duel, and suffering no moral or stylistic compunction against shooting from a “hide” or pumping bullets into turned backs. Billy “The Kid” Bonney was more of a gregarious rascal than shootist per se, a killer not by nature, but in response to unjust events and largely unavoidable circumstances. For all his bravado, we know he would have preferred a life of dancing at Mexican “fandangos” and making love to warm señoritas to a lifetime of nervously fingering cold grey revolvers.
The Kid’s 4 recorded kills in 14 gunfights is nothing to be sneezed at, but neither the number of altercations nor numbers of victims/opponents are alone sufficient to qualify one as an archetypal shootist. The part time outlaw, part time lawmen, John Selman, gunned 8 men down on and off duty, though often in what were described as the most cowardly ways. Tom Horn blasted a series of small-time independent ranchers at the behest of a Cattleman’s Association intent on maintaining a monopoly, but he did so with his Winchester from a place of concealment. Another despicable master of the ambush was the hired bushwhacker Jim “Deacon” Miller, who literally put over 100 men in their graves for the price on their heads, and without more than a handful of them even getting a glimpse of their killer’s face. To the true shootist, it was usually important to look their victims in the eye. They seldom laid in ambush or ran away after a scrape in order to avoid being identified. In most cases, they wanted to be seen, wanted the credit and growing reputation in order to
more easily intimidate enemies in the future. While they tried to anticipate the time and place of a likely conflict, more often than not situations arose unexpectedly, escalating from nothing to a showdown in seconds or minutes, requiring both a decisive and deliberate response. To men accustomed to such explosions of violence, the handgun was a vital implement with which they trained constantly. Bill Hickok is said to have emptied his Colts at the end of every day, both to get extra practice and to ensure that his percussion revolver loads were fresh and could be counted on to go off when fired. J. W. Hardin’s lightning draw and unerring marksmanship were oft witnessed and even judicially documented, with many of the additions to local graveyards having ol’ Wes to thank for that last bumpy wagon ride. While he tried life as a lawyer for a short time, the real mark he made can be seen in the playing cards he often shot in street exhibitions, several of which are available for viewing in private and museum collections over a century later. Up until a few years after the War Between the States, known as the Ameri-
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can Civil War, the gun they practiced with and employed was most often the Colt black powder percussion revolvers, both the Army and Navy models, and the many cheap copies of these “hog-legs”. Arms sold as surplus after the war was over quickly flooded the western market, and were only replaced in large numbers with the production of dependable revolvers shooting self contained cartridges, by far the most popular being the so-called Colt “Peacemaker” model of 1873, most commonly in .45 Colt and .44-40 calibers. These famed arms found their way into the hands and holsters of not only gunfighters but homesteaders and shopkeepers, and figure into the vast majority of recorded Old West shootouts. It was, however, certainly not the only sidearm used by lawmen, outlaws and other described shootists. While seldom or never seen in movies until 1990’s films like “The Quick and The Dead,” another quite popular contender was the Model 1875 revolver produced by Remington Arms Co., a documented favorite of the rebel bank robber Frank James. So too could be found other revolvers like Merwin & Hulberts and the break open (quicker to reload) Smith & Wesson Model 3’s, as well as a plethora April/May
of S&W, Colt and other pocket pistols. These and even smaller derringers in relatively low power chamberings like .32 short and .41 rimfire nonetheless made good backups. While shootists seldom carried two large revolvers on their belt, they were often known to have additional firepower stuffed into pockets and boots. One flamboyant exception was the feared outlaw Cullen Baker who met his end in January of 1869, shot down while eating lunch for having bullied a crippled school teacher. He was found to be packing not only a double barreled shotgun but also 4 revolvers, 6 knives of various sizes and 3 well concealed derringers! The shootist was almost always well armed, and in the most impressive cases proved far more accurate with his tools of the trade than 99% of his fellow gun owners. While it was not his style to stand at a measured distance from an enemy, waiting for a signal to draw, it was typical of his character and temperament that he faced danger bent forward rather than running backwards, his hands moving out of instinct faster than thought to get his preferred weapon unsheathed and leveled, firing not to warn but to incapacitate, and not stopping his firing until sure the fight was through. “Law-Dog,” outlaw, gambler or border-rider, the shootist answered not to outside authority so much as to himself, acting unhesitatingly to meet his needs, do his duty, or satisfy his principles. Without waiting for arbitration or anyone else’s protection, he strove to settle relevant matters by himself, and in accordance with what he personally believed was right. That’s one quality that all of us could use a little more of today. “Is that true?” some kids ask a storytelling cook, in the 1972 movie “Cowboys.” The old guy turns to look them in the eye, smiles and replies. “Well if it ain’t... it oughta be.”
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Member’s Soapbox: Of Sheepdogs & Vigilantes By Jon McCormick
If you follow the news, the name Brian Knight might be familiar to you. He was the Alberta farmer who found himself in hot water with the “Law” after having the audacity to protect his home and property from a bunch of extremely bold thieves. As it happens so often, police were more interested in prosecuting Mr. Knight for his “vigilantism” rather than those who trespassed, invaded, stole and terrorized. Even Canada’s National Post newspaper argued that the Knight case was anything but. To quote the article: “This is not vigilantism. A vigilante would have fed the thief to the pigs or dressed him in chains and cinder blocks and taken him for a swim in Buffalo Lake. No cops, no lawyers, no problem.” So pay attention thieves, only in Alberta are they not content to sit quietly and wait for the police to arrive and copy serial numbers.” Only in Alberta? Not so! British Columbia has similar communities which have done likewise and others which are prepared to do the same. The time for honest citizens to sit back and allow thieves and bullies to run rampant is over in my opinion. To refresh memories, Brian Knight found three men attempting to steal his ATV on his own property. He confronted them while his spouse telephoned for help. One thief took off on the ATV while the other two fled in a pick-up.
Neighbours were called and joined in the pursuit. Brian chased the ATV thief in his car, caught up to the thief and forced the guy off the road. The thief fled and Brian discharged his shotgun into the air. The thief inadvertently caught a few stray pellets, stopped, and raised his hands and allowed Brian and his friends to complete a citizen’s arrest. Like any good citizen, Brian then called the police to inform them of their location and to turn over the would-be thief and law-breaker. This decision, unfortunately, was to prove an error on his part. Brian, never for a minute anticipated that the police would ultimately turn on him, an honest, lawabiding citizen; guilty only of choosing to protect his property from criminals rather than allow him and his family to be victimized. A fact of life for much of rural Canada is that police response times are often still measured in hours or even days, not the minute’s suburbanites have come to expect and demand. Rural Canadians often have to go it alone, without access to the resources and safeguards of larger centers. That is why a sense of community is so important and why neighbours will go the extra mile to help out their fellows. That is also why Brian and his neighbours felt they had to act in defense of hearth and home, since in reality they were on their own. For his trouble, Brian now faces seven
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criminal charges, including assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and dangerous driving. The thief was taken to Edmonton, bandaged up and released by police without bail after being charged. A few nights later one of the same thieves who had evaded apprehension following the attempted robbery of the Knight Farm, returned to the area and attempted to steal from another of Brian’s neighbours. He was caught redhanded. This time the farmers didn’t call police. Hmmm, I wonder why? Chances are this thief took some “good advice” and immediately left the area, taking with him his felonious skills for parts where he won’t receive such swift justice; but rather the wrist slap he’d come to expect from a so-called justice system that favours the criminal over the victim. Detractors of Brian Knight have argued that he should’ve let the police handle things and simply rolled over and let himself and his family be victimized. Proponents of such a politically correct school of thought devoutly believe that it is better to be a live coward and victim, rather than run the risk of potentially harming the criminal preying upon you; or “forcing” said criminal to deal with you more harshly in retaliation. Some have argued that the defining characteristic of the Canadian male in this day and age is PC-driven
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cowardice and unwillingness to get involved. They point to examples such as L’ecole Polytechnique, where male engineering students meekly walked out of classrooms taken over by crazed gunman Gamil Gharbi 20 years ago; leaving their fellow female classmates behind. You may know Gharbi better as Marc Lepine. He was the architect of the so-called Montreal Massacre. Products of the Trudeau Liberal’s plan to socially re-engineer Canada, those male students simply obeyed orders, collected their things and left their female classmates to die. Liberals believe that this is the true and proper representation of Canadian “maleness.” The actions of Brian Knight and his
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An ambassador, a teacher, and a member. One of the most important functions of the National Firearms Association is making firearms ownership and use relevant to growing numbers of Canadians. To prosper, we must have a steady flow of new shootersa and enthusiasts entering our proud firearms heritage. Your membership and your donations to the National Firearms Association are helping us develop the programs Canada needs to make sure our firearms heritage continues to grow.
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neighbours categorically dispute this assumption. As Sir Edmund Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Well, Brian Knight was a “good man” as were his neighbours and they stepped up to protect themselves and their families from evil men who had chosen to prey on them simply because they thought that they were weak and alone - just as the wolf preys upon an unprotected flock. However, as any farmer can tell you, while wolves may start a fight, a sheepdog will finish it. Ultimately, the sheepdog protects his flock from all predators, big or small, not just because it is his job, but because it is his duty. That
is not vigilantism that is a sheepdog being a sheepdog; especially when the shepherd is nowhere to be found. As for Brian, his court appearance was postponed to sometime this summer. No reason has been provided by the prosecution, however, the community believes it’s because the bad guys have broken their bond and disappeared. Others believe that this is a stalling tactic by the prosecution in hopes that community support for Brian will wane or public interest in the case will disappear. Not likely! Unlike mongrels, sheepdogs stick together and when Brian has his day in court we’ll be there to support him.
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National Firearms Association to help protect my rights to own and use firearms. $100 $50 $25 $________ My Cheque or Money Order enclosed Charge my Visa/MasterCard/AMEX Card #:______________________________ Expiry: ______________ Signature: ________________________________________________ Name: ___________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ City/Town: ________________ Prov:_________ Postal Code: _______ Ph.:__________________________ Fx.: ________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________ Mail this form to: National Firearms Association, Box 52183, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5
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Bill C-391 Continued from Page 27 There were 546 homicide victims in 2000, before the longgun registry began, and 611 in 2008. The key question is whether stricter gun laws, e.g., long-gun registration, are effective in reducing criminal violence. No properly designed empirical study has found that gun laws have been responsible for reducing criminal violence rates (or suicide rates) in any country in the world. See Baker and McPhedran (2007), Hahn et al (2003), Kates and Mauser (2007), Kleck (1991, 1997), Mauser (2007, 2008), Thorp (1997), Wellford et al (2004). Claim #7: The registry is an essential tool for police when taking preventative action and when enforcing prohibition orders to remove firearms from dangerous individuals. “Before a police officer knocks on a door, they want and need to know whether the person behind that door owns a gun,” (Ontario Attorney General, 2009). False: The long-gun registry does not contain information on a gun’s location. There is no requirement to store a long-gun where the owner resides. The registry only contains descriptive information about the registered guns. The police need information they can trust. The most dangerous criminals have not registered their firearms. When police approach a dangerous person or situation, they must assume there could be an illegal weapon. Many serving police officers say the registry is not useful to them. The Auditor General found that the RCMP could not rely upon the registry in court on account of the large number of errors and omissions (Office of the Auditor General, 2002). It is and has always been the nature of gun registries to have such errors and omissions, on a staggering scale. This is why New Zealand abandoned their long-gun registry (Thorp, 1997). The RCMP has reported error rates between 43% and 90% in firearms applications and registry information. A manual search, prompted by an MP’s ATI request, discovered that 4,438 stolen firearms had been successfully re-registered without alerting authorities. Apparently, the thieves had resold the firearms to new owners who (unsuspectingly) had subsequently registered them (Breitkreuz, 2003; Paraskevas, 2003). The Auditor General reported that, “(T)he (Canadian Firearms Program) did not establish targets for data accuracy or methods of measuring the accuracy of data in the CFIS,” and that only 27% of firearms had been verified (Office of 42
the Auditor General, 2006). It should be understood that the irregularities in gun registration stem from multiple causes which will always be with us. Guns carry a lot of stampings, and officials who handle guns to register them often know little about firearms. Despite the best efforts of the Canadian Firearms Program, it is prohibitively expensive to address these problems adequately. Hence it follows that gun registries are always inaccurate.
single crime and can say without a doubt that I have never witnessed the long-gun registry prevent a crime.” SOURCE: Email to Candice Hoeppner, M.P. - October 2009
In sum, Ms Cukier’s claims are wrong again. The long-gun registry does not contain information on a gun’s location. The Auditor General found that the RCMP could not rely upon the registry in court on account of the large number of errors and omissions. Less than one-half of all firearms in Canada are estimated to be listed in the registry, and a large number of records in the registry have errors or are missing important information (Breitkreuz, 2001; Mauser, 2007). Police officers on the front lines do not find the registry helpful.
The registry is a shopping list for criminals. The RCMP has admitted to more than 300 breaches so far. Early in 2009, the RCMP handed over sensitive information to the polling firm Ekos Research Associates for a customer-satisfaction survey. Gun owners believe this is a serious breach of privacy. No registry means no shopping list for computer-hacking criminals (Hoeppner, 2009). In summary, almost all of the inquiries are routinely generated by traffic stops or firearm sales and are not specifically requested by police. More than 97% of these inquiries involve licensing, not the long-gun registry. Inquiries specific to the gun registry amount to only 2.4% of the approximately 3.5 million inquiries into the database in 2008. Once again, Ms Cukier’s claim is wrong.
Claim #8: The gun registry is consulted by police 10,000 times a day and provides important information.
Claim #9: Polls show Canadians believe the gun registry should not be dismantled.
False: Almost all of the “inquiries” are routinely generated by traffic stops or firearm sales and are not specifically requested; nor do police often find them useful.
False: Two recent polls show that the public does not support the long-gun registry. This is consistent with at least 11 earlier polls, all of which have clearly demonstrated that the Canadian public has no faith in the long-gun registry or its ability to increase public safety.
Almost all of these inquiries involve licensing, not the long-gun registry. Inquiries specific to the gun registry amount to only 2.4% of the approximately 3.5 million inquiries into the database in 2008, which has declined each year from 8.3% in 2003 as awareness has grown that actually looking for this data has limited usefulness. Bill C-391 will not change the licensing system so 97.6% of these inquiries will continue as before. Note: the firearms registry only contains gun-specific data, e.g., the serial number and certificate number. Despite its reported irrelevance, some police associations have endorsed it. These endorsements may reflect where they receive funding and are currently under scrutiny. The majority of MPs who voted for Bill C-391 were right to ignore the disingenuous claims of these police associations. Here is what one serving RCMP corporal (who requested anonymity) had to say: “I certainly do not understand how the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police can claim that the registry is a useful tool. I think their doing so is more a statement of how long it has been since any of them has been in touch with front line policing. I supervise 10 RCMP members on a daily basis and have done so for quite some time. I have never once in my career found the registry to be a useful tool in solving a
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A recent survey by Angus Reid (Nov 2009) asked the following question: “The Canadian Firearms Registry, also known as the longgun registry, requires the registration of all non-restricted firearms in Canada. From what you have seen, read or heard, do you think this registry has been successful or unsuccessful in preventing crime in Canada?”
Successful Unsuccessful It has had no effect on crime Not sure
11% 46% 32% 11%
This was corroborated in an Ekos poll, also conducted in November, 2009, that found 38% supported abolishing the registry, while 31% wanted to keep it; 31% were undecided or did not respond.
The Ontario Attorney General has made the same mistake that is repeated by the Coalition and others. The licensing system, which is not affected by C-391, is only able to identify that someone in the residence may own a gun, not where it is stored
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Claim #10: Stronger gun laws have helped reduce gunrelated death, injury, violence and suicide. False. No properly designed study has been able to show that gun laws have been responsible for reducing criminal violence rates or suicide rates in any country in the world. There is no evidence that Bill C-68 has reduced the homicide rate or the suicide rate in Canada. Gun deaths have been declining since the 1970s, long before Bill C-68 and the creation of the long-gun registry. Gang-related homicides have increased dramatically since the mid 1990s. The long-gun registry has had no obvious effect on gang-related violence. (See attached Chart 3). Homicide rates have fallen impressively in both the United States and in Canada since the early 1990s. Homicide rates have plummeted 45% in the US, compared to just 32% in Canada over the same time period (See attached Chart 4). The US did this without the benefit of Canadian gun laws. In fact, the trend in the US over the past twenty years has been to make gun ownership easier for licensed citizens, not harder. No properly designed empirical study has found that gun laws have been responsible for reducing criminal violence rates (or suicide rates) in any country in the world. See Baker and McPhedran (2007), Hahn et al (2003), Kates and Mauser (2007), Kleck (1991, 1997), Mauser (2007, 2008), Thorp (1997), Wellford et al (2004). Conclusions To sum up, every one of the claims made by Ms Cukier to oppose bill C-391 is false or misleading. 1. The problem is not access to guns. Canadian gun owners are less likely than other Canadians to commit homicide. 2. In domestic homicides, the problem is the murder of family members, not the means of killing. Rifles and shotguns are not the weapons most likely to be used in domestic homicides. Knives are. 3. There is no empirical support for the claim that the longgun registry has reduced spousal murders. Spousal murders (with and without guns) have slowly been declining since the mid-1970s. 4. There is no empirical support for the claim that stronger gun laws have helped reduce gun violence. In fact, the use of firearms in homicide has increased by 24% since the beginning of the long-gun registry. 5. Firearms stolen from legal owners are not a significant source of crime guns. All studies of crime guns, or guns used in murders, agree that stolen registered firearms are infre-
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quently involved. It is licensing, not registration, that is essential to prevent dangerous people from getting guns. 6. Firearms do not pose more problems in smaller cities. Homicide is a particularly acute problem in large cities where ironically there are fewer legal gun owners. 7. Rank and file police members do not find the registry useful. In approaching dangerous situations, the police must assume there is a weapon. The long-gun registry does not contain information on a gun’s location, but only descriptive information about the guns that have been registered. When enforcing prohibition orders to remove firearms from dangerous people, the police cannot rely upon the registry because of the large number of errors and omissions. 8. Almost all inquiries to the gun registry are routinely generated by traffic stops or firearm sales. Almost all of these inquiries involve licensing, not the long-gun registry. Rank and file police say that this information is not useful to them. 9. Polls show that the Canadian public does not support the long-gun registry. 10. No properly designed study has been able to show that gun laws have been responsible for reducing criminal violence rates or suicide rates in any country in the world. In closing, it is important to note that MPs listen to their constituents. Ours is a diverse country and this is reflected in our parliament. Parliamentary democracy means that party leaders should respect the opinions of all MPs. Bill C-391 passed second reading because constituents have told their MPs they
want their tax money invested in programs that actually fight crime. More police officers and better technologies are more effective routes to improving public safety. Bill C-391 is a simple and straightforward bill that proposes to dismantle the long-gun registry for non-restricted long guns, nothing more. Bill C-391 leaves in place the rest of Canada’s gun control regime, including the requirement to obtain a licence, the screening of applicants, the requirement to register restricted and prohibited long guns, the need to take and pass the firearms safety course, and the rules on safe storage and transportation of firearms. In sum, the test of any governmental program should be whether it meets its goals. In this case, the long-gun registry has failed. It has failed to save lives. It has failed to reduce murder, suicide or aggravated assault rates. The long-gun registry continues to cost Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars each year. This money could be better spent on other more useful law enforcement measures, or be directed towards a number of other key priorities for Canadians such as health care.
Editor’s Note: Please check out www.nfa.ca for the Professor Mauser’s full paper and complete list of references:
Crime Control Continued from Page 31 from the background mass of general enquires about individuals. When we do this we immediately see that the vast majority of enquires have nothing to do with guns and the paperwork system is providing information that the officer hasn’t asked for. An interesting thing about the numbers is the steady increase in inquires as more automated systems link up to the firearms program and the steady decrease in the percentage of times firearms data is actually being sought. Average Daily Queries to the CFRO (2009 report) Type People
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Individual Name
1,561
1,820
2,397
4,001
4,262
6,440
7,059
Address
27
42
1,434
2,268
2,364
2,574
2,758
Telephone#
7
9
12
11
14
15
16
Other
21
16
17
21
21
22
0
sub total Firearms
1,616 1,887 3,860 6,301 6,661 9,051 9,833
Serial#
128
130
143
187
176
202
258
Licence#
47
57
74
89
121
141
176
Certificate#
20
13
14
15
16
19
20
sub total
195
200
231
291
313
522
454
% firearms related
10.77% 9.58% 5.65% 4.42% 4.49% 5.55% 4.41%
Total
1,811 2,087 4,091 6,591 6,973 9,413 10,287
One rather suspects that the police have already figured out that the regulated, law -abiding gun owner is not where the danger comes from and that the system is providing a dangerously false sense of security. One might also suspect that most of the small percentage of enquires that are actually about guns are tied to police involvement in paperwork issues created by the system itself. Once we have eliminated official spin and wishful thinking we find that the crime control payoff, in terms of homicides, for our 2005- 2006 CFC budget of $68.5 million was 12 leads on individuals and 13 leads on guns. (Averages are used due to the multi-year nature of many homicide investigations.) How many of these leads solved a case and how many where merely paperwork afterthoughts is unknown. Given the system’s costs and its miniscule impact on crime, one is left questioning whether the paperwork system is a misguided delusion or simply a politically motivated feel-good fraud. Bruce Gold is a freelance researcher and writer interested in a number of public policy issues. He has a website at http://www.FactFallacyFirearms.org and can be reached for comment at goldb@telus.net 44
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In Memoriam
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It is with profound sadness that the National Firearms Association announces the passing of our dear friend, Mr. Bob Chapman of Orillia, Ontario on Monday, March 22, 2010. Bob fought a very courageous and dignified battle with Cancer before his passing on March 22nd. He leaves his beloved wife Rita, devoted children and grandchildren, not to mention his ever faithful dog Sam, to mourn his passing. All of his friends, here at the National Firearms Association, would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Rita and family for their loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time. Bob worked tirelessly for many years supporting the rights of firearm owners as a provincial executive with the NFA, various gun clubs and political parties. Last spring Bob and Rita were presented with the first David A. Tomlinson Memorial Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the recreational firearms community and for the vast number of projects they had completed for the NFA and Mr. Tomlinson. He will be missed.
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By Grayson Penney VP Message ...Continued from Page 11
Teacher... Continued from Page 21
The waters of this particular issue are muddied further by the fact that there are several dozen private owners of restricted (by barrel length) Norinco Type-97 rifles that just received revocation letters from the RCMP. These owners have been informed that their registration certificates, which were duly issued by the Canadian Firearms Center several years ago, have been revoked and they are ordered to surrender their firearms for confiscation and destruction. This is the scenario the gun control advocates promised would never happen – the Canadian Firearms Registry being used to confiscate legally purchased firearms! This is a slippery slope we face, because once the T-97s are gone, what is to stop the gun grabbers from trying it with other similar looking “evil” rifles? How long until Remington semi-auto hunting rifles and Beretta or Benelli semi-auto duck guns are on the chopping block? It is not just the black gun owners who need to be worried here. We cannot permit this particular camel to get its nose under the tent. We must pull out all the stops to quash this policy cold. To do that we will need your help in the days and weeks to come as this issue develops. For now, we are urging all current owners of T-97 and High Standard Model 10 shotguns to take their revocation letters to their nearest provincial court house and see the Clerk of the Court to file for a reference hearing on the revocation. This buys us all time and will allow current owners to keep their firearms until the legal process comes to a resolution or until we can effect a positive political resolution in Ottawa. While, this seemingly obscure issue affects “only” a handful of T-97 and High Standard shotgun owners, at least from the perspective of RCMP and gun control bureaucrats, it also highlight the veracity of National Firearms Association arguments against the registration of legal firearms in Canada. The next time you’re debating a Liberal or gun control advocate about Bill C-391, remind them about the now broken promises of the Chretien and Martin governments which promised Canadian gun owners that registration would never equal confiscation. Obviously prior NFA warnings have proven well founded. For now, spread the word and start writing those letters people!
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My concentration was total and in that moment my focus was on stance, properly shouldering my gun, the swing and follow-through and the breaking of the trigger. The round was over almost before I knew it. It was then I realized that my brain must have gone into over-drive producing endorphins as I hadn’t even thought about either the chronic pain with which I lived every day or my broken body. On the firing line I was whole again and the “shooter’s spell” had me firmly in its grasp. Thinking back at that moment, I wondered how I could’ve forgotten the sheer joy and euphoria I had always experienced when shooting. Too soon, we headed back to the clubhouse, but not before Bert gave me an impromptu tour of the indoor handgun range and took the time to provide some additional hands-on safety and marksmanship instruction on pistol shooting. Suddenly, it became apparent to me that I could conceivably make a return to handgun shooting as well, with Bert’s help and patience as my teacher and friend. On the drive home, I became aware of the scent of gunpowder on my person and the feeling of satisfaction I felt after returning to a sport I loved and one I had thought I’d never be able to participate in again. While I couldn’t have done it without Bert, I also realized that the rest was up to me. He couldn’t spoon-feed me forever, and he’d given much of his own personal time for his own shooting pursuits that I did not want to impose further; even though I knew Bert did not see it as an imposition. Against the odds, I successfully made a return to skeet shooting and was to enjoy many further friendly outings with my teacher and friend Bert Cronkwright.
Zero Tolerance Cont. from Page 17 “Zero Tolerance” policies take that discretion, trust and responsibility away from the principal and force them to take punitive action against the student, whether they want to or not. No matter if we’re talking about a “finger gun,” “breaded chicken finger pistol,” “Lego rifle,” or “stick figure gun,” these policies mandate disciplinary actions that the average citizen would view as being way out of proportion to the actual breach of school policy or rules. These mandated reactions to knee-jerk, non-events put otherwise good kids in the position of being treated like criminals, socially isolate them from friends and classmates, and often terrify them for no good reason. The kids come to a realization that they allegedly did something “bad,” but they really have no conception of what exactly they did that was so terrible. No distinction is made between toy guns, “adapted gun-like shapes” and the real thing. Where is the justice in that? How exactly is our children’s safety improved by it? What happened to actually educating these kids? What exactly are we teaching them and their classmates by victimizing them through uncompromising fiat drafted by some nameless bureaucrat who was more interested in protecting the school board against legal action than the welfare of the students involved? Every one of the cases referenced could have been dealt with by a stern talk in the principal’s office, perhaps a friendly, non-confrontational telephone call to the parents, or perhaps a parent conference in the more “extreme” cases. No expulsion, no suspension, no police and no press. If today’s parents or school boards actually feel a need to expel kids over chicken fingers and Legos there can’t be too many pressing problems actually facing our schools and, indeed, our society today. I guess we can forget childhood obesity, illiteracy, drugs, gang violence and underage pregnancy?
Unfortunately, I no longer shoot skeet much, as I’m a senior citizen and now suffering from Osteoporosis. Therefore, the better part of valour was to scale back on the big boomers. However, that hasn’t ended my shooting career for the second time. Remember that tour of the handgun ranges that Bert gave me? I now enjoy an active recreational handgun career instead. I know my limitations and have no need to overcompensate for my disabilities, I just don’t let them control my life anymore and if I have to work that extra bit harder to overcome and adapt to my changed circumstances, so be it.
Rather than addressing real problems, zero tolerance consistently punishes kids for having committed the “crime” of being kids. Suspending or expelling good kids is beyond ludicrous when no actionable threat existed. I’m not trying to minimize the tragedy of past school shootings, but I am questioning what lessons have been taken from them. Certainly, reasonable safety precautions should be taken, however, zero tolerance is not reasonable. What we need is a reinjection of basic common sense into our parenting, our teaching and throughout our society. That is the only solution to the question of kids & guns. Opting to maintain the status quo or continuing to perpetuate official polices of zero tolerance is the truly criminal act here, not a child pointing a chicken finger and pretending it is a gun.
I still owe an outstanding debt of gratitude to Bert. Reeducating me must have been the real life equivalent to “Mission Impossible,” but he did it! Surely his devotion to helping others enjoy the sport of shooting allowed him to tolerate my inadequacies. It is a reflection of his personal worth as an individual that never at anytime was he condescending to me as a woman, much less one with disabilities. In the midst of my re-entry to the sport I gave Bert a bookmark as a token of my appreciation. The notation on the bookmark sums up his advocacy as a Firearms Instructor. “Time Spent Teaching Is Never Wasted.” Thanks Bert.
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