By Christopher di Armani
web posted May 22, 2006
Now that Auditor General Sheila Fraser's report is out, we know for certain the Firearms Centre not only continues to be a black hole for our tax dollars, but that the Liberals deliberately cooked the books in order to funnel more cash into it.
Steven Harper's government has vowed to clean up the mess left by a dozen years of Liberal rule.
At issue is the holy grail of the anti-gun crowd, the gun registry. Every time the thought of killing this sacred cow surfaces, the usual faces trot out the same tired old excuses for keeping it alive.
They steadfastly ignore all evidence showing how useless the system is, instead spout off their decade-old mantra "If it saves just one life!", expecting everyone to bow down before their great wisdom. So please. Don't confuse them with the facts.
Facts like Canada's Firearms Act is documented as having caused at least one death. But 15-year-old Martin Angnatok is not a subject they want to discuss. It shines the light of reality on their little charade. And for God's sake, don't talk about the Firearms Act's Aboriginal Exemption, which gave Martin's murderer his firearm, despite a pre-existing firearms prohibition.
And let's definitely not talk about the fact Martin's murderer has never faced any charges, let alone a trial for killing the 15-year-old.
In the May 17 edition of the Ottawa Sun, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty spouted off more rhetoric. ""Police continue to support the gun registry. I just think it is really important for the police to know if they are going to call upon a particular residence... to have access to information that might tell them whether or not there is a gun in there."
It's been said before, but I'll say it again in case anyone had their head in the sand and missed it. Any police officer responding to a call who checks the registry and actually believes what it tells them is begging to be murdered.
There. I said it.
No, it's not a pretty thought.
But if you doubt the veracity of that statement, I suggest you ask slain 25-year-old Quebec Provincial Police Constable Valerie Gignac. Unfortunately, Gignac never stood a chance, in part due to the much-touted gun registry. Why should a fine young woman like Gignac have to give her life for their sacred cow?
She shouldn't.
Or how about the four RCMP officers slain in Meyerthorpe, AB on March 23, 2005. Confronted with a man, James Rozko, who for decades had terrorized everyone in the area, these fine young officers also paid the highest possible price for gun control.
For Rozko had been the subject of a firearms prohibition for ages. So, explain to me exactly HOW the Firearms Act prevented Rozko from obtaining the .308 rifle that killed those four RCMP officers?
Oh yeah, it can't.
What nobody supporting Canada's Firearms Act wants to face is the ugly truth that not a single violent offender is affected by the Act.
Why?
The Firearms Act only applies to the law-abiding, the hunters, target shooters, gun collectors of our fine nation.
IF you have a firearms prohibition against you, there is nothing in the Firearms Act that concerns you. Nothing.
But don't say that out loud. The advocates of "gun control" want nothing to do with pesky little facts like that.
McGuinty needs to get his facts straight. "Police" do not continue to support the registry. Police Associations, who are, if you dig into what they really are, are in reality just another lobby group begging government for funds.
But ask almost any front-line officer, and they will tell you the blunt reality is they have no use for the system.
"But police access the registry over 6,500 times every day!" they shout. (A month ago it was 2,000, then 5,000...now it's magically up to 6,500, almost overnight.)
Yeah, they sure do. But don't dare point out the fact that practically all of these "accesses" are automated, so each time anyone is pulled over for speeding, for example, and the officer runs a drivers license, it generates a request to the registry. Access CPIC and it automatically accesses the registry.
Useless, but hey, it makes for a great stat to be shouted from the rooftops.
Pity it doesn't actually mean anything...
During the recent election, Conservative candidates the land over made much of the party platform to get rid of the firearms registry.
While Stockwell Day's announcement falls far short of what most gun owners want, it is refreshing to see a government actually take steps towards keeping a promise.
Who'd of thought it possible in Canada? 
Christopher di Armani is a freelance writer based in Lytton, BC. He can be contacted at christopher@diArmani.com or visited on the web at http://diArmani.com.