I wrote a letter of complaint to an office of the federal liberal party in Alberta in regards to the recently proposed legislation regarding the banning of handguns. I received the following e-mail reply, which was neither comforting or enlightening. As usual, a politically motivated tactic to divert attention away from the proposed ban to appeal to other elements of the announcement was spun like a black widow's web. Thoughts?
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Dear Mr. B,

Thank you for writing with your concerns surrounding the proposed hand
gun ban. I can certainly see your frustration on the issue, and let
you know that I have spoken to a number of Albertans in the same
situation as yourself.

I would like to first point out that the legislation only makes
"possible" the opportunity for provinces to decide to ban handguns. As
doing so falls under federal jurisdiction under the criminal code,
provinces would otherwise not have this option. You should also know
that Premier Klein, among others, has announced he will not enact the
policy and you will therefore not be affected by any changes it may
bring.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion surrounding the
announcement. The proposed ban remains to be only a small part of a
larger policy for safer Canadian cities and communities. The larger,
more important aspects of the announcement include increased funding to
the RCMP to graduate hundreds of more officers per year ($10 million a
year over 10 years), $225 million to create special RCMP "teams" to
work in accordance with the provinces and municipalities on issues that
most affect them (ranging from gun crime to gang violence and drug
trafficking). A federally funded $50 million rural community safety
plan to provide resources to their specific priorities.

Finally, there remains two types of handguns - those that are
restricted and those that are prohibited. Restricted handguns will
continue to be monitored through a registry (as they have been for 60
some odd years now), and re-licensing fees for long guns have been
terminated. Legitimate sportsmen and target shooters will be exempt
from the ban, no matter what province they live in, so long as they
meet certain requirements, which may in fact include yourself anyway.

I hope you find some of this information helpful, and I would be happy
to provide more specific details should you be interested. Quite
simply, the safety initiative looks to work towards safer cities and
communities - a right all Canadians should enjoy.

Sincerely,

Jane Wisener
Northern Alberta Director
Directrice, Alberta Nord

phone: 780.424.1984
cell: 780.554.5455
email: jwisener@liberalalberta.ca
http://www.liberalalberta.ca

Hooray for you, Matt B. Now if the rest of us would do the same thing, we might make a difference!

Good for you Matt. People like you are the ones that will make a difference.

I also sent an e-mail to my MP. Here is his response.

Dear Mr. Behling,
Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the recent announcement of a ban on the possession of handguns in Canada.

Focusing on the roots of the problem of gun related crimes is very important and is one aspect of our multifaceted approach to the problem. However, we must reduce the availlability of illegal weapons as well.

The number of legal handguns in Canada is unknown, but is estimated to range from 400,000 to 1.5 million. The proliferation of illegal weapons in Canada is a result of legal guns being stolen from homes and businesses in the course of a B & Es or illegal guns being smuggled into the country, mainly from the USA. The accessibility of these weapons is contributing to a large increase in gun-related crimes that has resulted in too many young people and innocent bystanders being killed or seriously wounded.

As a government, we have announced significant new funding to bolster policing at our borders and in our communities, and tougher minimum sentences for possession of handguns and crimes involving the trafficking in firearms. We need to choke off the supply of illegal handguns, particularly weapons brought into Canada illegally and those sold on the black market.

Legitimate target shooters who meet requirements would be eligible for an exemption to the handgun ban.
At the same time our government is dealing with the root causes of crime with more investment in community development, youth services and skills training. This would include a $50-million Gun Violence and Gang Prevention Fund to focus on youth at risk and continued investment in skills development programs to engage young people in the workforce. Having spent a large part of my life working with youth in conflict with the law, I know that we if we do not offer youth an alternative to a life of crime we cannot have safe communities.

We cannot afford to fail: young lives are at stake.

Sincerely,
Hon. Andrew Telegdi, P.C., M.P.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Behling:

The number of legal handguns in Canada is unknown, but is estimated to range from 400,000 to 1.5 million.

They've had a registry for handguns for 70 years and they don't have a clue how many legal ones there are? And they want to throw even more money at a completely useless program?

That statement alone should be enough to sway anyone who is still foolish enough to even consider voting Liberal.

It sure sounds to me like this is one PC clown that needs to be replaced by the riding commity. derf

I will never trust any Liberal politican.

Lies, lies, lies, just to get re-elected.

Peter