Stay safe; stay armed.
Posted on 12/22/2002 4:44:18 PM PST by Clive
STELLARTON, N.S. (CP) - Allister Muir says he'll risk going to jail rather than register his gun. Gently holding his lever-action Browning deer rifle, the 46-year-old pizzeria owner and longtime hunter stands in his living room before the neatly decorated Christmas tree and the rows of photos of his three children.
In just over a week, the Canadian Firearms Centre wants the heavyset Nova Scotian and an estimated 2.3 million other firearms owners to have applied to register all of their estimated 7.9 million guns.
It won't happen, says Muir, who owns six guns he calls "the tools" he needs to fulfil his passion for hunting deer in the woodlands of Nova Scotia.
"I'm never going to register."
He didn't meet the Jan. 1, 2001, deadline to apply to the Miramichi, N.B.,-based firearms centre for his firearms licence. He also doesn't intend to apply for the Jan. 1, 2003, deadline to register details about his rifles.
Muir and other opponents say they believe registration won't prevent criminals from obtaining guns, wastes huge amounts of public money and will eventually lead to confiscation of firearms by the authorities.
In Ottawa, a spokesman for the centre says those refusing to comply are a dwindling minority.
In just the last week, said David Austin, special communications adviser for the centre, about 200,000 more guns were registered, bringing the total to about 5.5 million.
"Reality bites," Austin said in an interview. "So here's reality. Ninety per cent of the firearms owners in this country have licences. Seventy per cent have registration certificates already."
But Muir says the truth is nobody really knows how many people haven't registered their guns. He estimates that at least 300,000 unlicensed gun owners have a total of about one million unregistered firearms.
If police were to stop Muir while he's carrying one of his rifles on a deer-hunting expedition and request his licence, he knows the possible penalties.
In the new year, an unlicensed gun owner with an unregistered gun faces Criminal Code charges that could lead to a $2,000 fine and/or six months in jail. The Crown can also elect to prosecute for a maximum five years in prison, depending on whether there have been prior offences.
"I've been talking to my wife about it for at least three years now trying to prepare for the fact I might have to go," said Muir, who has consulted a lawyer about possible Charter of Rights defences in a legal case.
"This is all I think about. I know I'm prepared to do whatever it takes."
Muir's declaration of civil disobedience is one signal of still-active resistance to Ottawa's gun registry laws.
There are others.
By this Saturday, a rally of people opposed to the Firearms Act is expected in a farmer's field in North Battleford, Sask.
The protest will feature an effigy of Prime Minister Jean Chretien pouring monopoly money down a toilet.
The action is a reference to the inflated price tag for gun registration, which has mushroomed from an initial estimate of $2 million to $1 billion by 2005.
Meanwhile, groups such as the National Firearms Association are urging gun owners to write "unknown" in registry questionnaires when asked to describe their firearms, forcing added administrative costs on the centre.
Besides Muir, there are also activists across the country willing to publicly state they'll never register.
Wayne Fields, president of the Unregistered Unlicensed Firearms Association, an Alberta-based gun group, is among the holdouts.
"I don't think law enforcement has the will to enforce this at this time," said the resident of Windsor, Ont.
"I'm a prime candidate, but I'm not that fearful. If they were going to come after me they would have a long time ago."
Similarly, Phil Hewkin, a resident of Prince George, B.C., owns 17 unregistered guns.
"I won't bury my guns or hide them like some kind of modern day pirate. I will continue to hunt and target practice and come and get me, I'm not going anywhere," he said during a telephone interview.
"If police or a SWAT team shows up at my door to confiscate my legally acquired property that I've owned for years and years, I'll refuse to let them in. I won't welcome them into my house to take my property."
Austin said this kind of viewpoint is vocal but small, while most Canadians are unwilling to gain a criminal record.
"That shows up if you want a job or want to cross the border. I don't think people want to risk that," he said.
"You will find out a lot of people opposed have already registered and are licensed."
At the gun clubs and in the hunting community, there's evidence that some opponents are quietly either sending in the paperwork or filling out the Web page form.
Jim Hill, a 53-year-old former Mountie, said he objects strongly to the licensing and registration systems, but will send in his forms anyway.
"I'm a former RCMP officer," said the resident of Fletcher's Lake, N.S. "Regardless of how onerous I might think these laws are, they're still the law and it would go against my nature not to abide by them."
After the deadline passes, don't expect a quick crackdown from police, said Vince Westwick, legal counsel to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
There's a six-month grace period for people who've applied but haven't received their certificate.
"Are police likely to start culling the system to see who hasn't registered and start conducting investigations, I don't think so," he said.
He said if police have entered a home for another reason and see a firearm, they may ask to see registration papers. They also might question hunters who have visible firearms.
Muir says he's ready for that eventuality and ready to declare he doesn't have the paperwork.
"It's not just for me. It's for my family. . . . How far does this go? When does the individual snuffed out of this? How far do we go before this activity is prohibited?"
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The Canadian Firearms Centre says that as of Jan. 1, Bill C-68 requires owners of firearms to be licensed and to have registered their firearms.
Total number of guns in Canada: 7.9 million.
Total registered as of Dec. 18: 5.5 million.
Original deadline for owner's licences: Jan. 1, 2001.
Cost to register: $18 for a paper application. Online registration is free.
Registration requirements: Gun owner must have a licence first, which requires a police check as well as a course in firearms safety.
Grace period: Ottawa has announced a six-month grace period due to the backlog at the firearms centre. But it still wants licensed gun owners to apply before Jan. 1.
After the deadline: Gun owners can still apply for a licence and register their firearms. There are no penalties for being late.
Arguments for having registry: Allows police to track guns. Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police say it will encourage better storage and safety.
Arguments against: Costs have ballooned; some gun groups argue registration does little to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms.
SOURCE: Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police; Canadian Firearms Centre Web site; Law-abiding Unregistered Firearms Association.)
Methinks there is the smell of revolution in the air.
At least that toilet will use more than 1.6 gallons per flush.
Stay safe; stay armed.
Here's the reality, gummint butt-boy: You'll be out of a job in 2004, if not much much sooner. Cretin is just one more screwup from a government collapse.
Stay safe; stay armed.
The usual "cant' bother to read the article-but I've read the headline and will post my incomprehensible blather anyway" type of post.
While I doubt the revolution is at hand in Canada, some are still trying. I think we should be encouraging them and not looking for one more reason to bash Canada.
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