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Long-gun records destroyed, Quebec data spared because of court case
Friday, November 2nd, 2012Original Story Via: Winnipeg Free Press
OTTAWA — The federal government says millions of records of registered long guns have all been destroyed, with the exception of court-protected data from Quebec.
A spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews confirmed the registry’s destruction “as of last night” after gun enthusiasts began spreading the word.
No formal news release appears to have been issued by a Conservative government that has made repeal and destruction of the long-gun registry one of its bedrock promises.
Nor has the government said exactly how much taxpayer money will be saved by repealing the registry, although a study by The Canadian Press suggests it is a small fraction of the millions spent annually on gun licensing.
Last year there were almost eight million firearms logged in the registry, including more than seven million non-restricted weapons.
The latest data from the RCMP shows that, as of last July, there are still more than 564,000 restricted firearms and more than 191,000 prohibited weapons in the federal gun registry.
“Our Conservative government is proud to say that as of last night, all contents of the long-gun registry have been destroyed, except those related to Quebec,” Toews’s director of communications Julie Carmichael said in an email Thursday.
“Make no mistake, the tax-and-spend NDP will not hesitate to bring back the long gun registry. Now that these data have been deleted, they can never be recovered — even by Thomas Mulcair,” she wrote.
While there was no formal news release from Public Safety, groups such as the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters issued public praise for the move after Toews apparently told representatives at a federal-provincial meeting Thursday in Regina.
“We are delighted that the Harper government has followed through on its promise in such a timely fashion,” Greg Farrant of the Ontario association said in a release.
The Canadian Sports Shooting Association, meanwhile, issued a statement telling its members to “rest-assured, we are the envy of international firearms advocates everywhere” because Canada is almost alone internationally in rolling back gun-control laws.
“The removal of the registry is, however, more nibble than bite,” added the commentary from the association.
The emboldened gun lobby now wants to see recent rules on marking guns repealed and some are also calling for an end to the licensing system.
— The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 2, 2012 A22
CANADA: National gun-owner database lives on despite registry repeal, angering some
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012Published Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 2:40PM CST
Last Updated Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 5:28PM CST
OTTAWA — Seven months after the federal long gun registry was repealed in every province but Quebec, a small but vocal faction of gun owners is feeling deeply betrayed by the Conservative government.
A registry of gun owners — if not their specific weapons — remains in force under federal licensing provisions that were part of the same 1995 Liberal gun control bill so loathed by the gun lobby. It’s a reality to which some sport shooting enthusiasts are just waking up.
Lloyd, a retiree in Uxbridge, Ont., said he was shocked to find a licence renewal form in his mail this summer after celebrating the official April 6 end of the federal registry.
He’s written to a Conservative MP and a cabinet minister seeking an explanation, and so far is without a response.
“I’m not planning to renew it,” said Lloyd, who asked that his full name not be published because he’s about to become an unlicensed gun owner.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not the law right now…. I know I’m not alone.”
Lloyd is indeed not alone — so much so that he perhaps need not fear disclosing his full name.
A Saskatoon-based organization called the Canadian Unlicensed Firearms Owners Association has been taking the fight straight to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, whose portfolio includes the RCMP and the Canada Firearms Centre.
“Your duplicity in dealing with firearms owners seems to know no bounds,” Edward Hudson, the unlicensed group’s secretary, thundered in the opening line of a May 9 letter to Toews.
The letter, copied to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, ended several hundred words later with demands for Toews’s resignation.
Announcing oneself as a law-breaker while demanding the ouster of the public safety minister requires a certain chutzpah — especially since Toews was clearly on record describing the reality of the gun registry’s repeal.
“First and foremost, all individuals will still be required to be licensed to possess a firearm,” Toews told the House of Commons last Oct. 26 as the repeal bill was debated.
“We are committed to ensuring that only responsible and qualified individuals own firearms.”
His office did not respond to an interview request.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Greg Cox confirmed in an email that “everyone who possesses or acquires a firearm must still be licensed to do so, whether the firearm falls into the non-restricted, restricted or prohibited class.”
“To be clear, licences for individuals must be renewed every five years, which requires that applicants for a new or renewed firearms licence be screened for criminal records, as well as provide personal references,” wrote Cox.
That information is then stored in a searchable database that police can use to help determine if weapons may be on a premise — one of many arguments used by police groups and the gun-control lobby to advocate for keeping the weapons-specific registry in place.
Gun owners must have a licence to legally buy ammunition, said Cox, and the Criminal Code includes a mandatory three-year minimum sentence for the “unlawful purchase” of ammunition.
As for any anti-licence protest movement by gun owners — whether wilfully or in the mistaken belief that licences have been repealed — Cox said there’s no evidence to date.
Citing 2011 figures, the RCMP put licence renewals at over 90 per cent “so the vast majority of firearms owners understand the difference between their firearms licence, which is a plastic photo ID card, and a registration certificate,” for firearms, said Cox.
In fact, it may still be too early to see what impact the gun registry’s repeal has had on licensing.
The most recent RCMP numbers available for this year — as of June — show 1,889,650 licensed gun owners in Canada.
That’s down more than 13,000 from December 2011, but it does not necessarily indicate a trend. In June 2011, for instance, there were 12,400 fewer licensed gun owners than in June 2012.
Gun enthusiasts complain they continue to get mixed messages from a Conservative government they’ve long felt was their champion.
Last month, Toews greeted a Quebec court ruling to preserve the registry information in Quebec with a blanket denunciation: “Our Conservative government will continue to fight against any measures that needlessly target law-abiding hunters, farmers and sport shooters.”
And so gun lobby groups continue to push the Conservatives to fully gut the licensing provisions.
Earlier this month, Sheldon Clare, the president of the Edmonton-based Canada’s National Firearms Association, or NFA, wrote Toews to “strongly recommend the repeal of the requirement to hold a firearms licence merely to own one’s own property and that limiting of access be done to those specific individuals who have been convicted of violence.”
Coupled with the well-documented unhappiness of gun control advocates at the registry’s repeal, both sides of the rancorous gun debate appear to be deeply dismayed.
Into this atmosphere of suspicion and uncertainty, a federal government that has budgeted at least $64 million for government advertising this year has committed none of it towards informing Canadians about the current reality of gun legislation.
“The RCMP has no advertising budget for the changes brought about by the recent legislation; however the RCMP (Canadian Firearms Program) website and online fact sheets have been updated accordingly,” wrote Sgt. Cox.
Obama and Holder Using ‘Fast and Furious’ for Gun Grab
Thursday, March 15th, 2012International Association for the Protection of
Civilian Arms Rights
It is now official—
OVER ONE-FOURTH OF THE HOUSE WANTS ERIC HOLDER TO GO!
There are 120 U.S. House members who have signed, indicating they have either publicly insisted on Eric Holder’s resignation or have conveyed a NO CONFIDENCE in his job performance via a formal House resolution, or both.
Nearly ONE-HALF of the Republican caucus has also expressed the same outcome. There are three United States Senators who have called for the Attorney General’s resignation: Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma. Joining their ranks are two sitting governors who want Eric Holder GONE—Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas.
All major Republican candidates for president have also pushed for Holder’s resignation.
Yet, the beat goes on!
The stonewalling continues!
The liberal media continues not to report on Fast and Furious with any concern!
Barack Obama received a letter last June from 31 HOUSE DEMOCRATS asking him to order Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to comply with the congressional investigation and requests of documents having to do with the scandal.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s sixth Congressional appearance on the important matter last month again showed that the Attorney General LIED TO CONGRESS UNDER OATH!
Contempt of Congress and perjury charges should be filed!
Operation Fast and Furious was planned and executed to make the case for gun control laws by manufacturing an international gun running crisis as an excuse to pass Obama’s United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.
This is an outrage!
Will you join us in calling for Eric Holder to resign and be prosecuted for these crimes?
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has subpoenaed 80,000 pages worth of documents from the Department of Justice. Under Eric Holder’s direction, only 7,000 documents have been received by the committee. LESS THAN 10%! However, the DOJ’s “Inspector General” has received all the documents!
Yes, the nation’s highest law enforcement person is thumbing his nose at Congress!
Holder has not given any legal reason to withhold the documents!
Of course his “commander-in-chief,” Barack Obama, has “full confidence” in his top-rated minion. This is sickening.
Murdered federal Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s family has waited for true justice. In fact, they have had to file a lawsuit to try to get answers!
Will the Obama administration ever be accountable for this gross injustice?
Will Eric Holder ever offer a real apology to the Terry family, Mexico, and the American Public?
Will Eric Holder ever own up to the fact that Fast and Furious actually killed a lot of people and was his fault?
According to The Daily Caller, “Allegations are now surfacing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was also murdered with weapons the Obama administration allowed to ‘walk’ into the hands of drug cartel members.”
Patriotic Americans have literally “had enough.” THE TIME IS NOW—ERIC HOLDER MUST GO AND THERE MUST BE A FULL INVESTIGATION! While mainstream media seem to ignore this ongoing story, we want the whole truth…and nothing but the truth!
The Terry family especially deserves answers as to why their son had to die for this twisted game Obama and Holder are playing.
NO ONE should ever LIE under oath to the United States Congress—especially the number one law enforcement person in America!
This is a disgrace.
I only have one question to ask AG Eric Holder: Sir, do you have any honor at all?
It has already been proven through Department of Justice emails that he knew about the murder of Agent Brian Terry MONTHS before he claimed to have any knowledge of the operation! That is perjury. He lied to the United States Congress.
Yet, in many cases, the people who have been lied to – our elected officials in Congress – THREE-FOURTHS are seemingly holding back from taking direct action to get to truth and justice! That’s why your action so very important!
While Mr. Obama is busy apologizing to the Afghan people, what about the 300-plus deaths directly traced to the OBAMA/HOLDER Fast and Furious plan? What about the nearly 2,000 who have been wounded thanks to Attorney General Eric Holder?
When will that apology come?
Rep. Darrell Issa believes: “(The Department of) Justice has blood on their hands.” He also affirms that the Attorney General owes an apology to Mexico!
When will the Terry family personal apology occur?
You know, it really doesn’t have too much meaning when someone says on national television during a congressional committee meeting that “it was a shame.”
The bottom line: Attorney General Eric Holder needs to be fired!
Monty Wilkinson, Eric Holder’s former deputy chief of staff, communicated to Dennis Burke, now-former Arizona U.S. Attorney General at 10:04 a.m., December 15, 2010: “I’ve alerted the AG (Holder)…” in reference to Agent Terry’s death! Within 24 hours of the shooting of Agent Terry – 15 LONG MONTHS AGO – Eric Holder knew. Yet, Holder testified it was sometime in the Spring of 2011. Lies…lies…lies!
This disaster was not just “swept under the rug,” 90% of the documented evidence has been WITHHELD FROM OUR U.S. CONGRESS!
Even Democrat Rep. John Dingell of Michigan is bewildered over this tragedy. As the Congressman for Agent Terry’s family he stated: “Operation Fast and Furious was grossly irresponsible. Over the years, I have been a harsh critic of ATF. It is clear in my mind that ‘gun-walking’ tactics are illogical and should never have been used. I was outraged the day I learned about this behavior, and I am still outraged to this day.”
“The fact that a constituent of mine, Agent Brian Terry, was killed in the line of duty because of this gross negligence on behalf of ATF makes this situation even more serious.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) adds: “I find it very troubling that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice have not been more forthcoming with information regarding this failed gun walking operation and at times seems to have contradicted what appears to be factual evidence.
“The Attorney General should provide more clarity on this issue to alleviate the concerns that are clouding over the Justice Department. That is why I fully support the House Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary Committees’ continued investigations into this important issue.”
Quite frankly, we need Darrell Issa and other Congressman to “pull the trigger” and charge Eric Holder with “CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.” Will you help to expose the Attorney General to those Congressmen who have not called for his resignation?!
The time for “bobbing and weaving” like a professional boxer by Eric Holder in front of the congressional oversight committee is OVER!
Americans want the truth!
This fast and furious sham could also play a key issue with voters in November.
Eric Holder and Barack Obama must come clean on the entire matter. But will they? I doubt it! The most ANTI-GUN President and Attorney General to ever hold those positions—will never admit to doing anything wrong.
NOW— here is the other “downside” of this entire infamous affair!
Here is the sinister motive of Barack Obama on utilizing Fast and Furious to HIS benefit…..
Obama and Holder will use their own failed Fast and Furious gun-walking operation—to push for INTERNATIONAL GUN CONTROL by the United Nations! That’s right; they will use their own failed operation to say that guns need to be more controlled—even by the United Nations. Barack Obama . . . Eric Holder . . . and the United Nations want to REGISTER your guns and eliminate YOUR Second Amendment right to own a gun. Remember, this is YOUR freedom guaranteed by our own United States Constitution!
Don’t let lies and Holder’s attempted cover-up of Fast and Furious be used to TAKE AWAY your gun rights!
Mr. Obama needs to FIRE Eric Holder right now! Or—
The Attorney General must RESIGN…NOW!
Will you please help us to finalize this grass-roots campaign to rid our nation of one who lies and tries to take away our freedom?
Eric Holder has committed several criminal acts! The American people will not put up with lying to Congress. “Contempt of Congress” must happen. Better still, Eric Holder must resign!
Respectfully,
Philip Watson
Executive Director
International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights
P.S. Remember, it has already been proven that he KNEW about Fast and Furious way before he said he did; which means he lied to the American people—you and me! Please insist to Congress that Eric Holder must resign!
THE STONEWALLING MUST CEASE…NOW!