Canada's National Firearms Association - NFA, National Firearms ...

Liberal IED’s and
the United Nations
By Gary Mauser
Thanks to the Conservative government, Canadians recently
dodged new restrictive gun regulations that are as destructive
as an IED. late in 2010 Stephen Harper’s government wisely
post-poned for another two years the UN marking regulations
and the gun club regulations implementation. This is not the
first time these regulatory packages have been deferred. The
liberals deliberately improvised these explosive devices
and set them in our path in an attempt to cripple Canada’s
recreational firearms community. These new regulations, if
they ever came into force, would create new legal difficulties
for anyone legally owning and using firearms and would
severely damage the rights of all Canadians.
Note, I said postponed, not eliminated. This means that in
two years the government will again have to decide what
to do about them. Unfortunately, this was the best they
could do since the Conservatives only control a minority
government. Any important change in the gun regulations
requires parliamentary approval, and the opposition controls
a majority in parliament.
As we saw in the battle over Bill C-391, all three opposition
parties remain wedded to the claim that firearms in the hands
of citizens pose a dangerous threat. The opposition opposes
any relaxation of the gun regulations. In fact, they want
the laws to become even more restrictive. In the words of
Michael Ignatieff, the liberals remain committed to “strict,
relentless gun control.” If the liberals -- by themselves or in
a Coalition -- ever return to power, they will impose new and
more draconian gun laws. Count on it.
What is so dangerous about these regulatory packages? In
brief, they impose even more bureaucracy in a futile attempt
to solve nonexistent problems. Costs and impediments
will increase, accompanied by further losses of privacy.
By increasingly criminalizing aspects of owning and using
firearms, the bureaucracy continues to strangle normal,
legal gun ownership. Firearms ownership is becoming an
endangered activity.
UN marking and tracing regulations
Implementing the UN marking regulations would require
Canadian importers to stamp or engrave the country code
(CA) and the last two digits of the year of importation on the
receiver or frame of all imported firearms. For example, any
firearm imported in 2012 would have to be marked CA 12.
That may sound less dangerous than dancing with Godzilla,
but requiring importers to so mark each imported firearm is
potentially disastrous.
We can thank the liberals that these regulations are
mandated by Canadian law. UN protocols are quite general
and rely upon individual nations to pass laws to implement
them. In November, 2004, the Canadian parliament amended
the Firearms Act (Bill C-10A) in order to implement
international agreements with the UN and the Organisation
of American States. This Canadian legislation was justified
by the infamous Firearms Protocol adopted back in May
2001.
International firearms experts who have evaluated the
UN marking requirements have testified that marking
commercial firearms is redundant and potentially confusing,
since countries differ widely in how they implement the UN
protocol. Most troublesome is that attempting to permanently
mark the receivers after manufacture could damage the
firearm’s structural integrity, thereby compromising its
safety.
Foreign firearms companies will not mark firearms during
manufacture, because they cannot know their annual sales
ahead of time. The UN marking regulations will force
Canadian importers to purchase expensive new stamping or
engraving machinery. Importers estimate that this could add
$200 to the price of a new gun. The additional investment
costs will reduce the number and makes of guns imported
as it will drive some importers out of business. Almost half
of all firearm businesses closed their doors since 1990;
dropping from 9,209 in 1990 to 4,720 in 2009. The UN
marking regulations would be another nail in the coffin of the
Canadian gun business. And in our own coffin as well; small
gun retailers have traditionally been integral to communities
of gun owners, rural or urban.
Gun shows
The proposed gun show regulations increase the power
of the Chief Provincial Firearms Officers by putting them
directly in control of gun shows. This not only unnecessarily
increases the paper burden for organizers and vendors, but it
invites the bureaucracy to invent more reasons to restrict the
traditional right to own firearms. All vendors could be told to
obtain business licences, and attendees be required to submit
their POl to Ottawa. There have been no problems with gun
shows that justify new regulations. All the police can do is to
cite “concerns‚” with gun shows.
Given the rabid anti-gun stance of some CPFOs (in Ontario
and Quebec, for instance), this would mean that many
gun shows would simply close their doors. More useless
paperwork means more people will be discouraged from
owning and using firearms. Gun shows are important as
places to meet your neighbors, as well as sell or buy guns.
Strangling gun shows is another step towards choking the
life out of the recreational firearms community.
Conclusions
Stephen Harper may be PM, but the Conservatives do not
control Ottawa. Not only does the opposition command
a majority in parliament, but the bureaucracy remains
adamantly opposed to almost everything the Conservatives
wish to do. Most Ottawa civil servants were hired under
the liberals and appear to believe that the next election
(continually expected within a few months) will return the
liberals to power. So they find every excuse imaginable to
delay or undermine Conservative initiatives. As is the case in
most modern countries, our politicians like to claim they are
in charge, but the bureaucracy is really in control.
The Conservatives are frustrated. Having only a minority
government means that the government could fall at any
moment, and, as we saw with Bill C-391, it makes it
virtually impossible for the Conservatives to pass legislation,
particularly changes in firearms regulations. Obviously, this is
very disappointing for the firearms community. Despite being
in government for five years, the Conservatives have not been
able to dump the long-gun registry nor heal any other running
sores in the Firearms Act that we have complained about for
years. Solving these problems will only be possible when the
Conservatives win a majority government.
Cynics may claim that the Conservatives do not really want
to do anything. Some even claim that “being a minority
government” is just a convenient excuse. I cannot agree.
I have spoken with MPs and Ministers in Ottawa. I am
convinced that the Conservatives are honestly trying to do the
right thing.
We are not out of the woods yet. These regulatory changes
have only been delayed. They are scheduled to come into
effect on December of 2012, unless the Conservatives
postpone them again. The Conservatives promise to renew
them. If the liberals win the next election, we will have no
friends in Ottawa. The noose will start tightening again.
The battle continues. We are up against an entrenched
bureaucracy and ideologues who do not like guns in the hands
of civilians. Don’t give up. Our efforts have the best chance
to be productive if we focus on educating and informing
policymakers at the highest government levels.
References
Gary Mauser Making a presentation at the
2010 Gun Rights Conference, hosted by the
Second Amendment Foundation this past
fall in San Francisco
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2008/2008-12-10/html/
sor-dors298-eng.html
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2009/2009-12-09/html/
sor-dors313-eng.html
38 January - February www.nfa.ca www.nfa.canfa.ca January - February 39