Scientia est potentia

In response to this gem:

Sir: With all due respect for former Member of Parliament Roger Gallaway, what makes the gun registry a failure?

Deaths caused by firearms have diminished by 28 per cent over 10 years (from 1,125 in 1995 to 818 in 2005). Homicides with rifles and shotguns have been cut by nearly half (61 in 1995 to 32 in 2007).

Police officers support the registry and say they use it 10,000 times daily. Approximately 15,965 firearms licenses have been refused or revoked since the law came into force. Two men were identified and convicted as accessories to the murder of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, in part because a registered rifle was left on the scene of the crime. These are all evidence that the gun registry works.

A rifle, if in the hands of the wrong person, is as deadly as a handgun. Owners of lethal weapons are licensed to ensure they are not a risk to public safety and their guns are registered to their name to ensure they are accountable for them. It’s common sense. In most cities we need permits to own cats and dogs to make us responsible and accountable.

Let’s be clear, gun owners may complain but filling in once a form to register one’s guns is a very small price to pay for owning a dangerous weapon.

Emily Brown, London

Sent to the editor:

Re: Gun registry works, April 23

Emily Brown cites the 15,965 firearms licenses that have been revoked since the Firearms Act came into force as evidence of the controversial gun registry’s effect. Like many proponents of the registry, Ms. Brown confuses licensing with registration. Licensing is not at issue here – even if the registry is scrapped, firearms owners will be continue to be licensed and those licenses may be revoked if that person becomes a threat to others.

Furthermore, the oft-mentioned “10,000 times a day” statistic is bogus. Those who drop this number rarely explain what these “hits” actually are, so allow me to do so. The firearms registry is tied into the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system which is used to conduct ALL electronic information queries. Thus, ANY search for ANY information by police officers, 911 operators, or other emergency services personnel generates a “hit.” If you call for an ambulance, a “hit” is registered when the 911 operator runs your address, regardless of whether you own firearms! If you are pulled over by a police officer for a traffic stop, a “hit” is recorded when he checks your name for outstanding warrants, regardless of whether you own firearms.

So how many of these “10,000″ hits a day are actually inquires into information that would be lost if the registry was scrapped? The RCMP provides a detailed breakdown of this information (to the editor: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/f…/index-eng.htm is the page on the RCMP website, scroll down to CFRO Queries), and only NINETEEN of the vaunted 9,413 “hits” per day are actually related to a registration certificate query.

It’s no surprise that gun control advocates immediately reach for the bigger number without pausing to consider what it really means.