Shootings in Montreal Lead to More Debate on Gun Control

With the shootings at Dawson College in Montreal this week, the debate is cropping up yet again about gun control in general and the merit of the Long Gun Registry specifically.

The Conservatives are set to table legislation that will essentially gut the Long Gun Registry. That legislation may now be in jeopardy or put on hold due to the reactionary nature of MPs, not to mention their willingness to pander to public opinion no matter how misplaced. This is unfortunate.

Why ‘misplaced’? Well, those who support the Long Gun Registry seem to think that events of this nature prove that the Long Gun Registry is needed. But when you ask the question ‘What did the Long Gun Registry do in this case?’ no one can say it prevented the incident. I’m no expert on firearms and I don’t know which ones Kimveer Gill had and how the Long Gun Registry treated them. I have read somewhere that Gill used an AK-47. I am sure that the AK-47 was restricted before the Long Gun Registry was put in place.

Either way, it is clear that he should not have had registered firearms (long or otherwise) and, given his disposition he would not have been qualified to own registered firearms of any kind. So, it stands to reason that the firearm Gill had were illegal.

For too many short-sighted urbanites, the Long Gun Registry is gun registry in Canada. Most fail to understand that there has been a handgun registry in place since the 1930’s.

The Long Gun Registry does not make us any safer. The Long Gun Registry does not prevent crime. The Long Gun Registry does not stop the smuggling of handguns or long guns.

The Long Gun Registry is a useless $2B make-work project. The money could have saved lives if spent in almost any other Government department.