Posted on 06/27/2004 4:17:57 PM PDT by neverdem
TORONTO (CP) - Four mothers and a sister of victims of gun violence were in Toronto on Friday to plead for the protection of the national gun registry - a topic of heated debate during the federal election campaign.
"We don't want to punish gun owners but want to protect women and children from being threatened and killed with guns," said Karen Vanscoy, whose 14-year-old daughter Jasmine was shot to death by a young offender.
"Getting a licence and registering a gun is a small price to pay."
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper intends to do away with the gun registry if his party is elected to power in Monday's election. The other three parties are in favour of keeping it, though the Liberals want to put a $25-million cap on the administration costs.
Vanscoy was joined at Friday's news conference by gun-control activist Priscilla de Villiers, whose teenage daughter Nina was kidnapped and killed in 1991.
Vanscoy said the election has focused too heavily on the rights and complaints of gun users, and that the voices of victims have to be heard.
"This law is about creating a culture of safety and awareness around guns, and so far, all we have done is argue about whether we should be allowed to register them or not," she said.
"The voices of the victims, the concerns of the victims, and beyond that, the concerns of the public, to attain the maximum safety in the presence of a growing gun threat in this country has been noticeably absent."
De Villiers started lobbying for gun control in 1991 after her daughter was murdered. She and some of her fellow panelists have spoken before numerous parliamentary committees and watched Canadian gun deaths over the next decade slowly decline as the laws were tightened.
In 1991, there were 1,444 gun deaths in the country. By 2001, the number was down to 842. Firearm robberies decreased from 8,995 to 3,474 and recently domestic homicides involving firearms have shown a reduction.
Perhaps the most emotional statement of the day came from Nastaran Yadollahi, whose brother Soroush, 26, was found murdered in a parking lot at Centennial College in Toronto.
Yadollahi held back tears as she described her brother's successful life as an engineer at the Pickering power plant just east of Toronto, and his plans to marry next month.
"We still don't know the reason, who did it, or where the gun came from," she said, as family members wept in the crowd.
"All we know is that we lost a young man with a bright future and our lives are irreparably damaged."
The plea came days after a man with three registered guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition drove from New Brunswick to Toronto, where police said he told them he had intended to go on a killing rampage, but changed his mind. A suspect is in custody, facing weapons-related charges, and a judge has ordered that he undergo psychiatric evaluation later this month.
"We ask all politicians to place a priority on public safety," Yadollahi said.
"They must support strong (gun) control in Canada, help keep our borders strong and work internationally for better controls. Our family is committed to working to prevent others from suffering as we have."
PING
Kidnapped and killed by a law abiding gun owner?
Would the registering of the murder weapon STOPPED her from being killed?
How many of these victims were themselves armed? For some reason, the media rarely point out that an unarmed victim was in fact unarmed.
A gun registry will protect you? How?
"We still don't know the reason, who did it, or where the gun came from," she said, as family members wept in the crowd.
If there were a gun registry, probably all you would know now is who the gun was stolen from.
The plea came days after a man with three registered guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition drove from New Brunswick to Toronto, where police said he told them he had intended to go on a killing rampage, but changed his mind.
So, was it the fact that these were registered guns that stopped the killing, or was it a puppy (earlier thread)? Registering the firearms isn't a crime prevention technique.
I always have another question when the "gun violence" term is tosssed out. Do these people care about other types of violence? How about victims of "knife violence"? Or the victims of "strangled with bare hands or pantyhose violence"?
Lady, if the buck was cast-iron guaranteed to stop there, I'd be tempted to agree with you.
But it ain't... it won't... and you ****ing-well know it.
our poor Canadian cousins...
I do it the legal way and have just applied for my CCW. However, every time I read this crap, I go to the range and blow off a few hundred rounds. Do these clymers believe that the bad guys will fill out a form? Delusional morons. For a few hundred bucks, I could go to NYC and get just about any weapon I want. Duh, don't people understand that this is what the bad guys do? Sheesh!
Damn, they don't even see how goofy their logic is. They readily admit they have no idea who or what gun killed their loved one, and the person threatening to go on a rampage had three registered guns. It's the liberal mantra, register guns and crime goes away. The fact there is no statistical evidence anywhere in the world to back up their claim is irrelevant. They have their story and they are sticking to it. It goes quite nicely with the other one about people committing crimes because there is high unemployment. "Lost my job? I think I'll go mug an old lady."
Shameless Canadian whining ping.
The Canadian Conservatives are making the argument that the huge cost overrun gun registry has solved no crimes. The Conservatives have a fair chance of taking over the gov't.
Thanks for putting it on the *bang_list. I became distracted and forgot about it.
anytime - figgered t'were jest an oversight.
..."We don't want to punish gun owners but want to protect women and children from being threatened and killed with guns," ...
Please! Please! If you want to murder family members or friends, beat them to death. Beat them with a stick or a rock. Don't shoot them.
It's not as hard as it seems. A heavy rock, or a solid stick, they can be just as deadly, but not so wrong, as shooting those who are useless. We wish to preserve shooting innocent victims to the state, as it was meant to be.
And please, help keep guns out of the hands of the weak and likely victims, for they are why we built the victim state in the first place.
Manure.
No deals.
Who's the other party that wants to keep the gun registry besides the Liberals and the NDP, the Parti Quebecois?
Nothing said.
I am certain that when the gun bill was first passed, all 9 NDP MP's voted against it. I remember being shocked by that. Kind of weird to see a socialist vote against something like that, but they would have like to seen the 2 billion wasted on it spent on other big brother, womb till the tomb, entitlement programs. How many cops could have been hired for 2 billion dollars?
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