scooter
03-25-2009, 03:02 PM
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - MARCH 24, 2009
EDITORIAL: Free vote on gun law
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/editorial---free-vote-on
-gun-law-41739602.html
It would apparently surprise Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to learn that most Canadian farmers, hunters and target shooters treat their long guns with respect and responsibility, keeping them unloaded and under lock and key as the law demands. Hardly ever do they hang them "on the barn door," as Mr. Ignatieff suggested Sunday.
Canadian gun owners should perhaps not make too much of this or judge Mr.
Ignatieff too harshly by it. It was clearly just a phrase flippantly thrown out by a political leader whose party -- the author of the $2-billion boondoggle that the gun registry has become -- has never given any serious thought to the issue beyond how well it sells in metropolitan Toronto and Montreal.
Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal party, as well as New Democratic Leader Jack Layton and his party, will, however, have to pay far more serious attention to the gun registry as a national issue in the next week or so. On April 1, Parliament will begin debating a private member's bill sponsored by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreutz that would abolish the long-gun registry as the waste of taxpayers' dollars that it has been since it became law in 1995. The registry has cost about $2 billion and no one can show that it has kept any long guns out of the hands of criminals, which was its ostensible purpose.
Mr. Harper's government supports the thrust of Mr. Breitkreutz's bill and has asked Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Layton to permit their MPs to vote according to their conscience when it comes before the House.
Mr. Ignatieff says that he will make no commitment until he has seen the details of the legislation, and it would be irresponsible for him to do otherwise. He does recognize, however, that in Canada the issue of firearms is not about long guns: "The problem is those handguns," which are already tightly controlled and have been for decades.
Mr. Layton, while expressing some legitimate concerns about the bill, has indicated that his party might not put the whips on when it comes to a vote.
That is not really surprising. Ironically, the NDP has always been closer to the Conservatives on the gun-control issue, perhaps because of its strong Western Canadian base, but it cannot be abolished now without the support of some Liberals.
The issue shows the need in minority Parliaments, which are likely to become increasingly common in Canada, for more free votes on issues of conscience and social responsibility such as the gun registry. Mr. Harper's Tories know that if they bring a bill abolishing the registry before the Commons as an issue of confidence they face defeat and an election. They should not have to deal with that on such an issue. It is time our parliamentarians realize that they face both issues of conscience and issues of confidence in any session, and each requires MPs and their parties to vote accordingly.
EDITORIAL: Free vote on gun law
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/editorial---free-vote-on
-gun-law-41739602.html
It would apparently surprise Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to learn that most Canadian farmers, hunters and target shooters treat their long guns with respect and responsibility, keeping them unloaded and under lock and key as the law demands. Hardly ever do they hang them "on the barn door," as Mr. Ignatieff suggested Sunday.
Canadian gun owners should perhaps not make too much of this or judge Mr.
Ignatieff too harshly by it. It was clearly just a phrase flippantly thrown out by a political leader whose party -- the author of the $2-billion boondoggle that the gun registry has become -- has never given any serious thought to the issue beyond how well it sells in metropolitan Toronto and Montreal.
Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal party, as well as New Democratic Leader Jack Layton and his party, will, however, have to pay far more serious attention to the gun registry as a national issue in the next week or so. On April 1, Parliament will begin debating a private member's bill sponsored by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreutz that would abolish the long-gun registry as the waste of taxpayers' dollars that it has been since it became law in 1995. The registry has cost about $2 billion and no one can show that it has kept any long guns out of the hands of criminals, which was its ostensible purpose.
Mr. Harper's government supports the thrust of Mr. Breitkreutz's bill and has asked Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Layton to permit their MPs to vote according to their conscience when it comes before the House.
Mr. Ignatieff says that he will make no commitment until he has seen the details of the legislation, and it would be irresponsible for him to do otherwise. He does recognize, however, that in Canada the issue of firearms is not about long guns: "The problem is those handguns," which are already tightly controlled and have been for decades.
Mr. Layton, while expressing some legitimate concerns about the bill, has indicated that his party might not put the whips on when it comes to a vote.
That is not really surprising. Ironically, the NDP has always been closer to the Conservatives on the gun-control issue, perhaps because of its strong Western Canadian base, but it cannot be abolished now without the support of some Liberals.
The issue shows the need in minority Parliaments, which are likely to become increasingly common in Canada, for more free votes on issues of conscience and social responsibility such as the gun registry. Mr. Harper's Tories know that if they bring a bill abolishing the registry before the Commons as an issue of confidence they face defeat and an election. They should not have to deal with that on such an issue. It is time our parliamentarians realize that they face both issues of conscience and issues of confidence in any session, and each requires MPs and their parties to vote accordingly.