Ready, Aim, First Reading - Conservatives scrapping the long-gun registry
Ottawa – Today, Conservative Minister Vic Toews introduced the Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act, which will do just that – end the long-gun registry.
This bill has now received ‘first reading’, which is the first step a bill needs to take before it becomes law.
Local MP Scott Reid welcomed this new bill, which he says will finally end a wrong-headed and intrusive government program that should never have existed in the first place.
“I know that I and all of my Conservative colleagues have been working for a dog’s age to get rid of the long-gun registry,” commented Reid. “We opposed it when the Liberals brought it in, we’ve opposed it ever since, and now that we have a Majority government, we can do something about it.”
First introduced in 1993 by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government, the long-gun registry legally required long-gun owners to register their firearms by January 1, 2003.
Since taking office in 2006, the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have tried to eliminate the long-gun registry before, but were out-voted by the more numerous Opposition MPs which dominated the House of Commons.
Because the Conservatives now have a Majority in the House of Commons, the legislation that will remove the legal requirement that long-gun owners register their firearms will be passed into law.
Additionally, the legislation introduced today will provide for the destruction of all records pertaining to the registration of long-guns currently contained in the Canadian Firearms Registry and under the control of the chief firearms officers.
Under the proposed reforms, firearms owners will still require a valid firearm licence to buy or possess firearms and to purchase ammunition. They will also be required to undergo police background checks, pass a firearms safety training course and comply with firearms safe storage and transportation requirements, just as they do now.
“I’m proud that our Conservative government is focussing on criminals rather than long-gun owners who haven’t broken the law,” Reid stated. “That’s why we’re putting more police on our streets, fighting organized crime, and cracking down on gun smugglers.”
