in E News TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – Jan. 27, 2014
CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – Jan. 27, 2014 ** Please share this E-news with your friends **
COMMENTARY: WHAT DO CURRENT POLLING TRENDS MEAN TO GUN OWNERS?
There are too many polls coming out to ignore the Harper government’s slide in popularity.
There is a political lifetime between now and the federal election expected in October 2015, but there are indications that the downward spiral could continue if no action is taken. The future for responsible firearms owners may appear grim as we watch the window of opportunity to introduce fairer firearms laws slowly closing. That isn’t to say there isn’t a ready-made solution to give the Conservatives a poll bump that pays off in the upcoming election. But first, the Harper administration needs to accept the solution on its merits.
The Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) is the only national organization with a permanent presence in Ottawa to represent gun owners. We have a communications consultancy near Parliament Hill and through our affiliation with the Canadian Institute of Legislative Action (CILA), sport shooters benefit from Tony Bernardo’s availability for policy advice to legislators.
Simply put, CSSA-CILA is on the job and frequently consulted. We have discussed the Conservatives’ polling woes and how they can be turned around if the party will simply start affording all firearms owners the fairness we deserve. At the same time, CSSA-CILA must remain politically agnostic and be willing to speak with every political party willing to advance the sport shooting cause.
It’s tempting to ignore the recent numbers released by Ottawa-based pollsters Abacus Data. According to this January poll, 68% of Canadians do not believe that Stephen Harper is honest and accountable. The numbers reflect the party’s need to focus more on exploiting the media to get its own message out. By refusing to deliver any message, human nature dictates that many reporters will feed the media goat with anti-Harper editorial content. Meanwhile, it appears that few Canadians of any political stripe are willing to support additional taxpayer-funded advertising.
The Conservatives are busy trying to win the hearts of voters who populate the mushy political middle in hopes of at least slowing the ascension of Justin Trudeau. In doing so, they are deviating from the policy items that put the prime minister in command of a majority government without the help of Quebec. While the Conservatives try to court and spark the soft Liberal vote, they risk turning off the same folks who delivered that majority.
Within this turned-off group reside the sport shooters who must still live with the threat of jail time for merely letting government paperwork expire. In his 2002 Canadian Alliance leadership campaign, Stephen Harper saw this injustice and said he’d fix it. Instead, he closed down a long-gun registry 10 years later that wasn’t doing anything anyway. So, gun owners’ fingers are quietly tapping their kitchen tabletops across the country – while pollsters tabulate the waning support.
If the Conservative government would decriminalize paperwork infractions, the polls would change in their favour. Firearms owners are left feeling like suckers for contributing so much legwork and money, only to be sent to the back of bus with a majority in place. If the prime minister would mobilize a few other simple changes to make it easier to transport our guns and stop restricting or prohibiting firearms based solely on their appearance, he would likely see the polls swell in his favour. The government needs to understand there is no such thing as good or bad firearms.
While many firearms owners are comfortable with background checks and storage considerations, even these laws are in dire need of a comprehensive rewrite so gun owners, police and judges can understand them. Of all Canadians who support the basic tenets of real public safety measures, gun owners are at the forefront.
Here is the ultimate dilemma for the Harper government – and gun owners. What if Justin Trudeau sees the credence in making these small changes and offers to do them first? After all, his advisers read the CSSA E-News, too.
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ALBERTA SHOOTING COMPETITION RESULTS: The LA HotShots Target Shooting Club took aim at the 2014 ISSF Air Gun Provincial Championships Friday to Sunday in Sylvan Lake. The event is the Team Alberta trial event for the 2015 Canada Winter Games. In the Men’s Pistol event, Stan Wills earned the provincial championship, while Jeff MacDonald took home the bronze medal.
In the qualifying matches, Wills took gold in the Masters category, while MacDonald won gold in the Expert division and Brad Draper earned the silver medal. Brandon Hardy emerged with the Men’s Rifle provincial championship, while Avery Draper won the silver medal. Team Alberta for Men’s Rifle will consist of two male and two female athletes plus alternates.
In other qualifying matches, Hardy earned gold in the Junior division and Michael Erickson earned the silver. In the Sub Junior division, Draper earned gold and Kyle Seitz was fourth. Hoyt Seitz won the gold medal in the Senior division. In the Women’s Rifle qualifying matches, Susan Eymann won the bronze medal in the Senior category. (Lethbridge Herald – January 22, 2014)
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THE “LOGIC” BEHIND GUN BUY-BACK PROGRAMS: Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbours have too many kids.
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GOVERNMENT HIDING FIREARMS PROGRAM COST FROM TAXPAYERS: As taxpayers we should all be concerned about how much government programs cost and whether they are working or not. But what are we supposed to do if the government doesn’t tell us (or even tell our Members of Parliament) what a program costs? What if the government pumps out lots of numbers but never provides any real evidence proving that the program is truly effective? Canada’s gun control programs are a case in point.
True, the Conservative government scrapped the long-gun registry in 2012, but it left in place a complex multi-million dollar program that tracks the addresses of no-risk or low-risk gun owners but not the whereabouts of high-risk convicted violent criminals.
What does this program cost taxpayers? Sadly, the federal government hasn’t reported the detailed costs of running the Canadian Firearms Program to Parliament since the 2007/2008 fiscal year, when costs were running at $80 million a year compared to $15 million a year in 1994. Even Access to Information Act requests can’t pry more current information out of RCMP files. Taxpayers and Members of Parliament deserve to know why these detailed spending estimates are now a state secret.
Does the $80 million gun control regime work better than the earlier $15 million version? We don’t know that, either, because parliamentarians are kept in the dark on the program’s performance too.
The RCMP, responsible for the program, produces lots of numbers but, as the Auditor General Sheila Fraser told a Parliamentary committee in 2006, this is evidence of activity – not effectiveness…
See the rest: http://www.troymedia.com/2014/01/25/what-do-canadas-gun-control-programs-cost/
(By Dennis Young – January 25, 2014 – Troy Media)
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MINISTER VAN LOAN SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING EVENT: Top sport shooters will be travelling to Innisfil (Ontario) during the summer of 2015. An estimated 250 men and women will be competing in shooting events — air pistol, air rifle, as well as trap and skeet in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. The Toronto International Trap & Skeet Club near Cookstown is the venue.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase our community to athletes from across North and South America and the Caribbean,” said Mayor Barb Baguley. “It’s always exciting to have something international in our backyard.”
The club, founded in 1970, will be the beneficiary of federal funding that will make the facility a world-class venue for the sport. The investment will be used to build a new, permanent combined 25-metre and 50-metre range, a new separate 10-metre air rifle range and improvements to two existing trap and skeet ranges.
“For the first time in 20 years, athletes will have a facility that offers much-needed training in all three disciplines of their sport,” said Saad Rafi, chief operating officer of the games. “Canada has produced many champion shooting stars over the years, but this investment will take the sport to the next level.”
Avianna Chao, a resident of Newmarket, is thrilled with the choice of venue. A former Pan Am Games champion (2007) and Olympian (2008), she said, “It’s always awesome to be able to represent your country. Hopefully, I’ll qualify for the 2015 Games and then train here for the next Olympics and the next Pan Am Games. It was wonderful standing on top of the podium in 2007.”
She noted the Pan Am competition is also an Olympic qualifier event. “I’m planning on grabbing one of the 20 spots.” Chao’s coach, and husband, Patrick Haynes, said, “The 2015 Games are a shot in the arm for my sport. It will be amazing to see the spectators cheering on our athletes and it will leave a legacy for the Toronto International Trap & Skeet Club. Many shooters hope this event in Innisfil will help propel them to the podium at the 2016 Olympics.”
York-Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan said the club would be renamed the Pan Am Shooting Centre during the games. “Residents will be able to share in the excitement of the Pan Am Games,” Van Loan said, “and the event will bring lasting benefits to our community.” (Innisfil Journal – January 22, 2014)
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CONNECTICUT SAYS “OH POOP” WHEN MASSES REFUSE TO REGISTER GUNS: There’s a scene at the end of the animated film Despicable Me after the villain Vector’s master plan has gone horribly awry, and he finds himself on the surface of the Moon, with the Earth in the background. Realizing his predicament, he utters a short succinct phrase.
Governor Dannel Malloy and the government of the state of Connecticut are having their own “Oh, poop” moment, now that they’ve tallied the number of citizens who have registered their “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines” required by the state’s unconstitutional gun laws, compared that to the estimated number of applicable weapons and magazines in the state, and realize they’ve been ignored.
Historically speaking, 90-percent or more of those required to comply with gun registration laws in the U.S. refuse to do so, and there is no reason to suspect that this registration attempt in Connecticut is any different. I’ve seen estimates of 1,000,000 firearm magazines that should have been registered under the law, but the state reports registering only 40,000… just 4 percent.
Against this backdrop of failure, the anti-gun government of Connecticut is contemplating an “amnesty” to encourage those who haven’t registered to do so, and the local media is more than willing to do their part in the spin game:
Amid concerns about gun owners who failed in their last-minute attempts to register now-illegal assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, lawmakers are considering granting an amnesty period for people who missed the registration deadline…
(Bearing Arms – January 23, 2014)
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TWISTED MICROSTAMPING LOGIC – A GUN MAKERS’ SELF-INFLICTED WOUND? Gun makers Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger Co. said this week that a new California law requiring semiautomatic pistols to be equipped with technology called microstamping could result in fewer of their weapons available for sale in the state.
“Smith & Wesson does not and will not include microstamping in its firearms,” the company said in a Thursday statement. Ultimately, California’s mandate “will result in a diminishing number of Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistols available for purchase by California residents.”
Specifically, all M&P pistols other than the M&P Shield, will fall off California’s roster of approved devices by August 2014 if the California law remains in place, Smith & Wesson said, “due to performance enhancements and other improvements we have made to those firearms.” That includes the M&P9c. California maintains a list of non-compliant handguns that can no longer be sold or manufactured in the state, which includes dozens of Smith & Wesson models.
Ruger, meanwhile, said it “will do all we can to fight this draconian law,” and that “until microstamping is repealed, we expect that Ruger pistols – some of the safest available – will continue to be forced off the roster.”
The microstamping law was actually approved in 2007 and signed into law by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it required certification by the California Department of Justice before it could go into effect, which didn’t happen until last year. Now, it can move forward, much to the chagrin of gun makers.
Microstamping is “a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired,” according to the state.
According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, “microstamping technology utilizes lasers to make microscopic engravings on the breech face and firing pin of a gun. As the gun is fired, a code identifying the weapon’s serial number is stamped onto the cartridge. This enables police to trace a gun without ever physically recovering it. A traced firearm is a valuable lead in a criminal investigation, because investigators can then connect that weapon to its first purchaser, who may become either a suspect or a source of information helpful to the investigation.”
But James Debney, Smith & Wesson president and CEO, called microstamping an “unproven and unreliable concept.” Debney urged supporters to back a lawsuit filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI), which seeks to invalidate the law.
“There is simply no existing microstamping technology that will reliably, consistently and legibly imprint the required identifying information by a semiautomatic handgun on the ammunition it fires,” according to the groups. The District of Columbia also has a microstamping law. Congress has addressed the issue, too, but nothing has been signed into law. (PC Mag – January 24, 2014)
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OBAMA-BACKED MEXICAN TROOPS DISARM AND KILL CIVILIANS: Obama administration-backed Mexican troops opened fire this week on a group of civilians seeking to keep their weapons and rein in ruthless government-linked drug cartels, which have terrorized their communities in the state of Michoacán. The attack sparked an international outcry on behalf of the citizens, who have suffered non-stop brutality at the hands of both government officials and criminal syndicates. News reports, some of which conflict with each other, suggest that around a dozen people were shot and at least four were killed in the massacre, including an 11-year-old girl. A Mexican paper reported that a dozen civilians died in the clash.
Multiple reports and local witnesses said that Mexican forces opened fire on an unarmed crowd, though officials would not confirm that to foreign reporters. Community leaders quoted in press reports said the government was trying to protect cartels. Authorities also claimed not to know exactly how many people had been killed in the clashes, which reportedly began Monday, January 13, when a group of unarmed citizens tried to stop a convoy of heavily armed government functionaries from entering the town of Antunez and disarming residents.
However, journalists and news reports confirmed that there were multiple bodies in the area, and at least several locals reported that their family members had been slain in attacks by government troops. The federal assault came days after local self-defense groups managed to drive out criminal syndicates from more and more towns in the region over the weekend. Spokesmen for local communities said the biggest confrontation involved around 60 to 80 government troops, although hundreds were in the area…
See the whole story: http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/item/17410-obama-backed-mexican-troops-disarm-and-massacre-more-civilians?tmpl=component&print=1 (The New American – January 15, 2014)
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/membership.html
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CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
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