Team CSSA E-NEWS – February 12, 2015
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Team CSSA E-NEWS – February 12, 2015
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COMMENTARY – THE LONG-AWAITED RCMP HIGH RIVER REPORT HAS BEEN RELEASED.
For those of you just joining the show, this report is the culmination of over 18 months of investigative work performed by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), an allegedly independent government agency.
In June 2013, the Town of High River, Alberta, experienced catastrophic flooding after experiencing heavy rainfall. The Canadian military and the RCMP responded in a search and rescue effort to ensure people’s safety. However, several days into the event, the effort changed from a search and rescue operation to a search for firearms. Hundreds of homes had their doors kicked in and legally owned firearms confiscated from empty homes under the pretext of public safety.
Despite the fact that the town had been evacuated and there were no people, despite the fact that the military search and rescue helicopters hovered overhead with state-of-the-art infrared detection equipment looking into houses for anything alive, and despite the fact that the police and military had reported to their superiors that no people were left in town, the search for legally-owned firearms and the confiscation of those firearms continued unabated for several days.
On a tip from a member, the CSSA raised the alarm with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and within hours the PMO had sprung into action with a cease and desist order to the RCMP. Regardless of this, however, the confiscations continued several days. The Prime Minister’s Office publicly declared that every gun seized would be returned to its rightful owner – no questions asked.
We are pleased to report that the directive from the Prime Minister’s Office was followed and that the vast majority of firearms were returned to those rightful owners. However, the High River report pays scant attention to the destruction of almost 4 tons of ammunition taken from people’s homes.
Incredibly, the report appears to be little more than a not-so-transparent attempt to come up with legalities to excuse the offensive behaviour of the authorities in High River. Actions that were undertaken with little or no forethought now have complicated legalese explanations. However, even the disappointing apologist atmosphere inherent in the report was incapable of excusing a number of the transgressions committed in High River. The report makes many recommendations to correct wrongdoing that occurred in this incident. While the entire document will soon be downloadable from our website, some of those recommendations most relevant to Canadian firearms owners are contained below.
Amongst many other things, the report found that:
• “In a number of cases, RCMP members’ forcible entries to facilitate home inspections caused significant damage and were not reasonable in circumstances where buildings were unaffected by the flood.” (Finding No. 23)
• “The secondary entries for the specific purpose of seizing unsecured firearms were not authorized by the Emergency Management Act.” (Finding No. 24)
• “In a number of cases the RCMP seized firearms which were lawfully secured.” (Finding No. 29)
• “RCMP members were not authorized by the Criminal Code to seize secured firearms.” (Finding No. 30)
• “Where a secondary entry into a building was not authorized under the Emergency Management Act or the common law, the seizure of unsecured firearms was also unauthorized.” (Finding No. 34)
• “In several cases the searches exceeded their authorized scope by expanding from a search for people or pets to a search for firearms or contraband.” (Finding No. 37)
• “RCMP members failed to report to a justice to show that they had reasonable grounds to undertake warrantless seizures pursuant to paragraph 489.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.” (Finding No. 39)
If there is a bright ray of sunshine in this dismal event, it is that the Prime Minister’s Office responded so quickly to the violation of Canadian citizens. Indeed, the vast majority of the Conservative government caucus has been very sympathetic to the plight of the citizens of High River.
Canadians owe some respect and thanks to the government of Stephen Harper for its quick defence of the rights of Canadians. Firearms owners also owe a huge debt of gratitude to dogged CSSA Life Member, Dennis Young, to the stellar journalist, Lorne Günter, and to Sun Media. Thank you all for the great work you did keeping this issue alive for the last year and a half.
The Government of Canada has vowed that the recommendations contained in this report will be implemented. Now, the waiting starts and the healing begins.
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“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities.” – The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety
HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE
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CSSA “STICK TO YOUR GUNS” DINNER – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 – CALGARY, ALBERTA – Holiday Inn, 4206 Macleod Trail South. Cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Superb “All-You-Can-Eat” buffet. Raffles, prizes and special guests. Tickets $69.99 per person. For information, please call Heather at 1-888-873-4339 or email: [email protected].
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DR. GARY MAUSER’S COMMENTARY ON THE INTERNATIONAL SMALL ARMS CONTROL STANDARDS (ISACS) NATIONAL REGULATION OF CIVILIAN ACCESS TO SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS. ISACS 03.30:2015(E) – DRAFT 3.1
Introduction
Thank you for the opportunity to provide my thoughts on Module 3.30 National regulation of civilian access to small arms and light weapons. I find this module totally unacceptable and cannot support it. The proposed regulatory scheme is arbitrarily complex and makes exceptionally flattering assumptions about government that are simply inappropriate in the real world. If adopted, this module would not only be ineffective in fighting criminal violence, but at the same time would stimulate the growth of expensive bureaucracies. It is even likely that these proposals could facilitate corruption.
This module reveals CASA’s [Coordinating Action on Small Arms] profound misunderstanding of the natural rights of citizens and their relationship to government.
Read the rest: http://www.sfu.ca/~mauser/papers/ISACS/ISACS2015.pdf
INTERNATIONAL SMALL ARMS CONTROL STANDARDS (ISACS) Practical guidance on implementing global commitments to control small arms and light weapons: http://www.smallarmsstandards.org
DRAFT 3.1 – NATIONAL REGULATION OF CIVILIAN ACCESS TO SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS – ISACS 03.30:2015(E): http://www.sfu.ca/~mauser/papers/ISACS/civilians.pdf
Gary Mauser is a Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University. Gary can be reached at: [email protected]
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GUNS – KNIVES – MILITARIA – ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE – MARCH 7 AND 8, 2015 – CHILLIWACK, BRITISH COLUMBIA. Location: Heritage Park, 44140 Luckakuck Way, Chilliwack (Exit 116 off Highway 1). Hours of operation: Saturday, March 7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. General admission is $5. Parking by donation – ATM on site. RV parking available. Food Concession. For further information or table rentals, please call Gordon Bader at 604-747-4704 or Al Amundson at 604-941-8489. Check out our website at: www.HACS.bc.ca. WE SUPPORT THE CANADIAN CANCER “KIDS’ CAMP” AND CKNW ORPHANS’ FUND.
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BAN ON LEAD IN AMMUNITION LIFTED IN NORWAY (By Mauro Silvis | World Forum on Shooting Activities (WFSA) Secretariat HQ | February 6, 2015)
I would like to inform you that on February 3rd the Norwegian Parliament voted to reintroduce lead shots for hunting outside wetlands.
The decision was taken by a consistent majority of 79 votes in favour and 16 against. This is a great success achieved by the Norwegian Associations that lifted a ban that was introduced in 2005 on the basis of political interests and emotional messages addressed to the public opinion rather than on scientific basis.
The Norwegian Hunting Association and the Norway’s Weapons Council worked hardly together to demonstrate that:
• lead is the most suitable material for hunting ammunition;
• non-lead ammunition does not work as cleanly and efficiently as lead;
• non-lead ammunition causes unnecessary suffering to animals and risks to hunters;
• the potential negative effects on health and the environment of non-lead ammunition have not been studied at all in details;
The Norwegian government will now include the decision taken by Parliament in a regulation that allows hunters to return using lead shots ammunition over non-wetland, starting from the hunting season of the current year.
It is expected that other countries where the undue limitations on the use of lead in ammunition are in force move in the same direction and get the same excellent results obtained in Norway.
For more information, visit the WFSA website: http://www.wfsa.net
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CANADA IN THE ROUGH – THREE TOMS DOWN
In this week’s episode, Keith Beasley takes his dad out into the turkey woods of Ontario, Canada, in hopes of getting his dad his first ever Tom! In this same episode, Paul Beasley goes out and has an aggressive Tom come in and destroy his decoy!
See the teaser: http://www.canadaintherough.com/three-toms-down/
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YOUNG RACES DRAW BIG AT BIATHLON COMPETITION (By Staff | Journal Pioneer | February 9, 2015)
BROOKVALE – More than 70 competitors took part as Biathlon P.E.I. hosted the Atlantic Cup P.E.I. Cadet Provincials this weekend at Brookvale Nordic Site.
The new air rifle class drew in 20 competitors under the age of 13. Also new this year was a recreational class and five new racers took part. In Saturday’s 3.2 kilometre air rifle sprint, Liam Kelly from Souris took first, followed by Miramichi’s Alexandre Comeau and Liam Septon.
On the girls side, Zora Wendt won followed by Emma Roy and Ella Roy, all three are Brookvale Club athletes. In Sunday’s boys pursuit, Comeau took gold, with Brookvale’s Peter Van Den Heuval second and Matthew Gallant third. Wendt won again on Sunday and Ella Roy finished second.
This was the last event for athletes heading to Canada Games and with near perfect trail conditions, athletes had the opportunity to work on ski technique and high percentage shooting. Youth Men’s 7.5 km sprint and 10 km pursuit had, BPEI’s Andre Boudreau and Lucas Boudreau first and second both days, followed by Reagan Mills from Nova Scotia but who trains with BPEI.
Youth women was the same with the order not changing, Caitlin Campbell double gold, Rachael Woodman silver and Miramichi’s Emma Septon third.
After the three Atlantic Cups, New Brunswick with 611 points captured the Nordic Marksman Cup for the 2015 season, defeating P.E.I. by 52 points. The Canada Games team leaves on Thursday and will race on Sunday Feb. 15 in the Individual Event.
See the article: http://www.journalpioneer.com/Sports/2015-02-09/article-4037154/Young-races-draw-big-at-biathlon-competition/1
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MOMS DEMAND ACTION HOLDS KROGER PROTEST: ONLY 8 PEOPLE SHOW UP LOL (By AWR Hawkins | Ammoland | February 4, 2015)
Washington DC – (Ammoland.com) On January 28 2015, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held a protest outside a Lansing, Michigan, Kroger.
Eight people showed up…
According to The Lansing States Journal, “The eight (most likely paid staffers) women… asked shoppers to shop elsewhere until Kroger prohibits customers openly carrying guns [for self-defense].” In other words, the protests was directed toward forcing Kroger to curtail the exercise of 2nd Amendment rights in their stores.
Moms Demand Action launched their campaign against Kroger on August 18 2014 and we reported that Kroger responded by saying their gun policy reflects state and local laws and that they trusted their customers “to be responsible” in their stores.
So Moms Demand Action continued pushing, even showing up at a shareholders meeting to try to force shareholders into going their way, but to no avail.
By the time the fiscal quarter was up, Moms Demand Action’s demands had been soundly rejected and Kroger’s profits had risen 21 percent.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins.
See the article: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/02/moms-demand-action-holds-kroger-protest-only-8-people-show-up-lol/#axzz3RTwlgFCo
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CLARK COUNTY’S GUN REGISTRATION SYSTEM COULD BE HISTORY (by Chris Eger | GUNS.com | February 10, 2015)
Las Vegas area gun owners may soon be able to disregard the county’s 67-year-old blue card program, the only one of its kind in the state, which requires registration of handguns.
Implemented in 1948, when the area was frequented by notorious East Coast mobsters such as Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky, Clark County’s mandatory handgun registry survived a 1989 preemption law by being grandfathered, effectively making it the only place in Nevada that requires gun registration. However there is a new sheriff in town and he is ready to pull the plug on the program.
“I believe that it’s a redundant system,” Sheriff Joe Lombardo told media last fall while he was a candidate for his current office.
With Lombardo now in the driver’s seat, the powerful Republican Speaker of the state Assembly, John Hambrick, has filed legislation to run in the relic of Vegas’s bad old days.
Hambrick’s bill, AB 127, would homogenize gun laws in the state, striking language that exempts Clark County’s gun registry. Currently the county, with some exceptions, mandates that all handguns with a barrel less than 12 inches be registered within 72 hours of being purchased by an area resident. Those who move to the county and stay more than 60 days likewise have to obtain a blue card – known as such by its color – from police. Registration involves a cursory background check and is without fees to the gun owner.
While the Sheriff and Speaker Hambrick are in favor of repealing the dated system, there may be others that need convincing.
A similar effort in 2013 brought opposition from both Henderson Police Department and Las Vegas Metro leaders who felt the registry of some 1.2 million handguns is a valuable investigative tool for law enforcement. Even if the local police agree with the sheriff this time around, there are still other factors at play.
“The newly elected sheriff has already said he already wants to do away with the blue cards,” Hambrick said after his bill was introduced. “Now whether the County Commission will go along with it remains to be seen.”
Further, community groups have already gone on record opposing any move to discontinue the registry.
“Is it helping them solve crimes because that was the end goal?” asked Jocelyn Torres with Progress Now Nevada Action prior to AB 127’s introduction. “Is it helping them solve crimes that are happening in our community? I think we would need a little more research, more hard numbers from them showing why they would want to get rid of it.”
With national gun control groups now far more involved in Nevada than in 2013, it remains to be seen whether they will get involved in attempting to save the now-threatened blue cards.
Other counties in the country have recently done away with antiquated handgun registries that had somehow remained in effect. Last summer an almost forgotten Jim Crow-era firearm registry in Durham County, North Carolina was repealed by unanimous vote of the state house. That registration scheme, enacted in 1935, had required gun owners to register their firearms with the county clerk and was the only one of its kind in the state. Following its repeal, county officials publicly shredded eight decades of records.
Nevada AB 127 has been referred to Committee on Government Affairs.
See the article: http://www.guns.com/2015/02/10/clark-countys-gun-registration-system-could-be-history/
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MASKED ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BEAT HUNTER UNCONSCIOUS WITH METAL BARS (By Tim Bonner | Countryside Alliance Ireland | Ammoland | February 5, 2015)
Ireland – (Ammoland.com) Write to your Police & Crime Commissioner and MP about masked animal rights activists.
Many of you will have seen the frightening images of Tedworth huntsman Mike Lane being attacked by masked animal rights extremists in Wiltshire last month (read a Sunday Telegraph article on this here.)
Unfortunately this was not an isolated incident. There have been a number of attacks carried out by hunt saboteurs wearing combat style clothing with their faces covered by balaclavas or masks. Most of the perpetrators are never identified.
The police do have powers to order the removal of face coverings, but they are not straightforward. An authorisation to remove an item of clothing that a constable “reasonably believes that person is wearing wholly or mainly for the purpose of concealing his identity” must be given by a senior officer in writing only when he or she believes that the individuals involved are going to commit an offence. Because the process is complicated we believe that all police forces should be prepared to deploy these powers when animal rights extremists appear in their areas.
That is why we are asking you to contact your elected Police and Crime Commissioner to ask him or her to raise this issue with your local police force and ensure they have a protocol in place. Where police forces are prepared to use these powers we believe that the likelihood of intimidation and public disorder is reduced.
We also think it is important that your MP understands your concerns as the Countryside Alliance will be discussing the legislation on face coverings and harassment with all political parties.
Thank you for support. This is a really important issue and it would be helpful if you could share the campaign with your friends and contacts once you have taken part.
About –
Countryside Alliance Ireland has been active since the early 1960s, providing Irish sportsmen and women with high levels of information and advice and representation. Over the years as the political environment has changed we have evolved into a highly effective campaigning organisation. Countryside Alliance Ireland is governed by an elected “Board” made up from members throughout Ireland. The Board sets policy and oversees financial and operational matters. Countryside Alliance Ireland partner groups nominate members of the “Board” also, making it truly representative of country sports interests in Ireland.
See the article: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/02/masked-animal-rights-activists-beat-hunter-unconscious-with-metal-bars/ – axzz3RTrgu0sJ
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CITIES REPEALING OVERREACHING GUN LAWS ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA (By Chris Eger | GUNS.com | February 6, 2015)
Doylestown, Bethlehem, Allentown and Liberty, includes the list of dozens of cities across the Keystone State that are in the process of scrapping illegal laws to comply with an National Rifle Association-backed preemption measure.
The municipalities are scrambling due to Act 192, signed into law last year by Gov. Tom Corbett (R). As outlined in the language of the law, member groups such as the NRA can stand in for local citizens in challenging ordinances in court that exceed the state’s own gun laws.
The gun rights group at the time called the bill “the strongest firearms preemption statute in the country” and a “much-needed protection for gun owners in the Keystone State.”
In the scant weeks since its enactment, towns from one side of the state to the other have dusted off their laws and evaluated them for compliance.
In November, one of the first, West Mifflin, moved to roll back a 2009 ordinance that required lost or stolen handguns be reported within 72 hours. Doylestown Township did much the same with their own parks as did such rarely-mentioned locales as Castle Shannon, Duquesne and Liberty.
As reported by the Associated Press in January, at least 22 municipalities have already repealed their laws or indicated they intended to.
“The reality is the illegal ordinances in question do not make people safer,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action in a statement. “They are simply tools to further the gun control agenda and infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Its not just small towns that are conceding the fact.
This week alone, Allentown, the third largest city in the state, removed its ban on guns in parks and city property in addition to scuttling their stolen gun registry after the prospect of taking on Tea Party advocates in court.
More action is to come, with Bethlehem on the brink of repealing their $2 gun permit fee.
“Cities are unable to legislate the idea of carrying the firearm,” solicitor William Leeson told the Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday.
For those not making the move on their own, gun rights groups are making good their promise of stepping in with litigation, which, as outlined by Act 192, the cities would be liable to reimburse the cost of should they lose their case.
Last month the first to pull the trigger was U.S. Law Shield who announced a suit against Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg, taking aim at a series of local statutes mandating the reporting of lost and stolen firearms, possession of guns in city parks, discharge of weapons in the city limits, and the use of guns by minors.
Second Amendment attorney Joshua Prince, on behalf of a coalition of several groups including Firearms Owners Against Crime, an early and vocal supporter of Act 192 during the legislative process, promised to take on the city of 50,000 as well.
Since then the NRA has brought suit against Lancaster and filed paperwork exploring the same against both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
There is some push back against Act 192, however. A collection of lawmakers, allied with a state gun control group, are challenging the preemption measure while State Attorney Gen. Kathleen Kane announced she would not defend such an attack.
“In the meantime, these cities likely will file for a stay of the lawsuits in the courts while the constitutional issues are decided,” wrote gun control advocate Fritz Walker in an op-ed for the Morning Call this week.” If a stay is granted, court costs and attorney costs should stop accumulating. If Act 192 is ruled unconstitutional, the suits against the cities should be dismissed with no award of costs or fees. In the unlikely event Act 192 is upheld, a city could then rescind the challenged ordinances and any costs awarded should be limited to the small amount required for filing the suit and motions regarding the stay.”
The end game?
“Pennsylvania municipalities need to follow state law and stop infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” Cox said.
Harrisburg city officials are due in court Friday.
See the article: http://www.guns.com/2015/02/06/cities-repealing-overreaching-gun-laws-across-pennsylvania/
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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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Phone: 416-679-9959 | Fax: 416-679-9910
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