SAVE THE GUN REGISTRY FOR WOMEN

We have the tools in place to decrease the rate of violence to women in Canada, yet incredibly the Harper government will vote to end the Gun Registry on 22 Sept 2010.

There is also the ruinous decision to erase the existing 6.8 million records in the Registry.

Professional Canadians with first hand experience: Women’s Organizations, Police Associations, Unions etc., from across the country have all appealed to save the Gun Registry.

ANSA Women’s Network says, "Although gun violence takes different forms in different countries, there is a common theme: where there is easy access to firearms, there are higher rates of women and children killed with guns.”

Writes Lyda Fuller, Executive Director of YWCA Yellowknife, “It is Northern women who fear for their lives and their mental health who are asking for protection. We see women who have experienced years of brutal intimidation. Women have told us that the guns used here in the North predominantly for hunting – that is, long guns – are also used to intimidate, subdue and control them.”

"It is ironic that on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the massacre at L'École Polytechnique, we will once again be caught up in the same fight over gun control," said CAW President Ken Lewenza.

“This extreme example of violence against women will forever be branded in our collective memory,” says PSAC national executive vice-president Patty Ducharme.
“After this crime was committed, women and men across the country turned their grief into action. Yet, 20 years later, violence against women remains endemic.”

Geoffrey Simpson sheds some light. “As the Supreme Court put it in its 2000 decision: ‘While ordinary guns are often used for lawful purposes, they are also used for crime and suicide, and cause accidental death and injury. Guns cannot be divided neatly into two categories — those that are dangerous and those that are not dangerous. All guns are capable of being used in crime. All guns are capable of killing and maiming. It follows that all guns pose a threat to public safety. As such, their control falls within the criminal law power.’
Five years later, the Supreme Court beat back a bid to establish that Canadians have the same constitutional right as Americans to possess and use firearms. Not so, the court ruled. It said gun ownership is not a right in Canada. It is a privilege and, properly, a heavily regulated privilege.”

Thousands of long arms have been seized by the police with the help of the Gun Registry; there is a dramatic decrease in suicides by long arms; and significantly, spousal homicides with rifles and shotguns have decreased since the Registry came into force for Canadian police services. As well, the Conservative statement that it costs $billions indicates a deliberate attempt to mislead as studies prove that the cost is $4.1 million.

TIME IS TIGHT
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION WHICH WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE HOUSE AND ALL PARTY LEADERS BY 22 SEPT 2010. AND PLEASE ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO SIGN IT, TOO.