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Path: utcsri!utnut!torn!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!borisg
From: borisg@unixg.ubc.ca (Boris P. Gimbarzevsky)
Newsgroups: can.general,ont.general
Subject: Re: Gun Control???? What is this SHIT!!
Date: 5 Dec 1994 05:02:56 GMT
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 74
Message-ID: <3bu6u0$ah2@nnrp.ucs.ubc.ca>
References: <1994Dec1.153901.23786@cu23.crl.aecl.ca>
NNTP-Posting-Host: unixg.ubc.ca

Nuclear Man writes:
>>all this legislation does is place law-abiding                            
>>sportsman in some registry as if WE are the criminals!!!!!!
>                                      
>No, it only places law-abiding sportsmen in a registry.  What's criminal
>about that?  The only guns that are being banned are types that 
>legitimate hunters or shooting enthusiasts don't require, anyway.  There
>are no barriers to gun ownership being put in place, only more structure
>so that it's easier to keep track of guns.

Actually, all guns that have been sold since 1978 (when FAC was 
introduced) HAVE already been registered.  I seem to recall every time I 
have bought a rifle recently my name and FAC number going into a book at 
the gunstore.  The government currently has the power to inspect all such
books at gun stores and why they haven't done this escapes me.  I don't 
have any problems with this sort of registration, but obviously the 
intent of Cretin and his cronies is to inconvenience gun owners as much 
as possible.

>Cars have to be registered, because they're potentially very dangerous if
>used improperly.  In addition, it allows the authorities to track people
>they seek who may be trying to use automobiles to elude them.  It also
>allows the government to keep track of cars' safety.  Does anyone think
>that this in an infringement, that we should be allowed to drive any old
>shitbox that might blow up at highway speeds?  That escaped criminals would
>be able to automatically get away once they've stolen a car?

Ah yes, the old, and extremely flawed guns and cars analogy.  First of 
all it is necessary to realize, and I'm getting rather pissed off at 
reposing this so often:  THERE ARE NO FUCKING CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ANY 
MINOR OFFENCES COMMITTED WITH AN AUTOMOBILE.  (sorry to shout, but this
point seems to be very difficult to get across).

If I move and don't let the government know where my pistols are going I 
can potentially get 5 years in jail as well as be banned from owning 
firearms for life.  There are laws which require me to change my drivers 
license whenever I move, but when I got stopped for the only speeding 
ticket of my life, I had a BC drivers license, Alberta plates on my car 
with a different address on every piece of vehicle registration in the 
car.  The only comment of the cop was "which address do I make the ticket 
out too" - I wonder if the response would be the same if my FAC and other 
documents for my pistols were in a similar state of disorder.  There is a 
law which states that I have to change my drivers license within 6 months 
of moving, but I have yet to find a single person who has done this, let 
alone been prosecuted for not doing this.

There is no CRIMINAL penalty for driving a vehicle without a license as 
long as it is done safely.  One does not need a drivers license to 
purchase or own a car.  I know of a lawyer who does not have a drivers 
license (he never got around to renewing it) and drives.  I was a bit 
suspicious when I first heard this, but then I found that there are only 
criminal code penalties for careless driving or driving while under 
suspension.  There are only provincial laws which are applicable, and 
these, should one be stopped, involve only fines and no criminal record 
(so this lawyer without a license would still be able to practice if he 
got caught in his unlicensed driving).  With regard to annual renewal of 
plates on vehicles, there are also no criminal penalties for doing this.  
The cost of vehicle insurance is so high in BC now that a substantial 
fraction of drivers are simply not renewing their insurance - the chances 
of getting caught are miniscule, the fines less than the cost of 
insurance and ones vehicle cannot be confiscated.  This may have changed 
since I last saw something on the news about this issue, but it 
illustrates that there is no comparison whatever between vehicle 
registration and firearms registration.

I would love to see automobiles treated in the restrictive fashion that 
the government intends to handle guns as they kill far more people and 
for many of the drivers I have seen in Vancouver, a psychiatric 
assessment certainly would have been in order before they were issued a 
license to drive.  This would be logical, but those who expect logic 
from politicians probably still believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.

Boris Gimbarzevsky