Gun registry system has never been successful

To the Expositor:
It seems somewhat impersonal writing to an inanimate object, but since the writer of “Editorial” does nor have a name, it is necessary. It would seem that whoever penned the “editorial” needs to consider the matter of the ‘Long Gun Registry’ a little further (Destroying records a ‘mean spirited’ move, November 2). In the interests of brevity, I will only address a few of the issues raised.
In paragraph three, the infamous killings of fourteen female university students is once again brought forward. I, also, was shocked and horrified by the “News” on that fateful day: but we need to achieve closure on this issue as being the reason that honest, law-abiding citizens, who wish to pursue legitimate activities involving firearms, are being persecuted by a system that has never been successful, nor accomplished what Canadians were told it would. What happened 22 years ago is an unfortunate moment in Canadian history, but resurrecting it into the spotlight every November will not accomplish anything, especially prevent “gun crimes”.
The Conservative government is doing the sensible thing in repealing only the long gun registry part of the Firearms Act. Every other aspect of obtaining a licence to acquire and own firearms, store those firearms, and transport those firearms will remain exactly the same. There will still be strict controls on acquiring and using all firearms, as there should be. The information in the Long Gun registry is personal, and private. It can only be accessed by computer hackers and government officials authorized to access it. It is not public information, nor should it ever be! If a province can demand that information, why not insurance companies, media groups, or anyone else who wants to know who owns what, pertaining to long guns. These guns are legal private property and should remain just that. I sense a political bias in the paragraph that suggests Conservatives will not give information to Liberals. Please define a ‘dog-in-the-manger’ attitude, and ‘mean spirited’. Does this only pertain to ‘Conservatives’?
Why should the federal government be “morally bound to make the records available to a particular jurisdiction”? Actually, in moral and legal terms, they cannot make my personal information available to anyone.
Ms. Hughes states that the Police Chiefs of Canada and The Gun Control Coalition of Canada can prove the long-gun registry is a useful tool for law enforcement agencies and an effective force in reducing domestic violence”. The N.F.A. and the C.S.S.A. have asked many times for that proof, and have had no response of provable data.
As Ms. Hoeppner states: “Even the Attorney General said there is no evidence to support the idea (concept) that the long-gun registry reduces crime and violence”.
Firearms, like any other invention, can be used safely, and carefully, to contribute to a peaceful and democratic society: but, in the wrong hands and used in a way they were never intended to be used, they can be devastating to that same society. Sort of like the Internet, isn’t it?
The Conservatives are correcting an unfortunate (and very expensive) infringement on the rights of law-abiding Canadian sportspersons by keeping their personal information personal, as it should be. Writer of the editorial: what’s wrong with that?
Robert Paxton,
Little Current