Ottawa may soften on guns

[Township75]

Ottawa may soften on guns
Voluntary registration favoured by West

Tim Naumetz
For CanWest News Service


April 30, 2004

OTTAWA -- Liberals may be considering a proposal for a voluntary firearms registration as part of the party's effort to appease western voters.

SNIP

Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz called the proposal "absurd," saying it is legally impossible to have voluntary registration unless the government amends the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code to eliminate non-compliance offences.

"How can the Criminal Code of Canada be something optional, something voluntary?" said Breitkreuz, who called the idea an "election gimmick."

Thousands of gun owners are thought to be in contravention of the registration law, but most provinces have declared they will not prosecute violators. In cases where police have laid charges, it has been under the Criminal Code rather than the Firearms Act to avoid giving gun owners the opportunity to challenge the act in court.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/story.html?id=e25f7da5-323d-4682-a93c-e6dbdbf9a596