Reply #128: and I'm about as bored as usual

[iverglas]

Won't you make the tiniest effort to get a clue? People who spew forth about things they know nothing about usually make fools of themselves.


Ban on handguns, 24-hour active security, it's all right there.

"It" is a great big dog's breakfast concocted by you.


A. Two classes of persons are permitted to possess handguns in Canada at present, apart from those licensed to carry them for employment purposes.

(a) Sports shooters who belong to approved gun clubs, who must store the firearms in accordance with the regulations and may transport them only to and from gun clubs/ranges, in accordance with the rules governing transportation.

(b) Collectors, who must meet the regulatory requirements to qualify as collectors, comply with storage requirements, and not transport the firearms without a special permit.

It is my own position that collectors should not be permitted to possess handguns, and that it would probably be wise to require sports shooters to store their firearms at the facility where they engage in their sport.


B. It is my own position that collectors who possess restricted weapons (a term defined in Canadian law) should be required to store them in a location where there is twenty-four hour active security.


Neither of those things has thing one to do with people who possess unrestricted long arms, generally used for hunting, protection from wildlife in remote areas and pest/predator control.


I assume that your legislative goals are not specific to the case of Mike Hargreaves, and I'd bet that many stolen guns used by Canadian criminals come from collections smaller than Mike's.

"Mike" (pals, are you?) apparently had thirty-some-odd firearms in his collection.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Render&c=Article&cid=1139785525319&call_pageid=968332188492

Who knew of gun cache?
Collector’s passion 'wasn’t a secret’
Feb. 12, 2006. 10:57 PM

... “Everybody knew he had guns,” said a police source. “He was in and out of the building all the time with weapons and ammunition.”

... Gordaneer claimed thieves had stolen 80 firearms, including 50 handguns, a collection he estimated was worth more than $500,000. He said the front door to his apartment had been jimmied on Friday and three of four storage lockers pried open.

But Peel police say Gordaneer had paperwork for only 42 missing firearms — 39 handguns and three long rifles — and they’re at a loss to explain why he claimed his collection was much larger.

... “This other stuff certainly wasn’t disclosed to investigators,” said Peel Constable Kathy Weylie. “The storage issue of these firearms remains under investigation.”

... Friday’s theft, believed to be one of the largest ever against gun collectors in Ontario, was the second major theft of weapons from firearms enthusiasts in recent weeks in Greater Toronto. On Feb. 3, 40 handguns were stolen from Ken Foster, 67, while he was in hospital.

So tell me, how large would a gun collection have to be to qualify for 24-hour active protection if you had your way?

Someone with an ordinary firearms permit may acquire as many non-restricted firearms as s/he has a yen for. (I may not think that wise, in terms of policy, but it doesn't seem to have been a source of major problems.) The only reason to have a collector licence is to be permitted to acquire handguns and other firearms that people with ordinary firearms permits are not permitted to acquire and that may only be acquired for "collecting" purposes, i.e. not for carrying or for use in any way. Quelle surprise that collectors would be targeted for theft, given as how they are the ones with the firearms that the thieves actually want and all.

edited because I'm sure someone will claim to fail to see the answer there: the answer is "one". Anyone who possesses any restricted firearm under a "collector" permit should have to comply with that requirement. Ditto sports shooters.


So that was a cute one:

Ban on handguns, 24-hour active security, it's all right there.

... it just wasn't, er, the whole truth.