From: Thomas A Chandler, [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/national/000824/n082448 .ht ml Friday August 25, 2000 (Regina Leader-Post) Police association may withdraw support for gun registry at N.S. convention REGINA (CP) - There's a good chance the Canadian Police Association will withdraw its support for the federal government's controversial gun registry, says a police spokesman. An Alberta delegation is expected to present a motion calling on the association to reverse its position at the group's annual convention in Halifax next week, Bernie Eiswirth, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, said Thursday. The federation is a provincial chapter of the national group. When the association held its convention in Regina last year, delegates from Saskatchewan introduced a resolution calling on the group to withdraw its support for the gun registry. That resolution prompted a lively debate, although it was ultimately defeated. But Eiswirth says there is a good chance delegates will feel differently this year. "I think this time the motion will pass," said Eiswirth, a sergeant with the Regina Police Service. He said he believes delegates in a number of provinces, including Manitoba and B.C., may revise their previous positions and come out against the gun registry. There was already quite a bit of support last year from police officers in Ontario for a resolution withdrawing support for the registry, he said. The Firearms Act, passed by Parliament in 1995 to protect Canadians, requires that gun owners get licences by the end of this year, and register each firearm owned by Jan. 1, 2003. Eiswirth said he is concerned that many otherwise law-abiding Saskatchewan residents will become law-breakers because they will refuse to register their rifles and shotguns. "Whenever the government puts a law in place to target law-abiding citizens it is a problem," he said. Many rural municipalities, hunters and residents have come out against the gun registry in Saskatchewan, as has the provincial government. And Eiswirth said he is still hoping the federal government will rethink the legislation. The gun registry law will be expensive and bureaucratic to enforce and of little value in reducing violent crime, Eiswirth said. "We just don't feel it's necessary," he added. Police officers attending the Halifax meeting may also discuss a national strategy to combat organized crime, Eiswirth said. The issue of sentencing, particularly as it relates to first-degree murder, is also expected to be a topic. (Regina Leader-Post) Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
