CALGARY – Federal gun control legislation may be law and there aren’t any chain gangs in Alberta for now, but the province’s attorney general doesn’t intend to back off from his tough law and order stance.
At the Western Stock Growers Association meeting Brian Evans was urged to commence an immediate court challenge to the recently passed Bill C-68 which controls firearms. The association said the act requiring the registration of all firearms and owners is a violation of individual rights and freedoms.
Evans said he supports portions of the gun control act. Tougher penalties for those who commit violent crimes using guns is a step in the right direction although he suggests the law should extend to all dangerous weapons including knives.
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“Knives are a reality in our urban settings,” he said.
He is also in favor of anti-gun smuggling laws.
However, Evans said a gun registry doesn’t convince him that the country will become safer from violent crime.
Criminals not affected
“It would only be of aid to individuals who are law-abiding citizens. We all know those who have no respect for the law will have no respect for that kind of a program.”
He said the registry will cost the province $500,000 a year to administer its share of the program, which he feels could be put to better use fighting crime.
A constitutional challenge is the last option open to those who oppose the registry, he said.
A second protest might happen if aboriginals are exempted from registering their guns. Evans said Ottawa loses either way.
“If they were to exempt aboriginals there would be a real uprising in the non-aboriginal community. If they decide not to exempt aboriginals there are a number of legal opinions that say they have breached a number of treaties.”
Evans said the pendulum is swinging back to a recognition of the rights of the citizenry to live in a safe environment.
His department is proposing a victims of crime legislation that will focus on helping those who are hurt by crime including assaults, break-ins, vandalism and thefts.
