OTTAWA (Staff) – The majority of the nine-member federal New Democratic Party caucus has decided to oppose the federal government’s gun control proposals.
It represents a sharp break from the past when the party could be counted on to support calls for greater controls on firearms.
Saskatchewan MP Len Taylor (The Battlefords-Meadow Lake) said last week the majority of caucus believes proposals for gun registration will be a hassle for gun owners and will not reduce suicides or crimes involving firearms.
It will cost gun-owning constituents $12 annually to register, said Taylor.
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“This is for the rest of their lives and yet I don’t see it having any real effect,” he said. “I have called it a tax, mainly on rural people.”
Only Vancouver MP Svend Robinson has said he will support the government. Winnipeg’s Bill Blaikie has not yet indicated his stance. All Saskatchewan New Democrats have decided to oppose the stiffer gun controls.
Taylor said they were influenced by the position of former Sask-atchewan attorney-general Bob Mitchell, as well as by lobbying from gun clubs, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and individual gun owners.
Four years ago, “I took a lot of heat for supporting Kim Campbell’s gun control bill. But I think that took us far enough,” he said.
However, Taylor said he rejects the views of some pro-gun constituents that the registration proposals are the first step in a federal plan to confiscate firearms.
“I don’t believe in these conspiracy theories,” he said. “I think (justice minister) Allan Rock’s heart is in the right place. It’s just misplaced.”
