REGINA – Public opinion polls suggest there is a big split between Canadian men and women on gun control.
In nearly all areas women come down much more strongly than men in support of tougher controls, said Donna Dasko of the Environics polling company.
Dasko said 89 percent of women across Canada are in favor of gun registration, versus 77 percent of men. A law against allowing civilians to own handguns would draw the support of 74 percent of women, but only 59 percent of men.
“In our business that’s considered a huge difference,” said Dasko about the poll her company completed in late October. Federal justice minister Allan Rock’s proposals came out soon after the poll was concluded. “In everything there’s a gender difference except raising the penalty on people who use a gun in a crime.” Huge majorities of both men and women support increased punishment for criminals who use guns.
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Both Dasko and Ottawa pollster David Herle said support for gun control is weaker in rural communities, but still stronger than opposition to increased controls.
Rural breakdown
While neither had broken down the rural reaction along male/female lines, both said they thought women’s attitudes wouldn’t be substantially different from those of women in other areas.
At a press conference following a national meeting in Regina Jan. 22, pro-gun groups denied there is any split between men and women on the gun control issue.
When asked if the overwhelmingly male makeup of the national pro-gun leadership at the meeting meant that opposing gun control was not a big issue for women, spokesperson Zena Putnam suggested the reporter asking the question was a sexist.
She rejected the results of all public opinion polls on the gun control issues except one that ran in Maclean’s magazine in early January. This poll found Canadians rank gun control low on the list of measures that can be taken to control crime.
The Saskatchewan Women’s Agricultural Network, which held its annual meeting on Jan. 21 and 22, debated a resolution to oppose gun control. The resolution was not passed, SWAN director Elaine Kacsmar said, because “we are not totally against the registration of guns … but what we were against is if we have to pay an enormous amount to register guns.”
Christine Mitzner of Alberta Women in Support of Agriculture was harsher in her view of the gun control proposals. She said “our gut feeling is it’s ridiculous.”
She said her organization is against gun registration.
“It’s an absolute waste of money to make everyone register their guns,” she said. “It’s very costly and it doesn’t prohibit people with illegal guns from committing crime.”
She said gun control will be discussed by the Alberta Farm Women’s Network, an umbrella group of farm organizations, at a conference Jan. 26.
The Women of Unifarm, another Alberta organization, will also debate gun control during a general meeting in June, organizer Verna Kett said. She said she thought men might be more opposed to gun control than women are, but “we’re not for gun control.”