Nov 8, 2009 Well it’s that time of the year again. The mast is off the boat, awaiting crane day at the Vernon Yacht Club. The curling season is in full swing. Silver Star has groomed its Nordic trails, and I’m itching to wax my skis.
It’s also that time of year where the politicians, in this country of ours, loose their ethical bearings and vote with their seat instead of there brains.
There is a lot of Conservative smoke and mirrors about getting tough on crime. They want to impose mandatory minimum sentences, which has proved to be, in any other jurisdiction that has gone that way, more expensive (keeping people in jail longer ) and ineffective in lowering crime rates.
Conservatives don’t seem to get that it’s a more effective to invest in preventing crime by attacking the causes like poverty.
They’re only in it for the sizzle not the substance and their constituents buy it hook line and sinker. ‘An eye for an eye’ resonates a lot more with them then ‘forgive those who trespass against us…’
Anyway, I can forgive conservative MPs for backing the bill to abolish the long gun registry, after all, they are not really allowed to vote ‘with their conscience’; they have to tow the dogma line or answer to Steve.
However, it’s harder to forgive the 18 New Democrats and Liberals who supported it. I guess they must have listened to all those Conservative infomercials.
Sure the gun registry wasted a hell of a lot money, but so did the various eHealth initiatives, but are we scrapping Universal Health Care?
I can’t think of a single good reason with I should not register my long guns. Hell! I registered my car, my boat and even my dog, so why would I object to registering my rifle.
If having the gun registry serves only to remind gun owners and would-be owners the seriousness of their responsibilities around owning and storing a gun, then it’s worth having.
If having the gun registry saves only one life, like the life of a child who cannot play with his/her parent’s gun because it is properly stored and locked, then it’s worth having.