Steven Mace
03-20-2002, 04:19 AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
Cops want more air guns registered
By DAN PALMER, EDMONTON SUN
Ottawa has identified more than 280 air guns that need to be registered as firearms, making innocent people criminals, claims a Canadian Alliance MP.
"The Liberals are going after people who are not a danger to society," Garry Breitkreuz, the party's gun-control critic, said yesterday.
Breitkreuz said in February the RCMP identified 286 air gun models that are classified as firearms under the Criminal Code - up from the 237 identified in May 2000.
That means, like other firearms, the air guns have to be registered.
Any gun with a muzzle velocity of more than 500 feet per second is considered a firearm.
Canadian Firearms Centres spokesman David Austin said it's nothing new that some air guns with a high enough muzzle velocity are considered firearms that must be registered.
The muzzle-velocity figure has been in place since new federal gun-control legislation passed in 1995.
The fact that the number of air guns classified as firearms for registration is increasing also makes sense, he said. As new air gun models are introduced, more of them need to be registered.
"It changes constantly. The numbers keep going up," he said.
Austin said he couldn't confirm Breitkreuz's number yesterday, but said it sounded accurate.
Austin conceded it's also possible the number of air guns that need to be registered can go up because the centre may not be initially aware of a new type of air gun.
http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-03-19-0036.html
Steve Mace
Cops want more air guns registered
By DAN PALMER, EDMONTON SUN
Ottawa has identified more than 280 air guns that need to be registered as firearms, making innocent people criminals, claims a Canadian Alliance MP.
"The Liberals are going after people who are not a danger to society," Garry Breitkreuz, the party's gun-control critic, said yesterday.
Breitkreuz said in February the RCMP identified 286 air gun models that are classified as firearms under the Criminal Code - up from the 237 identified in May 2000.
That means, like other firearms, the air guns have to be registered.
Any gun with a muzzle velocity of more than 500 feet per second is considered a firearm.
Canadian Firearms Centres spokesman David Austin said it's nothing new that some air guns with a high enough muzzle velocity are considered firearms that must be registered.
The muzzle-velocity figure has been in place since new federal gun-control legislation passed in 1995.
The fact that the number of air guns classified as firearms for registration is increasing also makes sense, he said. As new air gun models are introduced, more of them need to be registered.
"It changes constantly. The numbers keep going up," he said.
Austin said he couldn't confirm Breitkreuz's number yesterday, but said it sounded accurate.
Austin conceded it's also possible the number of air guns that need to be registered can go up because the centre may not be initially aware of a new type of air gun.
http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-03-19-0036.html
Steve Mace