Ontario attorney general vows to continue his fight to ban handguns

Speaking at a December 6 vigil held to perpetuate the horror of Ecole Polytechnique and the angst of men who must apparently bear the burden of this tragedy forever, Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant once again stated his mission to take responsible citizens' property from them, in what has become only one plank in a bizarre Liberal platform to disarm law-abiding citizens in a zealous and unsupportable attempt to "enhance public safety".

A Canadian Press report, dated December 6, 2006, and apparently only recently picked up by some media, quotes Bryant as saying:

"We know handguns are the weapon of choice for many criminals and we believe all Ontarians, and indeed all Canadians, would be better protected with a handgun ban and are safer with the federal gun registry in place."

Bryant said he's dedicated to preventing future tragedies by carrying out the required measures to ensure guns do not find their way into the wrong hands.

"It's not a platitude to say we want to do everything we can," he said.

"That means prevention, that means a handgun ban, that means addressing the supply and demand for the illegal gun trade, and it means tracking guns from legal to legal to illegal ownership. And that means maintaining the gun registry."

Paul Martin, the former Liberal Prime Minister, floated out the idea of a handgun ban at Bryant's insistence during the last federal election, and subsequently lost his mandate to Conservative leader Stephen Harper. Martin withdrew from the political scene thereafter, and was replaced by Stephane Dion at the recent liberal leadership campaign.

Despite repeated requests through access to information legislation, no effective use of the registry has been demonstrated to curb gun crime. Mr. Harper has indicated clearly that such an unproductive ban is not in his plans and has expressed that such measures do nothing to reduce the illegal commission of crimes with guns. His government vows to eliminate the long gun registry in favour of measures aimed at actual crime issues.

Many Ontarioans, upset with the provincial Liberal handling of the Caledonia occupation and the tens of millions of dollars poured into that failed policy, see Bryant's posturing as only a further attempt to disarm citizens, while at the same time, abdicating the state responsibility to uphold and respect Canada's laws and constitution. The provincial Liberals return to the polls this fall to be judged on their performance to date.