Okay.. this is taking it a bit far, isn't it?
Gun registry not dead yet, Tories told
The federal Conservative Party has launched a website and a series of radio ads to boast that the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has finally killed the registry that records the ownership of rifles and shotguns.
“The Harper government has followed through on their promise and has scrapped the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry,” proclaims the website that can be found at Scrap The Long-Gun Registry..
But opposition members and gun-control advocates say the messaging is premature. The bill to end the registry, a long-time goal of the Conservatives, has not yet made it through the House of Commons, been passed by the Senate, or given royal assent.
The Conservatives have a majority in both the House and the Senate, so the legislation will likely become law early in the new year.
But Michael Bryant, the former attorney-general for the province of Ontario and a supporter of the registry, says the ad announcing its demise could be construed as contempt of Parliament.
“The government, and that includes the Conservative Party, cannot misinform the public that a bill has passed when in fact it’s not passed,” said Mr. Bryant. “And it’s contemptuous of Parliament because it presumes a parliamentary result before there’s been a vote.”
New Democratic MP Jack Harris said the claim that the gun registry has been scrapped is preposterous. “They have the website that literally says ‘scrapped,’ past tense. That’s absolute nonsense,” he said.
The ads, said Ms. Hoeppner, were created to make sure people across the country know that the registry is ending. The Conservatives maintain that the registry has demonized law-abiding farmers and hunters, while doing nothing to prevent crime.
The distraught young man who opened fire on an Alberta highway last week and killed three other young people before turning the gun on himself used weapons that had been registered.
Gun registry not dead yet, Tories told - The Globe and Mail
Gun registry not dead yet, Tories told
The federal Conservative Party has launched a website and a series of radio ads to boast that the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has finally killed the registry that records the ownership of rifles and shotguns.
“The Harper government has followed through on their promise and has scrapped the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry,” proclaims the website that can be found at Scrap The Long-Gun Registry..
But opposition members and gun-control advocates say the messaging is premature. The bill to end the registry, a long-time goal of the Conservatives, has not yet made it through the House of Commons, been passed by the Senate, or given royal assent.
The Conservatives have a majority in both the House and the Senate, so the legislation will likely become law early in the new year.
But Michael Bryant, the former attorney-general for the province of Ontario and a supporter of the registry, says the ad announcing its demise could be construed as contempt of Parliament.
“The government, and that includes the Conservative Party, cannot misinform the public that a bill has passed when in fact it’s not passed,” said Mr. Bryant. “And it’s contemptuous of Parliament because it presumes a parliamentary result before there’s been a vote.”
New Democratic MP Jack Harris said the claim that the gun registry has been scrapped is preposterous. “They have the website that literally says ‘scrapped,’ past tense. That’s absolute nonsense,” he said.
The ads, said Ms. Hoeppner, were created to make sure people across the country know that the registry is ending. The Conservatives maintain that the registry has demonized law-abiding farmers and hunters, while doing nothing to prevent crime.
The distraught young man who opened fire on an Alberta highway last week and killed three other young people before turning the gun on himself used weapons that had been registered.
Gun registry not dead yet, Tories told - The Globe and Mail
