Canada Dismisses Gun-Law Sermon From NRA's 'Moses' April 14, 2000 1:53 pm EST By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada shrugged off an attack on its strict gun laws by the U.S. National Rifle Association on Friday, saying the powerful lobby group and its charismatic president, actor Charlton Heston, were showing signs of desperation. "There is one import we don't want to see from the United States and that's their gun culture," said Jean Valin, media chief at the Justice Department's firearms program. Heston flew to British Columbia on Thursday to give a speech to the B.C Wildlife Federation, attacking Canada's 1995 Firearms Act, which requires all 7.4 million firearms in public hands to be registered by 2003. "You know your registration scheme is unworkable, ineffective and outrageously expensive. You know you'll spend some C$700 million on this farce while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police begs for money to fight organized crime," he said in a wide-ranging attack on the Canadian government. "You stood by and watched while one of your most basic freedoms was crushed under the boot heel of an indifferent bureaucracy," the hunting and fishing organization heard from Heston, famous for his celluloid portrayal of Moses. Canada prides itself in having far fewer violent crimes than the United States, and the gun control debate goes to the heart of the country's national identity. Americans own some 250 million firearms, nearly one per person. Canadian government figures show firearm homicide rates in the United States are more than eight times higher than those in Canada, which has some 180 gun-related homicides a year. Another 1,000 Canadians commit suicide using guns every year. "I think Canadians have no time for this kind of preaching from Moses about gun culture," Valin told Reuters, saying the speech "probably shows some desperation from the NRA," which had misread Canadian public opinion. "I think Canadians have a lot more inner strength than he's giving us credit for. In many ways our values have endured a lot better than some of those of our neighbors in the south, particularly in the area of gun control." Six Canadian provinces are currently challenging the federal gun registration program -- which makes it a criminal offense to have an unregistered gun -- on the grounds that Ottawa is exceeding its powers. Wendy Cukier, president of Canada's Coalition for Gun Control, said the NRA was trying to export a U.S-style gun culture. "The only lesson we can learn on guns in the United States is what we want to avoid," she said in a statement. "One of the reasons that the American gun lobby is taking so much interest in Canada is that we might just export a dangerous and perhaps contagious notion -- that gun control saves lives." The NRA -- which has an annual budget of about $137 million and die-hard core of 175,000 activists -- is the most influential gun-rights organization in the United States. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
