ROSIE IS THE BEST

I'd like to thank Stephen LaRose for his recent article on the abolition of the National Firearms Registry ["Goodbye Gun Registry", Nov. 3-16]. It is the clearest article I've read on the subject yet. It puts into nice perspective the gross inconsistencies in the way the government panders to the reactionary interests that constitute its "base". When they were in a minority position they acted as though they had a majority. Now that they have a majority they act as if they're running a dictatorship. It also shows up the weak, irresolute nature of the opposition parties. It must be hard as parents and teachers to convince children that bullying is bad when "we" seem to elect them to govern us these days.

Bernard L. Cohen
Regina

ROSIE IS THE WORST

The article by Stephen LaRose about the gun registry demands a rebuttal.

There is nothing inherently evil or overly powerful about the Ruger Mini-14, the rifle used by Gamil Gharbi in Montreal. Demonizing that make and model of rifle is evidence of an irrational fear of guns. The fact is that it is relatively low-powered compared to most sporting rifles. Even the 110-year-old .30-30 Winchester is more powerful. And more recent cartridge designs are even more powerful. So to say that the Mini-14 only belongs on a rifle range is blatant ignorance. Other rifles are just as compact. Other rifles hold as much ammunition. Other rifles have a similar action. Further, when you are the ONLY one in a room who has a firearm, it doesn't matter what kind of gun you have. Gharbi actually mangled his attempt to make it fully automatic and turned it into a malfunctioning semi-auto: it would fire one bullet, chamber another but wouldn't fire, so he had to manually work the action to cock it properly. A bolt-action rimfire rifle would have been just as deadly in that same situation.

The Mini-14 is not an "assault rifle". No military in the world uses it. It is a sporting rifle - period. It may somehow look like a military rifle to the uninformed, but it isn't.

I don't know why this blatant falsehood continues to be spread, and accepted by the gullible. And saying that only someone with a severe weapons fetish would own it is equally distorted.

Keeping a list of the types of firearms owned by licensed people, i.e. the people who have already cleared the police background checks, is pointless redundancy. Unless you believe they need it for future prohibition and confiscation purposes. Then it suddenly does have a purpose.

And by the way, Stephen, Liberal governments of the day have said explicitly, 'We want to take away your guns. The registry is the first step."

Tom McAuley
Winnipeg

CORRECTION

Prairie dog contributor John F. Conway writes in to correct an error in his last column, "Be More Different" [Nov. 3-16]. Here's John:

My column on the Saskatchewan election opens with:

"A reporter covering Tory Prime Minister Kim Campbell's 1993 election campaign likened it to watching a dog die slowly. Campbell replaced Brian Mulroney after his public support collapsed and she was punished for his sins, winning only two seats and 16 per cent of the vote."

Mea culpa, I mis-remembered. The reporter in question actually made this comment about national NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin's 1993 campaign.

Under pressure from NDP Premiers Mike Harcourt (BC), Roy Romanow (Saskatchewan) and Bob Rae (Ontario), McLaughlin joined them in the sharp right turn from social democracy to neoliberalism and in supporting the disastrous Charlottetown Agreement in the 1992 referendum. Big mistake. McLauglin led the NDP to an unprecedented electoral disaster, winning only nine seats with seven per cent of the vote.

Though the "dog dying" reference was made specifically about the McLaughlin NDP campaign, it was equally applicable to the Campbell Tory campaign.

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