The Sporting Clubs of
Newsletter
Volume 16, Number 4
Nov. 2010
President’s
Message
Well, the vote is over and MP Candice Hoeppner’s private member Bill C-391 to scrap the long gun registry was defeated 153-151. It is pretty much unheard of for the vote to be whipped for a private members bill but that is exactly what the leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff did officially and Jack Layton, leader of the NDP Party did unofficially.
Obviously this was a major disappointment given that the bill passed Second Reading with the support of twenty one opposition MPs. Unfortunately, only seven had the courage to continue to support it moving forward to Third Reading which pretty much sums up why the public has so little faith in the integrity of politicians in general.
Given the simple, unambiguous nature of this bill (i.e. repeal the long gun registry...period), it is now clearer than ever that gun owners are going to see virtually no progress in rolling back the stupid and inefficient aspects of the Firearms Act until the Conservatives secure a majority in Parliament.
If there is a bright spot in this whole affair it is that gun owners have now been presented with a golden opportunity to demonstrate their collective power to the political establishment. In the next election if we can succeed in turfing a large number of the turncoat Liberal and NDP MPs who abandoned us when we needed them it will serve as a warning to others that gun owners are a group that can no longer be ignored. In the U.S., the NRA has exploited the voting power of gun owners to great effect and particularly in closely contested races Republicans and Democrats often both clamour for the support of the NRA which regularly sees 80%+ of it’s endorsed candidates elected.
In fact, the fallout from the vote has already started. Professional political weasel Liberal MP Keith Martin (first he quit the Conservatives to join the Liberals and then voted against C-391 after supporting it at Second Reading) has already seen the writing on the wall and has indicated that he will not run again. He probably won’t be the last to bail out before having to face angry voters.
Locally, Welland NDP MP Malcolm Allen proved to be another useless political shill who’s number should be up in the next election. More on him later in the newsletter.
Lastly, a word to those of you who live in the Welland riding. In addition to the September TSCON newsletter we also sent out two special mailings to every person on our mailing list in that riding (almost 1300 households) asking them to call Malcolm Allen’s riding office and urge him to support C-391. Despite our efforts he claims that only about 500 people TOTAL contacted his office on this issue. If you are one of the many who apparently did not take the few seconds necessary to make that call we suggest you save yourself $10 and not bother joining or rejoining TSCON. If your rights mean so little to you that you would not expend that tiny bit of energy to protect them WE CAN’T HELP YOU. In fact we suggest you beat the rush by packing up your guns and calling the police to come and pick them up now because when the Liberals get back in power (and at some point they will) if the worst of the Firearms Act has not been rolled back by then, gun owners are going to see their rights eroded even further to the point where lawful firearm ownership will cease to exist. Whether that happens or not is entirely up to you.
Bodo Eichhorn
Dennis Wright
The Canadian firearm community lost one of its pillars when our friend Dennis Wright passed away recently after losing a brief battle with cancer.
Dennis was a fixture at TSCON gun shows from their very inception and along with his wife Monica ran many of their own shows in Ontario as well.
His dedication to preserving firearm ownership was unwavering and he spent many years on the front lines of this battle. Dennis was a wonderful conversationalist, had an encyclopedic knowledge of firearms and cartridges but most of all he was great guy who has left us far too soon. Our deepest sympathies go out to his wife Monica and his family on their loss.
Malcolm Allen = Sellout
Let’s be blunt - Welland NDP MP Malcolm Allen screwed local gun owners when he voted against Bill C-391. Perhaps this should have come as no great surprise, however. It was quickly apparent after we met with him the first time over a year ago that he was no friend to the firearm community. His comments at that time were that maybe long guns had some use but if you wanted to shoot handguns you could just use a pellet pistol (yeah, and maybe if you want to race cars you can just get a bicycle instead). That should have warned us immediately that here was a man with no clue about the issue and who could not be trusted. That’s why we were, quite frankly, shocked when he voted for Bill C-391at Second Reading. Of course we knew that he had received many phone calls supporting C-391 and like any good self-serving politician getting re-elected is all important. Nevertheless we gave him the benefit of the doubt. We met with him again two weeks before the C-391 vote and he gave us no indication that his position had changed and his comments to the local media indicated the majority of his constituents wanted the long gun registry scrapped.
Then came his caucus meeting with Jack Layton. Suddenly his story changed and magically the majority of his constituents wanted the registry to remain and like a good little lap dog that’s how he voted. We visited his office after the vote and asked to see the tally to prove what he said was true. Our request was refused, his staff citing confidentiality. We then asked to simply see the totals for and against. They again refused, claiming that information had been sent to Ottawa (figure that one out). We then asked them to just tell us what the totals were but his staff claimed they couldn’t remember, simply that they were "close".
What is quite apparent is this: Malcolm Allen is the poster boy for what is wrong with Canadian politics. When push came to shove he sold out his constituents to bow to the wishes of his political master and that is why he needs to be dumped as fast as possible. A politician who won’t stand up for the people who elected him is the worst type of hypocrite and the sooner the riding of Welland is rid of this waste of skin the better.
Leanna Villella for Welland
Leanna Villella is the Welland riding Conservative candidate of record in the next federal election and will be running against Malcolm Allen. She recently attended a TSCON Executive meeting and we can tell you that the difference between her and Malcolm Allen is like night
and day. Unlike Mr. Allen, who never met a fence he didn’t like to sit on, she was not afraid to definitively state her position on issues. We asked her some tough questions and we liked the answers we got. We believe she will be a better MP than Malcolm Allen could ever hope to be.
If you would like to hear what she has to say about a variety of topics including the gun registry and Malcolm Allen’s cowardly vote against C-391 a quick check on YouTube (www.youtube.com) doing a search under “Leanna Villella” will show where she stands on the issues.
With a winning margin of only 300 votes in the last election and a presence the invisible man would be proud of, Malcolm Allen is a prime candidate for early retirement from Parliament. Only two things stand in the
way of Leanna Villella giving us one more pro-gun voice in Ottawa, money and boots on the ground and TSCON members can help provide both. We urge you
to go to her website and make a contribution to her campaign.
http://leannavillella.com/donate
Remember that you will get back 70-75% of your contribution as a tax refund.
When the next election is called we need TSCON members to volunteer en masse to help her campaign. If all 200 TSCON members in the Welland riding volunteered to help she would likely have the biggest campaign team in Canada and an almost guaranteed win.
Currently the Conservatives only need about 10 more seats to from a majority government and a win in Welland would huge.
Donate now and plan to
volunteer when the election is called.
Bruce Montague Case Update
After nearly 6 years, Bruce Montague's court challenge to Bill C-68 finally came to an end when the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his final appeal. They gave no reasons which just confirms our belief that it is nearly impossible for a gun owner to get a fair trial in Canada. Bruce is now serving the sentence for his conviction at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.
Now, in a final insult the Ontario Liberal government has decided to use the 'Ontario Civil Remedies Act' to take everything the Montague family owns: their home, their 160-acre property and all of their personal possessions by claiming they somehow profited by Bruce's defiance
of the Firearms Act. This is going far beyond 'justice served' and is a blatant abuse of power.
This legislation was originally intended to enable the government to seize money and property that was obtained through the activities of organized crime. It was never intended to be used in this manner, although nothing the McGuinty government and its goons does surprises us anymore. The house was built by the family with their own money long before any of Bruce's court challenge activities came about. Bruce has paid dearly not only by receiving jail time but also because a court imposed lifetime firearm prohibition deprives him from earning a living as a gunsmith.
Not satisfied with this the Liberal government is now
intent on throwing his wife and children out in the
street. Bruce earned no money from his activities, had no ties to organized crime, was never involved in any violence and most of all, his home was never funded by illegal activity.
We need your help to stop this flagrant abuse of power. Remember, if they can do this to Bruce Montague they can do it to YOU!
Write to the Attorney General for Ontario to stop this travesty by visiting the following websites:
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/contactus.asp
http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0405.html
Also:
Write to the Media:
http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0420.html
Write to Bruce @jail:
http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0407.html
Legal Proceedings:
http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0410.html
Lastly, the Montagues could really use some financial assistance. You can help them by donating online at:
http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0006.html#donate
or make cheques payable in whatever amount you can spare to:
"Bruce Montague Scrap C-68 Fund"
c/o Roger Nordlund, Trustee
RR#2 Site 211 Box 7
Dryden,
ON P8N 2Y5
Bill C-580
Many of you probably have not heard of Bill C-580, the NDP attempt at “fixing” the long gun registry instead of scrapping it. If that wasn’t enough of a warning flag for gun owners, the fact that it was introduced by Charlie Angus, another slimeball NDP MP who voted for C-391 at second reading and then bailed out on the next vote should be.
Its stated purpose is to “respect the concerns of rural Canadians while enhancing public safety.” In fact it does neither.
Here are some gems from this NDP piece of crap:
1. It allows the records of any individual to be released to any person, inside or outside Canada, “in the interests of public safety.” Bye, bye privacy.
2. It eliminates the fees for registration of non-restricted firearms. The trouble is registration is already free and as the bill is written it leaves open the door to charge fees to register restricted firearms.
3. If you are ex-military or ex-police it would allow the military or police to share your information with the Canadian Firearms Program and all your service records would be open to the Chief Firearms Officer without your consent.
4. It allows for the potential ripping off of widows and families by forcing them to dispose of estate firearms within 90 days as opposed to the current “reasonable time” which is usually considered to be at least a year. This forces people already under duress because of a family death to rush to dispose of possibly valuable firearms at less than market value as they may not have enough time to find suitable buyers.
5. Perhaps most dangerous is this provision: “The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring a manufacturer or importer to provide information for the purpose of establishing that the thing in question is reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes.” So if some faceless government bureaucrat doesn’t like the look of a gun they can arbitrarily ban it from importation. Note that Angus specifically mentioned the Ruger Mini-14 (thousands of which are routinely used by Canadian hunters and farmers) as one that would be banned under this bill.
Most farcical is that Angus claims he consulted with interested parties prior to drafting the bill, yet the bill shows no evidence that any consultation took place. We are unaware of a single hunting, shooting or conservation organization that was consulted.
The good news is that this bill is unlikely to pass in Parliament and even less likely to get through the Conservative dominated Senate. It should, however, serve as a dire warning to gun owners where we will be going if the Liberals/NDP regain control of power.
2010-2011 Executive
The following people are the Executive of "The Sporting Clubs of Niagara" for 2010-2011 (save for future reference)
President
Bodo Eichhorn
934-2532
1st Vice-President
Bob LeGrand
892-3445
2nd Vice-President
Al Rostic
Secretary
Vlad Bjel
651-4325
Treasurer
Ladi Plut
937-2163
Gun Show Chairman
Gerry Gamble
685-4480
Past President
Gerry Gamble
685-4480
Executive Directors
Barry Devereux Honourary
Sam Arnold 646-2242
Ivan Chamberlain 934-6882
Ken Durham 957-7279
John Gayder 937-2301
James Houlden 934-4250
John Kellaway 984-4189
Paul Kovacs 562-7159
Verna LeGrand 892-3445
Jerry Lemick 562-5378
Robert Lockhart 358-8923
Al McKie 682-7498
John Orth 562-7686
Ron Penfound 934-0844
Gilbert Pinney 937-3579
Dave Rempel 685-6685
Peter Rempel 688-5221
Bill Staff 562-5737
Richard Stewart 309-4403
Ted Valliere 935-3893
Jack Warner 937-8397
2011 Memberships
If you received a 2011 membership card in this mailing or if your mailing label has no date or reads “10” or earlier you are NOT A PAID UP MEMBER OF TSCON.
Non-members receive only one newsletter a year. Can you afford to be uninformed about the firearm issue? Not if you care about your guns, you can’t!
Please take the time to renew right now. Maybe even throw in a few extra dollars as a donation if you can spare them.
Advertising Change
After looking at attendance for the past several gun shows we have came to the conclusion that only a small percentage of gun show attendees were learning about the show from our newspaper ads despite the fact that we spent about $500 per show on advertising.
We will be running smaller ads but in more newspapers and several times per show.
Look for the ads in the St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune and “Niagara This Week” newspapers.
Vendors Wanted
Typically all the tables at our gun shows are sold out. However, recently some of our older vendors have called it a day and have stopped renting tables. We want to continue offering gun show attendees good value for their admission so we are seeking new vendors to fill those spaces. If you or anyone you know would like to be a vendor please call 905-685-4480 for more information.
Sell Your Stuff
Speaking of gun show vendors, we would like to remind our readers that anyone who has items to sell can rent tables at our show. You do not have to be a regular vendor or in the shooting/hunting business.
If you have surplus guns, extra reloading components or any other items around the house that you are not using why not rent a table at the gun show and convert them to cash.
Tables rentals are only $1/foot for members and $15 per table for non-members. The only conditions are that the majority of goods on the table must be shooting/hunting/firearm related and legal.
Gun Show Location
Merritton Community Centre, 7 Park Ave., St. Catharines
If you want tables for the Sept. 10/10 show, contact Gerry Gamble right away (905-685-4480). Shows usually sell out and often we do not have tables
for all our vendors. If you want tables, call early!
Notice to Gun Show Vendors
Late arrivals - If you think you are going to be late to the gun show you should call Gerry Gamble ASAP at the Merritton Community Centre (905-682-0098) so he can hold your tables.
Otherwise, he will rent them to walk-in vendors after the 6:00 p.m. cutoff.
Gun Show Dates
Dates for our 2011 gun shows are as follows:
Feb. 25/11
April 29/11
Sept. 9/11
Dec. 9/11
Free Classified Ads for Members
Classified ads for shooting related items are free for members. Please call 905-685-4480 and submit ads by the dates listed for inclusion in the next newsletter:
>Vol. 17 #1 Feb. 1, 2011
>Vol. 17 #2 Mar. 31, 2011
Remember that you have to call each time you want the ad to run. It WILL NOT be repeated without your confirmation.
Classified Ads
For Sale: Frederick Remington bronze and marble statue "The Cowboy", weighs 34 pounds, paid over $500 for it, will sacrifice for $300
Call Mike 905-945-1961
For Sale: Winchester Model 94, lever action, 30-30-30 calibre, manufactured 1956, nice wood, VG plus condition, $375
Springfield Armory M1 Garand, 30-06, EX, $995 firm
FN Mauser Sporter, bolt action, 308 Win calibre, made in Belgium, VG plus condition, $475
Call Steve 905-658-9210
Elect Leanna Villella as the MP for Welland. Join the Conservative Party and make a tax deductible donation to Leanna’s campaign at:
http://leannavillella.com/donate
Your Rights are in
the Cards!
Our laminated wallet-sized printed cards declaring your right to remain silent and ask for a lawyer when it appears that the police are overstepping their authority
when questioning you in dubious circumstances are remain extremely popular (which is a little scary when you think of it).
We are only asking for $1 per card to defray the cost of production. If you want cards mailed to you please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your request.
More info on this is on our
website in archived copies
of newsletter Vol. 11 #4 and Vol. 12 #1.
T-Shirts/Sweat Shirts/Hats
We have received a new supply of AThe Sporting Clubs of Niagara@ t-shirts, sweat shirts and hats (hats
available in 4 colours including hunter orange).
They are good quality and
available in a variety of sizes and designs. Get them while the supply lasts. Prices as follows:
T-shirts M-XL$16, XXL$18
Sweats - M-XL$25, XXL$27
Hats w/TSCON crest $15
Buy them at the gun show or from any member of the
Executive.
...and now, TSCON Decals
Thanks to the efforts of our Secretary Vlad Bjel we now have several styles of multi-coloured TSCON decals for sale. They are available with adhesive back to stick anywhere or static cling design for car windows or other smooth surfaces. The price is only $1 ea. so get yours for your car, gun box, etc. at the gun show.
Red Fridays
Please remember to wear red on Fridays to show your support for our troops.
Trigger Locks for Sale
The Sporting Clubs of Niagara has trigger locks for sale. They aren’t fancy
and they take a few seconds to put on and take off but they are legal. Locks are only $1.00 each! Pick them up at the club table at the gun show or call any member of the Executive.
Large quantities available.
TSCON Web Site
**Note our new website address
All our past newsletters as well as other interesting and informative information are
available on our web site:
http://www.thesportingclubsofniagara.com
Comments or suggestions?? Call John at 905-562-7686
TSCON
Inquiries?
General 905-685-4480 or 905-937-2301
Memberships
905-685-4480
Gun
Show 905-685-4480
FAX 905-934-8039
Mail TSCON
Box 21047
St. Catharines, ON
L2M 7X2
Weekly Meetings
Where?St. Catharines Game and Fish Building,
next to the boat ramp on Lighthouse Road in St.
Catharines in Port Dalhousie
When? Wednesdays, 7:00 pm.
Who? Members and non members alike are welcome to attend.
Moved,
Address Changes, Etc.
To
notify us of address changes, duplicate mailings, to be removed from the
mailing list or to request a copy of the newsletter call 905‑685‑4480.
" Mass murderers apparently can’t read, since they are constantly shooting up ‘gun-free zones’." - Ann Coulter
DRAW PRIZE WINNERS
The
following members are winners in our latest draw. Call Gerry at 905-685-4480 to arrange to
claim your prize.
Winner Prize Donated By
Charles Webster (Hamilton)
TSCON T-shirt The Sporting Clubs of
Niagara
Ross Grainge (Niagara Falls) Gun
Cleaning Kit The Sporting Clubs of Niagara
Ron Zupan (Niagara Falls) Pocket
Knife The Sporting Clubs of Niagara
John Lindahl (St. Catharines) Free PAL Test (transferrable) Firearms
Education School (John Kellaway)
>>>GUN
SHOW<<<
Friday, Dec 10, 2010, 6:00-10:00 pm
Merritton Community
Centre
7 Park Ave., St.
Catharines
ADMISSION $5
Buy, Sell or Trade, 100+
tables of Antique and Modern Firearms, Knives, Hunting Accessories and Gun
Parts
For tables or
information call Gerry @ 905‑685‑4480
“Remember Bill C-68 When
You Vote”