Volume 3, Number 3 August 97

Message from the President

Election '97 is gone, and with it the hopes of electing the only party that would have flat out repealed Bill C-68. I would like to thank everyone who helped with our election activities and those of the Reform Party. It was inspiring to see people working with such passion and commitment. If only we had been greater in number...

On the bright side, with Reform as the Official Opposition and the Liberals in only a slim majority position, further anti-gun/anti-hunting legislation will be harder to enact. However, this optimism must be balanced with the reminder that sections of Bill C-68 enable the Justice Minister to pass further restrictions on gun owners without parliamentary discussion.

The Sporting Clubs of Niagara is not going away. We will not disappear from the arena of debate on firearm issues. We have devised short and long term plans to bring some sanity back into the way honest, peaceful gun owners are treated, but we need your continued support. Why not come to one of our weekly meetings and take on one of our many projects? We need your help. If not you, who? If not now, when?

In other news, for those of you who do not get a chance to read the St. Catharines Standard, on June 19, 1997 Judge Douglas Gowan was quoted labelling all gun collectors "a danger". In the weeks after this outrageous statement many people wrote excellent letters to the editor rebutting his comments. As of my writing this (Aug. 10, 1997) his Honour has not chosen to justify his comments or respond to the well-reasoned counter positions put forward by the letter writers.

The Ontario provincial government has filed it's court challenge against implementation of the new Firearms Act (Bill C-68). Their argument is that it is constitutionally unlawful to download the cost of the bill to the provinces and that the areas of property and civil rights are the exclusive jurisdiction of each province. Hope still exists that we will not get this expensive and misdirected foolishness crammed down our throats. But again, this won't happen on its own - get active!

Best wishes for a jam-free Fall season.

John A. Gayder

Guest Editorial

We have expressed much concern over the latest gun laws passed by our government but we seem to forget that they are just the most current in a regime of legislation in which the unintended consequences have far outweighed the benefits. In his 1993 report the Auditor General warned that all of this legislation dating back to the 1970's was part of the same regime and it had encouraged the use of smuggled firearms.

Since 1934 handguns have been the most severely controlled firearms in Canada yet the use of handguns in homicides has steadily increased since the 1977 legislation was proclaimed. It is clear that as we continue to build on this regime of gun legislation the worse matters become. "When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns." No proponent of gun control has ever refuted the truth of this assertion, none ever will. Veritas simplex oratio; the language of truth is simplicity. Canada's experiment of directing gun laws at trustworthy citizens rather than criminals simply reinforces the truth of this statement. Unfortunately, as violent criminals become aware that Canadians may not keep firearms for self defense, they become bolder. This is costing the lives of honest citizens.

In 1987, Florida passed laws permitting trustworthy, trained citizens to carry concealed handguns for self defense. Since then 30 states have followed suit with an ensuing drop in all types of violent crime including homicide. There are now hundreds of thousands of permit holders in the United States (over 380,000 in Florida alone). The oft-touted shoot-outs over fender benders have not materialized and no permit holder has been convicted of murder.

University of Ottawa professor Thomas Gabor, who received a grant from the Ministry of Justice, admits that an increasing body of evidence suggests gun ownership deters crime.

It has become clear the unintended consequences of our regime of gun laws far outweigh any benefits that may accrue. It is time to review all gun legislation and to eliminate that which does not benefit the Canadian people.

Jim Finley

Local Reform Candidates Fare Well in Election '97

Despite the fact that the Liberals swept most of the Ontario seats in the election, it was obvious that locally the gun owner vote had a pronounced effect on the end results. Reform candidates finished second in all 4 Niagara ridings, in each case seriously cutting into Liberal vote margins compared to the 1993 election. In St. Catharines, strong pro-gun Reform candidate Rob Hesp sliced nearly 4000 votes from the Liberal 1993 total. Jim MacInnes in Erie-Lincoln trimmed over 3000 votes from the Liberals. In Niagara Falls, even ex-MP Rob Nicholson of the PCs couldn't bump Mel Grunstein whose strong challenge placed him a tough 2nd as the Liberal margin slipped by nearly 5000 votes. In Niagara Centre, despite being a long time MP and House Speaker Gib Parent lost 1500 votes to Don Johnstone. Thanks to all of you who backed the only party that seems to care about the law-abiding. With results like these to build on and continued pressure from concerned gun owners it is obvious that the days of Liberal dominance in Niagara are numbered.

TSCON and Election '97

With the calling of the 1997 election "The Sporting Clubs of Niagara" swung into high gear to keep the firearm issue in the forefront of the campaign. Our "Emergency Election Edition" newsletter went out and the green "Remember Bill C-68 When You Vote" signs were in such evidence everywhere that they were the topic of a St. Catharines Standard editorial. While many people were helped in putting up the signs around the peninsula, special mention must go to two gentlemen who went the extra mile. Max Cook and Jim Houlden deserve special praise for the huge amount of time and effort they put in to make sure that signs were present everywhere you looked. Great job, guys!

Along the same line, our numerous newspaper ads were hard hitting, logical and right on the money regarding the gun issue and Liberal arrogance about depriving people of their rights and property. These ads, which were the work of Dave Miller and John Orth, put the government party literature to shame. Ours actually made sense and weren't full of lies and half truths. Many thanks to these two gentlemen for their fine efforts.

Web Site

All our newsletters as well as other interesting and informative material are available on our web site. We can be reached at:

http://www.vaxxine.com/scon

For comments or suggestions call John at 562-7686

Liberal Firearm Confiscations Begin

Remember all the promises from Rock,Cukier,and their buddies that the new gun laws were of little concern for the ordinary, law-abiding gun owner? Well read this:

Apparently there is no crime in Halton Region these days. The Halton Regional Police Force has so little to do that they have now taken to harassing and charging legal gun owners over minor infractions like address discrepancies on registration slips.

You would think with budget cuts to police departments they could find more productive uses for their time but apparently honest citizens are easier to track down than criminals.

For further information on this travesty see the included "Warning" article from the Burlington Rifle and Revolver Club.

Why You Should Not Register Your Firearms

As many of you may know, the government plans to make you register all your firearms, including rifles and shotguns. What many people do not realize, however, is that you have up to five more years before you have to do this. Here are some reasons why you should not comply with any registration until the very last minute.

1. See the Burlington "Warning". If the police have time to hassle handgun owners who have taken the trouble to register their guns in the first place, it's only a matter of time before they get around to doing the same to long gun owners. They can't do this if you haven't registered since they don't know what you've got.

2. It is morally wrong that the government treats you like a criminal just because of what you possess.

3. Once a gun is registered, if you want to sell it the buyer will always have to pay a transfer fee. This will make sales more difficult, adds waiting time to process the transfer, involve trips to the police station, etc. If you don't register, they can't charge you a fee since they don't know what you've got.

4. Even if the registration system is scrapped, do you honestly think the RCMP will delete the computer records of any guns you have registered? If you believe that then you also think Allan Rock is your friend.

5. Your registration money will be used to continue to finance a system that penalizes you. Do you really want to pay people to harass you? If not, then hold on to your money for a few more years.

6. With any luck Reform will form the next government and make this nightmare go away.

4. Hey, Non-members!!!

Our cost for ads, signs and newsletters for the election were nearly $5000. This money comes from only 3 sources: memberships, gun shows and our advertisers. If you are one of the many who staying in touch with the firearm issue via our newsletters isn't it time you took out a membership? The $10 cost is a cheap investment and when we win all gun owners benefit. Take a minute now to fill out the enclosed 1998 membership card and send it in with your cheque. With the cost of each issue of the newsletter running around $1000 we are at the point where we can't continue to mail them to people who aren't supporting us. Hopefully your firearms and your rights are worth $10 or $20 a year.

Member Benefits:

1) a quarterly newsletter with the latest updates on the firearms issue

2) "members only" draw prizes

3) free classified ads (see this issue for more information)

4) discounted table rates at our gun shows

5) room discounts at the Days Inn hotel in Kingston

6) a free 3 month subscription to the "Canadian Access to Firearms" newspaper

All monies raised by "The Sporting Clubs of Niagara" are used locally to protect the interests of local sporting citizens.

PRIZE WINNERS

Congratulations to the following members who are winners in our latest draw. Please call Gerry at 685-4480 to arrange to pick up your prize.

Winner.............Prize.............Donated By

Harry Marjoram one litre of maple syrup Barnes Agriforestry

Sam DiMattia hunting gloves Frontier Gun and Sport

Jim Thornton Stihl baseball hat Niagara Saw

Ken Lounsbury trenching shovel M&D Sales Army Surplus

***NOTE*** If any previous draw winners have not received their prizes would you please call 685-4480 so we can arrange for you to receive your prize.

TSCON INFO?

General Inquiries

937-2301

685-6623

685-4480

Memberships

934-6882

Gun Show

562-7686

T-Shirts

Our popular "Remember Bill C-68 When You Vote" T-shirts with "The Sporting Clubs of Niagara" logo on the front are still available and still cheap at $10! Get yours at our next gun show or by calling any member of the Executive.

Address Changes duplicate or additional mailings

Moving, receiving duplicate mailings, want your name removed from our mailing list or know someone who would like to receive our newsletter? If so, please drop us a note at our postal address or call 685-4480 so we can keep our mailing list as current as possible.

Free Classified Ads for Members

Members can now place free classified ads for shooting and hunting related items. The following conditions apply:

1) if space is limited the ads should be a maximum of 30 words including phone number

2) available space may limit the number of ads so "First come, first served".

3) ads must be submitted by the following dates to appear in the most current newsletter:

<Vol. 3 #4 Nov. 15/97 <Vol. 4 #1 Jan. 15/98

To place your ad call 685-4480 by the above dates.

Classified Ads

FOR SALE: Ross M-10 Custom, .303, single shot, walnut Anschutz-style thumbhole stock and adjustable buttplate, Unertl 32X target scope (2" obj. adjustable), vg, $500; Enfield #4 Mk.1, sporter w/new wood Monte Carlo stock,Pachmayr recoil pad, 20" barrel, Marbles open sights, new matte blue finish, blind mag w/solid floorplate, $180; Colt 1911 70 Series Gov't. Model, 45 ACP, factory nickel finish, smooth wood grips w/Colt medallion, exc, $550; Colt AR-15 A2 Gov't. Model, .223 Dimaco 1-7 heavy barrel, w/magazines & mag loader, GI cleaning kit and bayonet, exc, $800; Colt AR-15 flat-top upper assembly, .223 1-9 twist heavy barrel, detachable A2 sight & carry handle, vg, $300; Mossberg M590 Military, 12 ga. pump, 8+1 capacity, bayonet lug on 20" cyl. bore barrel, synthetic stock & forend, parkerized, w/sling, vg, $300; call Ron 905-357-0084

FOR SALE: Ruger M77R MKII, 30-06, blue, walnut stock, muzzle brake, Dayton Traistor trigger, rings (no open sights), as new, fired less than 40 rounds, $625 or offers, call Steve 905-937-6201

FOR SALE: Mod. 1895 Mannlicher Carbine, 8x56R, exc, $100; Russian Nagant w/sling, 7.62x54, vg, $75; Russian Nagant, 7.62x54, vg, $70;Olympic Arms AR-15, 20" heavy barrel, .223, as new, less than 100 rds. fired, $600; open to offers, call Gerry 905-685-4480 after 4:00 P.M.

WANTED: Parts for a Mercruiser 165 HP inboard/outboard; call Dave 905-646-1952