rick_reno
January 5, 2003, 10:31 AM
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20021231/wxamla1231/Front/homeBN/breakingnews
Alberta MLA plans to defy gun law
By JILL MAHONEY
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Edmonton — In a move that will risk jail time and his job, an Alberta MLA intends to become a criminal tomorrow by not registering his guns in protest against the federal government's firearms law.
Progressive Conservative Doug Griffiths said he is standing up for his beliefs and for the untold numbers of Canadians — including some of his constituents — who will also defy Ottawa's gun rules, which require owners to register all firearms before New Year's Day.
"I've had a lot of people phone my office and ask me what they should do and I've told them I'm not registering and I'm not getting a licence," he said in an interview. "So I guess that makes them feel better because they know they're not going to be alone.
"And this is one way of letting everybody know that it's all right to not do it. It doesn't mean you're immoral."
Mr. Griffiths, who emphasizes he is not counselling people to break the law, said he hopes his high-profile dissent will increase pressure on the federal Liberals to repeal the controversial Firearms Act.
"I just felt it would probably be pretty significant to have a lawmaker who swore an oath to uphold the law ... break the law. That's going to get some public attention," he said.
"I've been advised that on the political front, I will either be the first person in this country arrested because they'll want to make an example of me or they won't touch me with a 10-foot pole because they're worried about 90 per cent of rural Canadians backing me and getting really upset."
The clean-cut 30-year-old, who won an April by-election in the Wainwright riding in eastern Alberta, said he has never before broken the law, other than speeding.
He is a former teacher who lives and works on his family's ranch outside Coronation.
Before deciding he would go ahead with the protest — his objections range from the act's high cost to what he considers its erosion of property rights — Mr. Griffiths said he spoke to aides of Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, Justice Minister Dave Hancock and legislature Speaker Ken Kowalski. The Alberta government led an unsuccessful challenge of the law at the Supreme Court in June, 2000.
"I don't want to put any words into their mouths but I did talk to those offices and here I am, I'm doing it. So you can probably draw some conclusions," he said.
Mr. Griffiths said it is unclear whether someone with a criminal record can sit as an MLA in Alberta and that such a matter would likely be decided by the legislature.
He also told organizations that oppose the gun law — groups eager for someone to be charged under the Firearms Act so they can mount a court challenge — that he was thinking of declaring his defiance of the law. While his goal is to create change, not get himself arrested, he said he would be willing to participate in such a lawsuit.
"I'll fight this all the way to the Supreme Court. I'm not just going to lay down and go to jail for 10 years," he said.
The maximum penalty for possessing a gun without a licence and registration certificate is 10 years in prison.
Bruce Hutton, founder of the Law-abiding Unregistered Firearms Association, applauded him.
"I think it takes great courage and it takes leadership and I have to admire a politician with that much conviction," he said.
Along with refusing to register his four guns or declaring his intention to do so as required by today, Mr. Griffiths is not licenced, which the Firearms Act required by Jan. 1, 2001.
A few years ago, his application to renew his firearms licence was refused because he owns a pistol that is considered prohibited because the barrel is a few millimetres short of the length acceptable under law. He also has two shotguns and a rifle, all of which he uses to shoot gophers, coyotes and pigeons, and for target practice.
"To farmers, ranchers, people in rural Alberta, even a lot of people in the city who go to shooting ranges, a firearm is a tool. It's like a vehicle is a tool, it's just something you use to get a particular job done."
According to the federal government, there are an estimated 2.3 million firearms owners in Canada who possess about 7.9 million guns. It says 1.9 owners have acquired licences and registered 5.5 million guns. Opponents of gun registration dispute these figures.
Alberta MLA plans to defy gun law
By JILL MAHONEY
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Edmonton — In a move that will risk jail time and his job, an Alberta MLA intends to become a criminal tomorrow by not registering his guns in protest against the federal government's firearms law.
Progressive Conservative Doug Griffiths said he is standing up for his beliefs and for the untold numbers of Canadians — including some of his constituents — who will also defy Ottawa's gun rules, which require owners to register all firearms before New Year's Day.
"I've had a lot of people phone my office and ask me what they should do and I've told them I'm not registering and I'm not getting a licence," he said in an interview. "So I guess that makes them feel better because they know they're not going to be alone.
"And this is one way of letting everybody know that it's all right to not do it. It doesn't mean you're immoral."
Mr. Griffiths, who emphasizes he is not counselling people to break the law, said he hopes his high-profile dissent will increase pressure on the federal Liberals to repeal the controversial Firearms Act.
"I just felt it would probably be pretty significant to have a lawmaker who swore an oath to uphold the law ... break the law. That's going to get some public attention," he said.
"I've been advised that on the political front, I will either be the first person in this country arrested because they'll want to make an example of me or they won't touch me with a 10-foot pole because they're worried about 90 per cent of rural Canadians backing me and getting really upset."
The clean-cut 30-year-old, who won an April by-election in the Wainwright riding in eastern Alberta, said he has never before broken the law, other than speeding.
He is a former teacher who lives and works on his family's ranch outside Coronation.
Before deciding he would go ahead with the protest — his objections range from the act's high cost to what he considers its erosion of property rights — Mr. Griffiths said he spoke to aides of Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, Justice Minister Dave Hancock and legislature Speaker Ken Kowalski. The Alberta government led an unsuccessful challenge of the law at the Supreme Court in June, 2000.
"I don't want to put any words into their mouths but I did talk to those offices and here I am, I'm doing it. So you can probably draw some conclusions," he said.
Mr. Griffiths said it is unclear whether someone with a criminal record can sit as an MLA in Alberta and that such a matter would likely be decided by the legislature.
He also told organizations that oppose the gun law — groups eager for someone to be charged under the Firearms Act so they can mount a court challenge — that he was thinking of declaring his defiance of the law. While his goal is to create change, not get himself arrested, he said he would be willing to participate in such a lawsuit.
"I'll fight this all the way to the Supreme Court. I'm not just going to lay down and go to jail for 10 years," he said.
The maximum penalty for possessing a gun without a licence and registration certificate is 10 years in prison.
Bruce Hutton, founder of the Law-abiding Unregistered Firearms Association, applauded him.
"I think it takes great courage and it takes leadership and I have to admire a politician with that much conviction," he said.
Along with refusing to register his four guns or declaring his intention to do so as required by today, Mr. Griffiths is not licenced, which the Firearms Act required by Jan. 1, 2001.
A few years ago, his application to renew his firearms licence was refused because he owns a pistol that is considered prohibited because the barrel is a few millimetres short of the length acceptable under law. He also has two shotguns and a rifle, all of which he uses to shoot gophers, coyotes and pigeons, and for target practice.
"To farmers, ranchers, people in rural Alberta, even a lot of people in the city who go to shooting ranges, a firearm is a tool. It's like a vehicle is a tool, it's just something you use to get a particular job done."
According to the federal government, there are an estimated 2.3 million firearms owners in Canada who possess about 7.9 million guns. It says 1.9 owners have acquired licences and registered 5.5 million guns. Opponents of gun registration dispute these figures.