Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Yet Another Pointless Gun Bill?

Re. S-5:

Introducing a bill in the Senate is unusual — 98 per cent of bills are presented in the House of Commons.

[...]

Some observers said the move is likely more strategic — the Conservatives can blame the Liberal-dominated Senate if the bill is voted down.

...which is to say they expect it to get voted down in the Senate, which stays Liberal until at least the end of this year.

Another hopeless piece of legislation, then, to substitute for real action? Another purely symbolic gesture to the goobers comprising the Tory political base?

Update: An unusual outburst of knowledge from Kate's comments:

This no news at all. C301 is dead in the water. Will likely be withdrawn, and will certainly fall if voted on.

The opposition choked on the the other housekeeping amendments in the bill, in part because the RCMP is actively trying to rewrite the rules for semi-automatic non-restricted firearms (like the Ruger 10-22, and many of the firearms favoured by trap and bird hunters).

The bill is being replaced by senate bill s-5

(here)

which amends ONLY for non-restricted (long gun)registry only.

However, it doesn't eliminate a registry, just the federal one. The provincial CFOs still have to approve the transfer of any long gun and in order to do so, the gun must be identified to ensure it is in fact eligible to be unregistered. Anyone who believes the CFOs will not create their own database of transferred un-registered long guns is dreaming in technicolor. THAT can be accomplished with any basic database program, including the one in Open Office.

Something not quite clear from this is, while this bill has been introduced today, the vote on bill C-301 ( Garry Breitkreuz's) has been delayed until at least May, and possibly forever.

So one long-shot bill gets exchanged for another? Motion substituting for progress, once again.

9 comments:

WesternGrit said...

They'll have it fail the Senate, then Harper will rail against the "Liberal Un-elected Senate", then he'll try to work up voter angst in support of killing the registry because a bunch of "hack Senators" support it.

He'll placate the base again... getting them excited about the bumper-sticker issues of the late 80s/early 90s (gun control, Senate). These are the "guns/God/gays" issues of the Canadian right. He NEEDS every one of his base out working for him, to try to win some more BC, Sask., Manitoba, and rural Ontario/Atlantic seats.

Harper has "cocooned", and is writing off Quebec. His fallback was always ending up with his old "Reform stomping grounds", with a little more of English Canada thrown in.

I hope Quebec realizes what is going on here, and we continue to see the move back to the Liberal Party in that province. We need to stop Harper and his "not-so-secret agenda".

Ti-Guy said...

Update: An unusual outburst of knowledge from Kate's comments:

Maybe Monte Solberg is commenting over there again.

C4SR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
C4SR said...

It's really simple.

Western Liberals and progressives have to tell Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff that they won't get our vote if their parties don't do the right thing on the private member's bill or the government bill.

And Liberals need to remember that despite the long standing opposition of provincial NDP governments in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the almost complete opposition among NDP MPs when the gun registry weas first adopted, the NDP has exactly zero seats in rural, prairie Canada.

Opposing the gun registry won't win Michael Ignatieff any seats in Western Canada, and it could cost seats Liberals could win in Quebec.

Good public policy and good politics.

Ignatieff should whip the vote.

Dante said...

When the fascists take complete control of the world, I hope the anti gun advocates are the first to hang in the boulevard.
We will at least be left with people who don't wish to be slaves.

MgS said...

Dante:

You are an ass.

What's the problem with registering guns? We register cars, people, financial holdings etc. with the government, and I don't hear you bellyaching about those.

Ti-Guy said...

When the fascists take complete control of the world, I hope the anti gun advocates are the first to hang in the boulevard.

You think you're going to hold off the fascists with your blunderbuss, Dainty?

Moron.

What causes me constantly to oppose the gun nuts is not an objection to their right to shoot at tin cans and hunt squirrel (and pose in pictures with their ersatz-penises) but the conceit they have in thinking fighting for this particular right is majestically noble and righteous.

It isn't. It's the fantasy of underendowed little boys who don't have anything else to worry about.

Don't worry your pretty little head about the fascists, Dainty. Let the adults take of that.

Now shut up, like your Daddy would tell you if you knew who he was.

Dante said...

Ti-Guy.
I have no doubt that a pussy like yourself requires a bitch slap from time to time to remind you that in times of trouble, that mouth of yours will only serve as a substitute vagina. Your bravado in claiming that you can take care of things in these dangerous times is just plain annoying...not funny. Should you require another reminder, please feel free to post a location, and I will be happy to introduce your ass to my size twelve boot.

MGS...only a clueless asshole who knows nothing about the myths of gun control and less about the real reason to disarm the population can make such a flippantly ignorant comment like you just did. Perhaps you are happy to be a sheep who cedes all his or her freedom to the state. Don't cry when the wolves eventually come out.

WesternGrit said...

I knew paranoid delusions were commonplace among the right wing, but this is just ridiculous angry rhetoric...

Seriously hope this person had a psych eval before being allowed firearms... (if at all).