Canadian gun owners: Have you joined the NFA?OTTAWA - The Conservatives are hoping to enlist gun enthusiasts in the fight against the coalition that is threatening their government.
"Law-abiding owners of handguns and semi-autos will become criminals overnight if the opposition parties have their way," Tory MP Garry Breitkreuz wrote in a letter posted on his website.
"It is essential to mobilize everyone you know."
Why not?
[Via The Bitter Clinger]
This may be a preview of things to come in America.
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember back in 1989 CA demanded everyone register their AK, AR and even SKS's with the state's AG. Not doing so would be a felony. Once this was done they came and collected them. Anyone from CA please fill in the detail or add to this if you would.
I can see the new AWB having a part where all AR, AK, SKS's and the rest, even 10-22's must have paper on them under NFA. Which will make it as easy as CA to round them up.
:-) I heard an elaboration on this story, AvgJoe - I was in California at the time.
ReplyDeleteThe AG (Bill Lockyer, who has since moved on to bigger things in CA politics) did indeed change the rules after the rifles were registered, banning them and ordering owners to turn them in. To be specific, the 1989 Roberti-Roos law demanded that "assault weapons" with certain consmetic features (you know the routine) be registered within a certain time. Lockyer's predecessor reopened the registration period in the late '90's, and a few idiotic gun owners actually did register their guns at that time. Lockyer rescinded that grace period, converting all those people into confessed felons. He publicly declared that the owners of almost 2000 once-registered weapons needed to turn them in, destroy them or take them out of the state or face fines and imprisonment. Of course, virtually no one turned them in. I know some moved theirs out of California, I doubt very many people destroyed them. I suspect most people did nothing, but don't know.
And here's where the story gets amusing. Stung by the failure of California gunowners to fall on their faces and beg mercy and forgiveness, Lockyer allegedly went to the leadership of the CA state police and demanded that these people (whose names and locations were of course known, since they had registered their weapons) be served with search warrants and arrested in their homes if found with the weapons. And the leadership of the state police allegedly told Lockyer one of the more obvious cold, hard facts of life - policemen like to know they're going to be alive at the end of their shifts, and they will find all sorts of excuses not to follow any such order. And then they told him to pound sand, and then the whole issue went away.
California doesn't have a lot of "feel-good" political or legal stories, but I always thought that was one.
Joel, classic story and I'm glad you took the time to tell it.
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