Speaking Notes from the News Conference in Support of the Long-Gun
Registry September 15, 2010 at 11 a.m.
Halifax Regional Police Headquarters, 1975 Gottingen Street, Halifax
Head Table Guests (from left to right)
– Ms. Stephanie McInnis-Langley, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia
Advisory Council on the Status of Women
– Ms. Pamela Harrison, the Nova Scotia representative of the Canadian
Network of Women’s Shelters and Transition Houses United to End
Violence Against Women
– Ms. Janet Hazelton, President of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union
– Chief Frank Beazley of Halifax Regional Police
– Supt. Darrell Beaton of Halifax District RCMP
Ms. Hazleton’s Speaking Notes
Thank you Constable Palmeter. I am honoured to sit before you and
represent all of the agencies seated here as it relates to the long-gun
registry.
Since the movement came afoot to amend the Criminal Code and the
Firearms Act and repeal the long-gun registry in March of this year,
there has been much public debate on this issue. As we move toward
Parliament’s Public Safety Committee’s motion on Bill C-391 in the
House of Commons on September 22, the debate continues and the voices
are growing louder. We believe it is time to make our voices heard in
the interest of public safety.
We represent a unified voice, a coalition if you will, in support of
maintaining the long-gun registry. We each have our organizational
reasons for concern over the potential passing of Bill C-391 which I
would like to briefly share with you.
Nurses and doctors, particularly those who work in emergency rooms,
witness first-hand the horrific injuries and tragic deaths that result
from firearms whether from homicides or attempted homicides, suicides or
suicide attempts, or accidents. We meet the victims who fall prey to
long guns and attempt to save them. For those whom we are unable to save
in spite of our utmost efforts, we meet their families whose lives are
shattered by long guns. We also treat patients on a regular basis who
are suicidal or victims of domestic abuse. A long gun in their homes
increases their chances of being victimized. We often work with the
police, who accompany these patients to hospital, as they can access the
registry to determine if a gun is registered to the home. This allows us
to devise a safety plan for our patients. For these reasons, we
collectively support the long-gun registry.
Several of the representatives with me today are specifically dedicated
to ensuring the well-being, dignity and safety of women. These agencies
have seen the negative effects of the use and access to long-guns on
women, particularly as it relates to spousal abuse and domestic
homicide. They are all too familiar with the statistics that show that
access to guns is the fifth highest of 18 risk factors in spousal
homicides and that 88% of Canadian women killed with guns are killed
with a shotgun or rifle. It stands to reason that Canadian women and the
agencies dedicated to furthering women’s rights continue to
overwhelmingly support the current firearms law, including registration
of all firearms. Suffice it to say that women and their support agencies
are very concerned about access to rifles and shotguns in cases of
domestic abuse and violence. For these reasons, together we call for the
abolishment of Bill C-391.
Our local police, in concert with the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police,
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Canadian Police Association
and Canadian Association of Police Boards, have long supported the
registry given that it is a valuable investigative tool for law
enforcement. Police officers regularly utilize the national firearms
registry to prevent crimes, investigate offences and trace firearms. It
has repeatedly proven invaluable in ensuring community safety. If the
registry were to be abolished, it would eliminate officers’ ability to
hold people responsible for firearms offences and critically hamper
police agencies’ ability to investigate gun crimes. For these reasons,
we stand unified in our support of the long-gun registry.
Together, the agencies represented here today are a united front for a
common cause; an alliance on the quest to protect the vulnerable, give a
voice to those who are unable to speak out, and ultimately enhance
public safety in our community, our province and our country.
We have already lobbied government to defeat the current bill and
maintain the long-gun registry. We encourage citizens and other agencies
who share our concerns to express their desire to their Member of
Parliament to maintain the gun registry. In the interest of our families
and our communities in Nova Scotia, it is our hope that our collective
voice will be heard.
Thank you.
