WFSA Current News - March, 2003 

March 19, 2003

Canadian prosecuted for defending against robbers
Edmonton, Canada, appears to be set for prosecution after a shooting in which he is alleged to have used a .22 rifle in defence against as many as three people smashing their way into his electronics shop. One person was treated for a wound in the hand.
            According to the Edmonton Sun, in order to ensure the extraction of sufficient information to proceed with a prosecution of the shop owner, police have chosen to drop the charges against the robbery suspect.
            It is a move that is likely to arouse public outrage. Police spokesman Wes Bellmore is quoted by the article as having said: “When it's a tradeoff between pursuing a shooting and a B&E (break and enter) our priority is the firearms activity."
            When such events occur, the public usually understands the difficulty and danger faced by the person under attack, and often more so than the legal system. Britain retains its extremely unforgiving attitude towards the use of a privately owned firearm for defence, but it is not so in all Westminster countries. In Australia, for instance, rates of violent crime are a concern. Many states there have been forced by public demand to change their legislation so that where private premises are invaded by someone with criminal intent, the owner is justified in using whatever level of force appears appropriate at the time and under its strain. This force may or may not involve a firearm. The aim of such legislation is to emphasize the validity of the property owner’s judgement there and then, under the prevailing conditions, rather than have a decision made by a court in retrospect about what might theoretically have been appropriate.

March 15, 2003

Kenya burns firearms
            A Reuters article by Katie Nguyen today described the symbolic burning of a thousand guns in a public ceremony in Kenya. The country lies between Sudan and Somalia, both of which have considerable difficulty in maintaining law and order within their borders. Officials openly admit that they have no idea how many illegal firearms are circulating in the country.
            Ritual burning is very popular among those supporting the dogma surrounding international firearm regulation.
            There are certainly real problems faced by some countries, especially in Africa , but it is unfortunate that this article mentions neither legitimate civilian firearm ownership nor the economic and conservation benefits that would flow if Kenya were to reintroduce hunting. The National Security Minister, Christopher Murungaru, is quoted as saying that for people in his part of the world,  “…small arms are of more concern than nuclear weapons or biological weapons”.
            The unsupportable notion is propounded in developed countries that the broader society always benefits from the diminution of total gun numbers. Gaining currency among bureaucrats, it no doubt has its roots in less developed countries where there is unrest.
            Legitimate firearm owners in most countries submit to reasonable governmental checks or other restrictions, and there is no demonstrated benefit from making a spectacle of destruction of firearms, legal or not.

March 1, 2003

Diamonds and illegal guns
            Increasing need to discover the funding methods behind unrest in undeveloped countries has led to sharper attention being focused on rough diamonds being exported from Africa. What is known as the Kimberley Process is described more fully at  http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/default.asp . It involves stepping up certification and international standards for the diamond trade.
            The World Trade Organization has just taken the step of making an exception to its usual charter for members, namely that they must treat each other equally. Because rough diamonds are seen as providing hard currency to fuel unrest and to pay for illicit arms, particularly in Africa, it has now been agreed that exporters must show that their diamonds do not come from areas of known conflict.
            Because only approximately three per cent of diamonds are thought to be derived this way, the Kimberley Process is thought to be likely to aid in protecting the legitimate diamond industry.