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WFSA News and Information

June 2006

2006 -- The WFSA at the United Nations

The United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

At the United Nations Headquarters, in New York, USA, from June 26 to July 7 2006, the Small Arms Review Conference is being held.

The conference, chaired by President-designate H.E. Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York, brings governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society representatives in national delegations.

The WFSA is an NGO in Roster Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Representatives from South Africa, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy attended the meeting.

Statement to meeting by WFSA President Dott. Carlo Peroni.

Statement to meeting by Mr. C. Edward Rowe, Chairman WFSA Manufacturers' Advisory Group.

Statement to meeting by Mr. David Penn, The British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC) -- member of WFSA.

Statement to meeting by Mr. Tony Bernardo, Canadian Institute for Legislative Action (CILA) -- member of WFSA.

Statement to meeting by Mr. Hermann Suter, PROTELL -- member of WFSA.

Statement by Mr. Bruce Shaw, South African Gunowners Association (SAGA) -- member of WFSA.

Statement to meeting by Professor Gary Mauser, National Firearms Association (NFA) -- member of WFSA.

Statement by Mr. Thomas Mason, Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufactures' Institute (SAAMI) -- member of WFSA.

Statement to meeting by Mr. Richard Parsons, Safari Club International (SCI) -- member of WFSA.

Statement to meeting by Mr. Mark Barnes of FAIR Trade Group -- member of WFSA.

UN website this site includes the meeting summary, statements made at the meeting by governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil societies

Link to Video webcast of UN Conference

June 20, 2006

Legislation tabled to dismantle Canadian Firearm Registry

Canada's Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, yesterday tabled heavy legislative changes to the Canadian longarm registry, according to a report by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC) Canada.

According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics there were 549 murders committed in Canada in 2003, and of these, only two were carried out with longarms known to have been registered. There have been a total of almost seven million long guns registered there. Such a low involvement of lawfully-held arms confirms the long-held view of many independent scholars on the ineffectiveness of registration as a crime control measure.

As more and more information became available about the burgeoning costs of the failed Canadian system, in May, 2006 a set of proposals was announced with a view to winding it down preparatory to doing away with it completely.

Introducing the new legislation, the Minister said: "Counting and tracking every long-gun in Canada has been ineffective and costly, and has distressed law-abiding taxpayers who must complete endless amounts of paperwork."

Under the new measures, a gun owner will continue to be required to have a current firearms licence. Background checks will be required, so that guns cannot be legally transferred to people without licences. Businesses will be required to keep records of all gun-related transactions. Handguns will still be generally restricted, requiring registration.

http://www.psepc-sppcc.gc.ca/media/nr/2006/nr20060619-en.asp

June 9, 2006

Switzerland rejects gun registration

The ineffectiveness of universal registration as a crime control measure is being increasingly acknowledged. Switzerland now follows New Zealand in rejecting it. The reasons, which appear to revolve around an awareness that it is not cost-effective, could well echo the discoveries made in Canada about the ill-fated gun registry there.

The concept of three million guns being kept in private homes in a nation with extremely low crime rates does not fit the prevalent belief that guns cause crime.

The Director of the Swiss Small Arms Survey, Keith Krause, is featured in a Swissinfo article.

Krause is quoted as saying "In Switzerland, the percentage of people killed by firearms is slightly higher than in the rest of Western Europe". The "firearm death" figures are usually given as a means of incorporating suicide into the numbers. The article then says Krause deems a registry would be "useful", but admits that no direct connection can be established between firearm numbers in the community and criminal usage.

There has been a perception that the Swiss government wanted to bring in more restrictive legislation because it is expected to conform to the norm in the European Union's Schengen area, which Switzerland will be joining soon.

Amnesty International is quoted as being "sceptical" about the new laws because they do not involve registration.

During the consultation procedure as the legislative changes were being examined, fully 93 per cent of people questioned the benefit of further curtailing the rights of citizens.

Willy Pfund of the Swiss shooting organization Pro Tell rejects further restrictions in favour of the importance of being prepared to "educate young people to have a safe and responsible relationship with firearms".

June 2, 2006

Gun "buybacks" don't work

Boston, like many other American cities, is experiencing difficulties with gang- and drug-related crime. Between June 12 and July 14 this year, guns can be surrendered in the city with no questions asked, under an amnesty, in exchange for a $200 gift voucher. The aim is reduction of numbers of guns on the streets.

It is not the first time the method has been attempted in the city, another such program having been run in the 1990s.

The Boston Globe has now run two articles on consecutive days about gun "buybacks", saying there is no evidence of any reduction in crime following such programs. Nevertheless, they are being run in a resurgence of interest.

The Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum defended the concept, saying that gun "buyback" programs promote "shared responsibility for the gun issue", in that they are supposed to bring together the community and the police. The Globe articles, however, seem unsympathetic to the idea. One says that nearly three-quarters of the firearms surrendered in the last such program were old. The lack of empirical evidence aside, even common sense says that career criminals are not going to hand in guns at their local police station for gift vouchers, and it is no wonder crime figures do not improve after such schemes have come and gone.

Boston Globe editorial

Disclaimer: Posting of an article on the WFSA website does not constitute an endorsement by the WFSA of any view, policy position, statement or averred fact contained within the article. Articles are made available for informational purposes only.