Rex Murphy

[Rob]

The Gun Registry: A billion dollar bag of perfect uselessness
By Rex Murphy
CBC - The National
Commentary
January 7, 2004

Rex Murphy has a wonderful insight into a variety of issues, whether moderating Cross Country Check-up on CBC Radio on Sundays or writing an opinion piece in the Globe & Mail or the National Post.

In this commentary he notes:

"Whether it's a rash of gun killings or just a single gun murder, our platinum priced gun registry with its billion-dollar cost overrun is not just ordinarily useless in cases of this kind, it is perfectly useless. It is useless without qualification. It does nothing. This may surprise a few anti-gun philosophers, but the knowledge that a farmer has a 12-gauge in Saskatchewan or a hunter has a .30-30 in Newfoundland is infinitely irrelevant."

[Senator]

Right on

[7mmager]

Not totally worthless. If everybody in Canada purchased and registered a firearm (preferably large bore and semi-auto), would the government become more accountable? :hat

[Cowpuncher555]

Responsible government through superior firepower?
Sounds like a recipe for disaster...
See: Haiti, Afghanistan, Senegal etc.

[7mmager]

See Switzerland or Germany. Nations where people are educated about guns and develop a strong sense of responsibility to themselves and contries by military training.

[xsniper]

In Switzerland training is compulsory, when you are done you take your rifle and amunition home with you.

[Cowpuncher555]

You didn't say that training and government service were part of the deal. It just sounded like armed rebellion was the way to go. My mistake.
That said, compulsory training and military service would not be such a bad idea, but where would the money come from? Oh, how about $2 billion from the gun registry and ask some Quebec ad agencies for loans?