Re: “Japan sets standards on gun control,” letter, Dec. 5.
The writer is obviously unaware of Canada’s gun-control regulations, as shown by the suggestion that we (and the U.S.) should take a lesson from Japan. Yes, the U.S. should, but there is no need to go as far away as Japan, because Canadian legislation is very similar.
A firearms course and a police check are mandatory to get a firearms licence in Canada. While long guns need not be registered (seldom used for criminal activity), handguns are restricted and must be registered, and owners must belong to a gun club or be registered collectors.
Canada’s insoluble problem is living next door to the “Wild, Wild West” where illegal handguns can easily be acquired by the Canadian criminal element. We do not have a firearms-legislation problem but an illegal-firearms and gang-violence problem, which requires the police and the judiciary to attack with vigour.
Stan Brygadyr
Victoria
