NTH A NG WrSTy VANCOUVES Now June 5, 1991 not go far enough. Said West Vancouver resident and Canadians For Gun Control representative Ray Eagle, ‘‘It’s better than nothing. One hopes that over the coming months and years it can be strengthened by public opinion.”’ Eagle says the major problem with the new package is that it doesn’t come down hard enough on restricting the total number of guns available to Canadians. “There is a provision for amnesty in the new bill, but it’s up to the discretion of the powers-that-be that we will have an amnesty. 11 would give people a period of time to hand in the guns they may have’ without recrimination,*’ he said. Added Eagle, ‘I'd like to stress on behalf of the coalition that we have nothing against legitimate, responsible gun owners. But 1 can't understand why the legiti- mate gun owner doesn’t want rest:ictions on people who misuse them. And why does anybody, short of the army, need a fully automatic weapon?" Under present law, a 16-year- old may purchase, without refer- ences, a $10 Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) and buy rifles or shotguns without parental knowledge or consent. Once a FAC is issued it cannot be revok- ed. A_ revised bill would require FAC applicants to present two references. Parental consent would be required for applicants age 18 and younger, A FAC may be seiz- ed whenever a firearm is lawfully seized. Fully-automatic firearms that have been converted to semi- automatics will join the prohibited weapons category under the revis- ed bill, Present law prohibits fully automatic firearms, sawed-off ri- fles and shotguns and miscella- neous weapons, including chemi- cal Mace and brass knuckles, Current legislation permits the NEWS photo Stuart Davis imposition of discretionary firearms prohibition orders on people convicted for an offence ° 7 involving threats or altempts of O!I } li } lUNIty ay violence where the maximum sentence fs less than JO years. The revised bil would require cuurts to consider fi pro- hibition orders for all offences in- UNDER SUNNY skies last Saturday West Vancouver celebrated Community Day with a parade through the municipality. Above, the fire department leads the way with a row of old and new fire rescue vehicles. valving violence cr threatened or attempted violence. Courts would also have to consider firearm pro- hibition orders in drug trafficking offences. Minimum prahibition riteisne: cess ass Pees The functional art of Ross Ireland spotlight: 22 68 pages 25¢ WV gun control lobby says federal proposals inadequate THE LOCAL representative of a national gun control lobby group says federal gun bill proposals tabled Thursday do By Michael Becker News Reporter would increase from five years on a first offence to 10 years. The present law has no specific safe storage requirements for guns. The revised bill would re- quire all firearms owners to meet regulations for secure storage. The new bill also bans large ca- pacity cartridge magazines for semi-automatic firearms and in- troduces stiffer sentences for peo- ple convicted of firearms-related offences. But said Eagle, ‘‘If you look at the total number of incidents in- volving guns or homicides, the criminal element is very small. It’s the violent family or domestic act, or the accidents, that cause the greatest number of fatalities. We want to protect the public at large by keeping the total number of guns available to a minimum.” Meanwhile armed robbers struck simultaneously in North and West Vancouver Monday night: * North Vancouver RCMP receiv- ed a call of an armed robbery in progress at the Edgemont Boule- vard 7-Eleven food store at ap- proximately [1:45 p.m. A night clerk was threatened with a hand- gun and thieves made off with an undisclosed quantity of cash. Two suspects were arrested in the area. © And in West Vancouver a gun- man robbed a video store located in the 1700-block of Marine Drive at 11:45 p.m. According to a West Vancouver Police spokesman, the suspect entered the store, produced a handgun, locked the doors, turned off the lights and made the night sales clerk remove her clothing. The suspect escaped with a quantity of cash. Police describe the armed robber as an Oriertal male in his mid-20s. 168 ccon- timetres tall and weighing abont 64 kilograms. About a million handguns are registered in’ Canada. Shotguns and rifles do not need to be regis- tered. An estimated five millien unrestricted) firearms are in cir- culation across the country, According to a 1988 New England Journal of Medicine report, the cate at assault invaly- ing firearms is seven times greater See One pave 3