June 19, 1995

Ms. Joan Kingston
Chairperson, Advisory Council
on the Status of Women
Foundry Street, Suite 207
Moncton, NB

Dear Ms. Kingston:

This correspondence is in response to support for further gun control which appeared in the Telegraph Journal on June 3rd. The New Brunswick Firearms Alliance is concerned over your support for the Coalition for Gun Control, as that particular group has recently been soliciting the support of various organizations via misinformation.

The NBFA supports firearms control, to that address, the criminal misuse of firearms and encourages safe handling of firearms by law abiding Canadians. We would like an opportunity to meet with your group to better inform you on the firearms issue, in particular Bill C-68. In your letter you state this legislation would make New Brunswick safer and reduce the murder rate. There is no evidence to support this claim, in fact the contrary is true. The NBFA would appreciate an opportunity to present to you this data. In essence, we support your desire for a safer community, but Bill C-68 will not contribute towards this goal.

Because of the Coalition for Gun Control's recent efforts towards women's organizations have been an attempt to use these groups to push their dealful agenda, the NBFA has been meeting with women to discuss concerns over C-68 presenting a more balanced view. If your organization allows itself to be used by the Coalition without examining all the facts of this complicated issue, you would be doing the women of New Brunswick a disservice.

You express concern over the tragic death of women. The NBFA shares that concern. Bill C-68 will not prevent any of these deaths. In fact, the money spent on registering all firearms could be better directed into combating true threats to women. To illustrate, according to Health Statistics, one of the greatest killers of women today is breast cancer. Approximately 6000 women die each year because of this dreadful disease. The federal government has budgeted approximately $30 million to research a cure. Statistics show that approximately 66 women are killed each year by firearms. According to knowledgeable estimates, firearms registration is expected to cost $600 million. Given this, the government is willing to spend up to 20 times as much money on a vain attempt to protect 1% as many women.

Please seriously consider our request to meet with you so that we may discuss Bill C-68. We anxiously look forward to hearing from you.

G.D. Calhoun
President