Canada: "Gun owners snarl registry Web site"

[cuchulainn]

from the C.P.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/story.asp?id=A4D4B5CF-65A6-4B94-9A6E-435C418A5F45

Gun owners snarl registry Web site

Canadian Press

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

OTTAWA (CP) -- Gun owners who waited until just before Monday night's midnight deadline for registering firearms were frustrated as the federal government's Web site slowed to a crawl under a crush of thousands of last-minute applications.

"If you're trying to get through, you're not going to get through," Brett Norton of Burlington, Ont., said after spending almost two hours at the computer Monday. "Their system is obviously not up to the task."

The government had already extended its deadline for registering firearms by six months. The original deadline for registration was Dec. 31 -- when a flood of applications caused such severe computer problems that some gun owners' names may have been deleted from the system.

A spokesperson for the firearms centre said he wasn't aware of any complaints about the computer system Monday, but added a notice was being posted asking people having trouble to keep trying. The centre took in some 7,000 applications between midnight and noon Monday.

The computer slowdown is the latest problem for the beleaguered gun registry, which has been criticized for administrative problems and enormous cost overruns that have already brought total costs to more than $1 billion.

"Clearly the costs of the gun registry make this an issue of government out of control, not gun control," said Yorkton-Melville Canadian Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz.

The law is also under attack from Ontario and six other provinces and territories that refuse to prosecute those who fail to register rifles or shotguns.

Solicitor General Wayne Easter said Monday he's prepared to have federal prosecutors step in if necessary. He also warned gun owners there would be no further extensions for registering.

"Those individuals who don't have a proper licence or registration certificate may be liable -- I underline may -- may be liable to police action, including either a seizure of the (firearm) . . . or the laying of charges, depending on the circumstances," Easter told the Toronto Star.

According to the firearms centre, 6.3 million of the estimated 7.9 million guns in Canada are registered.

An estimated 300,000 people may still be in violation of the gun law Tuesday.

© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)