Written by Frank Carbone Jr.

Gun Control or People Control?

Latest reports from our neighbors to the north are that as of January 1, 2003 all Canadians were to have all of their firearms registered with the government in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Initial reports that the system would cost only several million dollars to implement. Now the cost is quickly approaching a billion dollars and turning into a fiasco.

There have been public demonstrations against the government and arrests followed. One individual was arrested for carrying a part of an unregistered firearm. The sentiments of the seventy year old man who was arrested, a veteran who had served in many military missions as a peace keeper, is the sentiment of many Canadians throughout Canada who feel the same way. Some estimates say that there are more than 2 million firearms unaccounted for Canada. Even though this sounds like a significant number it may be very conservative especially if the estimate came from someone in government. To call for gun registration at this critical time when we all may be facing a horrific “World War III” tells me that these government officials have nothing more important to do or at least don‘t have their priorities established.

I’ve seen estimates here in the states that says there are approximately 80 million firearms. I also believe that this number is not at all accurate.

Some of the original proponents of this massive registration scheme to register the firearms of all canadian citizens are starting to back offf and calling for it to be canceled this includes the top politicos of some Provinces.

So why would Canada, or any country for that matter, be working and spending so much of their time, energy and money on a system to register control the firearms of good citizens? We all remember what Hitler did before he started his reign of terror on the people. He made sure that the people had no firearms to fight back a tyrannical government. One of his first step was to call for the registration of all firearms.

Citizens who have served in the military, hunters and those who have the God-given right to be able to protect their family, home and country in the event of an invasion by “enemies both foreign and domestic“ must be trusted. As we all know the criminal will never register their illegal firearms -- to do so would surely mean jail time for them.

In the meantime, while these misdirected Canadian public servants work to control the firearms of honest, law abiding citizens, terrorists can easily get into the country through unprotected and open borders that are as secure as a sieve.

And in my opinion the United States mirrors our neighbors to the North. All of our borders, the oceans, lakes, land borders we share with Canada and Mexico are wide open and are violated each and every day. Just how many terrorists have come across the thousands of miles of wide open borders -- while we place limited manpower at the checkpoints at the border crosssings -- is anyone’s guess. Much more can and should be done to protect Americans from terrorist gaining entry into the United States.

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While President Bush is hell bent and doing everything in his power to start a war with Iraq there appears to be a double standard applied with North Korea. And while we send thousands of troops to the Persian Gulf in a massive build up of men and equipment we leave ourselves wide open here in the states. Just what is the Office of Homeland Security doing to protect Americans here in the homeland? So far the only thing that I can see is that they’ve come up with a series of colored lights to let Americans know the level of alert regarding terrrorism.

So now that we all know that the plans for evacuation of people within the area of Indian Point won’t work and at least one of the top workers at Indian Point is speaking up. Where do we go from here? Who will be the first public servant to speak-up and call for immediate action by the governor? Who will follow the lead and do the right thing? A decision is needed before something happens.

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Bob Rueter of Pine Bush, fly fisherman, expert fly tier and instructor, is seeking volunteer fly-tying instructors to teach 4-H club members and others the art of fly tying. The classes will be held in the Walden Reformed Church starting Thursday January 16, from 7 - 9 PM. Please call Pamela Castro (845-343-1234) of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Middletown for additional informatiom.

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I get calls, comments and questions about the situation involving the Stewart Buffer Lands and the I84/Drury Lane Interchange Project. From what I can gather, many folks are not always aware of what’s going on or don’t know of all of the impacts of this project on the region and the threat to the Buffer Lands. The spin doctors are always trying to tell the region how much we need to have this project and how much of our hard earned tax money that our public servants should be wasting on this boondoggle.

My best advice is to join the SPARC organization (or contribute) and get on the bandwagon to preserve the invaluable lands west of Stewart Airport. You can send a check, $15 for single membership or a donation to SPARC, Box 90, Blooming Grove, NY 10914. For more information call Sandra at 564-3018.