Alberta will reject proposed handgun ban: Klein
Last Updated: Saturday, December 10, 2005 | 9:33 PM ET
CBC News
On Thursday, Liberal Leader Paul Martin announced he would immediately introduce a handgun ban, offering narrowly defined exemptions for target shooters and allowing collectors time to sell or dispose of their weapons.
Collectors will have to sell or surrender their weapons over five years or become certified as target shooters. Martin said provinces could also opt out of the proposal.
Klein said Martin is engaged in political grandstanding and that Alberta would not participate in the plan. Banning handguns won't reduce gun crime, he added.
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. (File Photo)
"To me the solution is for courts to get really, really tough on people who use handguns illegally," Klein told reporters on Friday. "That's the solution. It's not to ban them... I can ban anything. I can ban tape recorders by law. It's not going to stop you from using them,"
Klein said criminals will always find a way to get guns, whether or not those weapons are legal.
He said Alberta feels the same way about a ban as it does about the federal gun registry – that it will only hit law-abiding citizens, not criminals
He said Edmonton has had more than 30 murders this year and existing legislation to control weapons hasn't stopped the problem.
"Many of them have involved handguns. I'm sure that those handguns weren't registered and I'm sure that even with a ban, the bad guys will find a way to get their hands on a handgun."
