Ottawa's Gun Amnesty Program

(Ottawa, Canada) As a reminder to our Canadian readers, Ottawa's gun amnesty program ends on February 15. Although the program officially began last week, Ottawa Police collected 55 firearms before it launched. This probably resulted high fives and sticky skivvies for Mayor Bob Chiarelli and Chief Vince Bevan, the rocket scientists behind the idea.

The way the program works is the public can call the police to pick up any firearm, ammunition or explosives they want to turn in and, if the weapon isn't tied to a crime, no charges will be filed for having an unregistered firearm. Notably, the police demand that weapons be picked up as opposed to having the public deliver them to police stations. It's unsafe to transport firearms through the community, say the police.

Okay, where do I start? Historically, gun amnesty programs have done nothing more than make do-gooders feel good and capture a few headlines. Taking guns away from the law-abiding public only reduces the ability of citizens to defend themselves against criminal elements, which I guarantee are not going to turn in their guns.

Kevin Haggerty, Director of the University of Alberta's criminology program, agrees and goes one step further. Haggerty asserts that gun amnesty programs are little more than waste disposal. How true. It's been generally proven that guns being surrendered in amnesty efforts are mostly garbage, decades-old pieces of rusted or broken junk that someone found in a tool shed or attic. Logically, the sheer volume of guns turned in makes it likely that something of value would surface. In Ottawa so far, the haul has included an 80-year-old German Walther .380 and a rusty antique breechloader from the 19th century.

Sadly, unlike other amnesty programs, the cheapskates in Ottawa are not giving anything in return for the surrendered weapons. No gift certificates, no cash, no free meal at KFC. The only beneficial result is groups of do-gooders will get to feel warm and fuzzy. My take? Liberal do-gooders have a remarkably successful track record of wasting taxpayers' money while not making things gooder.