Quebec gun control advocates say proposed registry has major flaw

A group of gun control advocates including survivors and family members of those killed in Montreal's colePolytechnique massacresaysQuebec's proposed new gun registry has a major flaw.

• Quebec gun owners mobilize to thwart proposed registry
• Quebec vows to create its own long-gun registry

The Couillard government's proposed registry, outlined inBill 64, does not explicitlyrequire someone selling a gun to verify if the buyer has a valid firearms license.

"One of the main objectives of gun control is to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, so it just doesn't make any sense," Heidi Rathjen, polytechnique survivor and member of the group PolySeSouvient, told CBC.

Harper loophole

The Couillard government isworking on creating its own registry after the federal government under the Harper Conservatives abolished the federal long gun registry.

Rathjen saidbefore the Harper government abolished the federalregistry, gun sellers were requiredto call the Canadian FirearmsCentre, administered by the RCMP, to check the validity ofa buyer'spermit before the buyer could take possession of agun.

She said when the Harper government abolished the long-gun registry they also eliminated this requirement, and it appears the Quebec legislation contains the same loophole.

Optimistic bill could be changed

Rathjen said sellers may check the validity of the permit if they have concerns, but theyr'e not required to.

"It's happened in the past that a permit was revoked, but they still had the physical card, and the seller didn't check and sold the gun and then the gun was used for violent purpose," Rathjen said.

Rathjen will be in Quebec CityWednesday when PolySeSouvient makes its presentation to a Nation Assembly committee reviewing the proposed legislation.

She said she's optimistic public security minister Martin Coiteux will amend the bill to close the loophole.