Dawson College Victim Calls On Prime Minister To Keep The Gun Registry

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has vowed to scrap the program that some politicians and registered gun owners claim is a huge a waste of money and does nothing to curb gun crime.

The Conservatives cut funding to the gun registry earlier this year and tabled a bill that would make sure long guns used for hunting wouldn’t have to be placed on the list. The legislation hasn’t been passed.

Hayder Kadhim (pictured) was one of the 20 people injured when Kimveer Gill stormed the downtown campus on Sept. 13. The 18-year-old still has bullets lodged in his head and neck. He was also hit in the left leg.

“I can only be thankful to God … because it could have been worse,” the student said.

Kadhim’s friend 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa was killed in the terrifying attack.

Kadhim has written an open letter to Harper outlining his ordeal and is calling for an outright ban on assault rifles, and he also wants the use of handguns limited to secure areas such as gun clubs and shooting ranges.

He also challenged the Prime Minister to a debate on the issue.

“Basically the main point I’m trying to say is it’s time to take action to our laws and to strengthen our laws regarding the gun registry, and this is basically a summary of it because too many times we have been suffering,” the student said on CityOnline Wednesday.

“Too many victims have been suffering and it’s time to act. It’s been time to act and I’m trying to prove my point right now.”

Harper had no comment on Kadhim’s anti-gun campaign Wednesday.

The Conservatives say the cost of the gun registry has ballooned to nearly $2 billion and that it does nothing to prevent gun crime.

Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition of Gun Control, said despite the fact that the program costs much more than once thought, the registry does have important benefits.

“Gun death and injury in this country has fallen dramatically; 300 fewer people are killed each year now than in 1995,” she explained.

“I mean the media has constructed this as the billion-dollar bondoogle and completely ignored the benefits, and that’s why not only the police but public health groups, as well as women’s organizations, are firmly committed to the lobby because it helps them keep guns from people who are potentially dangerous.”

But many registered gun owners oppose the idea.

“The number of people dying is comparatively low compared to many other causes of death, number one. Number two, the incidence of injury or death by … legitimate gun owners is so small that it’s absolutely nonexistent,” Larry Whitmore, executive director of Canadian Shooting Sports said.

“The fact that we can get millions of dollars of liability insurance that covers every one of our members for under $10 a year certainly tells you how safe the sport is.”