Lethal and Legal: Rifles and Cars

They both can be dangerous, intentionally or not. So why are regulations for drivers but not gun owners so widely accepted?

Last Thursday, Conservative House Leader John Baird blamed “Toronto elites” for their nasty and manipulative parliamentary cabal in support of the long-gun registry. No biggie, really, as the Tories can’t be too worried about losing votes in a city that doesn’t exactly have a recent history of supporting the current government. Nonetheless, this self-proclaimed Toronto elitist has more than a bit of mental difficulty coming to terms with the anti-registry hysteria.

In my view, the registration of cars and the licensing of drivers constitute the perfect analogy for the registration and licensing of gun owners and users. Think about it. Both cars and guns are, in effect, dangerous weapons. They can and do kill people, and not always intentionally. But we long ago accepted the fact that the state had a role to play in making sure that those who “use” cars, that is, drivers, must go through an education and training process and prove their abilities through a licensing procedure. At the same time, owners of cars must duly register them with the government, providing the make, model, and serial number of their vehicles in order to obtain a license plate – a prerequisite for taking a car onto a road. Indeed, we believe it is important for law enforcement authorities to be able to track down stolen vehicles, or in the case of accidents or police chases, to be able to trace vehicles to owners via the license plate and registration information.

Now, as a thought experiment, test out the analogy on the arguments made by opponents of the long-gun registry. Guns have been a part of rural and ranching life, they say; their existence is woven into the cultural fabric and history of the West. The current ownership and use of long guns should not imply criminality or suspicion – or require the reach of the long arm of the state into private life. True enough, but cars have made an equally prominent contribution to culture and history – changing our geography and lived experience, allowing for the postwar creation of suburbia and new kinds of travel and vacation opportunities. Cars, like guns, are status symbols and markers of deep cultural significance, yet we recognize their potential for danger: speeding, road rage, drunk driving. We put legally recognized and constitutionally defensible limits on cars’ use.

And what about the owners and users of guns? Long-gun owners proudly cite their record of safety and individual responsibility. But is this an adequate excuse to avoid regulation? As a driver, I don’t get the choice to drive without my license or not register my car. There is near universal consensus that minimum standards should be enforced, and that police should have adequate information to do their job to ensure safety on our roads and highways. Why should it be any different with guns? I don’t feel personally singled out as an irresponsible potential criminal because I had to pass a written multiple-choice quiz, demonstrate a minimum threshold of driving ability via a road test, and register my car.

In civil and political society, there are dozens of implicit bargains we make with the state every day; in exchange for security, we accept both major and minor regulation of our liberties. If we don’t like our end of the bargain, we have the opportunity to toss out our duly elected representatives at the next general election. Logically, culturally, and historically, there ought to be no difference between gun registration and car registration, firearms use and driving.

Except, of course, for the fact that this is a convenient wedge issue in a fractious minority parliament to cater to a largely rural Canadian “base” that irrationally sees red whenever the issue is discussed. All the better for Stephen Harper that the current private member’s bill before the House of Commons is doomed to fail – he can assuage his supporters and blame those evil urban dwellers from central Canada all at once. How beautiful is that?