Dawson College killer's murderous rage eluded gun-law screening

Dawson College killer's murderous rage eluded gun-law screening
Date: Sep 16, 2006 9:50 AM
NOTE: Versions of this Canadian Press article appeared in the following
papers: Kingston Whig Standard, Moncton Times & Transcript, and Halifax
Daily News

DATE: 2006.09.15
CATEGORY: National general news
BYLINE: STEVE MERTL
PUBLICATION: cpw
WORD COUNT: 581

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Dawson College killer's murderous rage eluded gun-law screening

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Canada has some of the most stringent requirements in the industrialized
world for its citizens to possess guns, especially restricted firearms
such as handguns.

But Kimveer Gill, who bragged on the Internet about his fascination with
guns and death, managed to pass the system's screening process.

Gill legally acquired a pistol and restricted semi-automatic carbine,
which to witnesses looked like an assault rifle, and took them on a
shooting rampage at Montreal's Dawson College, killing one young woman
and wounding about 20 other people.

A spokesman for the Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force that
administers federal gun laws, said officials are reviewing Gill's
firearms applications.

``We're still going through the process of investigation,'' Jason
Gaughier said Friday. ``There are very few things we can say about that
aspect of Mr. Gill's permit.''

Reports say Gill, 25, acquired his guns about three years ago, which
meant he would have been subject to the tighter screening requirements
of the 1995 Firearms Act.

He would have needed a licence to acquire and possess any guns, plus
permits for his restricted firearms, both of which require extensive
background checks.

While Ottawa produces the application forms, five provinces including
Quebec have taken on responsibility for administering the law in their
jurisdictions.

Applicants must provide a personal history, including whether they've
been charged with a criminal offence in the last five years, been
subject to a peace bond, dealt with a range of psychological problems or
had any kind of personal crisis such as a divorce, bankruptcy or job
loss.

Besides providing two personal references, they must also supply the
name of a ``conjugal partner,'' who is supposed to be informed of the
gun application.

Insp. Yves Masse, Quebec's chief firearms officer, said his 75-member
unit oversees about 500,000 gun permit-holders and process about 5,000
new applications a year.

Gaughier said police don't routinely contact the applicant's references
unless computerized checks turn up anything suspicious.

``They don't call each individual that is in the application if there
isn't any indication in the background checks that we should be
verifying further,'' he said.

However, they do follow up with spouses and girlfriends, the people most
likely to know if there's a propensity for violence.

Gaughier also noted the forms include a toll-free telephone tip line
(1-800-731-4000) that either spouses or references can call if they have
reservations about the would-be gun owner but don't want to challenge
them face-to-face.

``If the person that is vouching for their good behaviour doesn't feel
very comfortable about saying no to the individual ... they can take the
number down and call us once the individual's left,'' he said.

But what this process doesn't capture is the wealth of personal
information now cropping up on the web, where Gill posted signs of his
building rage and photos of himself playing with the Beretta CX4 Storm
carbine he carried into Dawson College on Wednesday.

``As we speak, there isn't a systematic check of the Internet for the
person,'' Gaughier said. ``Like in this reference it would have been a
check that would have popped up. We would have seen this.

``That is something that we're taking into consideration, like many
other things we're going to have to look at.''

But Gaughier noted Gill's black rants turned up after he'd passed his
firearms screening and legally acquired his guns.

``There's nothing illegal in him taking pictures of himself with the
firearms on his blog site if the firearms are registered,'' he said.

``People change within three years. Some people decide one day they're
going to do something.''

It's possible Gill, by all accounts an anti-social loner in recent
years, may have confided in someone who would have seen something was
wrong, Gaughier said.

``But most of them I could probably say wouldn't have thought that he
would have gone to such an extent,'' he said.

``Sometimes we think we know somebody but in reality we don't really
know them and the family probably would be the first ones to say that.''




The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !