Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is flatly rejecting calls for a ban on handguns, saying the Conservative government's support for more police on the streets, and tougher laws as yet unpassed, are already putting a dent in gun crime.
Has Stockwell Day read Julian Falconer's report on violence in Toronto schools? Has he already forgotten Jordan Manners? Because, you know, it seems like we could use a few more dents. Yesterday Toronto police said that the gun used to shoot and blind a TTC driver two years ago was also used in four other crimes including the murder of youth worker Kempton Howard in 2003. This was a gun that was once legally owned in Canada.
Guess what, Stockwell? Guns are perfectly capable of committing crimes whether they're legal or not and the ease with which a legal weapon becomes an illegal one is something that as the Minister of Public Safety you should be well aware of. Is the right to own a handgun worth a TTC driver's sight or a fifteen year old's life? You seem to think so. Is there an unacceptable amount of casualties that would change your mind? Will you let us know once we've reached the magic number?
