Toronto Mayor David Miller has launched a campaign to ban handguns in Canada. As Miller points out, in Toronto crime is down in every major category except handgun violence.
Meanwhile Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day continues to mouth the tired old Conservative line that “handguns are already banned in this country except for a few legitimate purposes, a category that includes police officers, target shooters and approved collectors.” And meanwhile innocent people across the country continue to die from gun violence, sometimes from legal weapons used for illegal purposes and other times from guns that have migrated north across our porous borders.
Miller wants to see the handgun ban extended to target shooters and collectors and while I'm sure no one believes such a ban will end gun violence altogether, a gun less on the street is a gun less on the street. Currently there are 535,000 legal handguns in Canada, just waiting to find their way to a crime scene in Vancouver, Mississauga or Saskatoon. During 2004 3,582 legally registered firearms were reported lost or stolen in Canada. In the first 11 months of 2006 the number had already risen to 4,187. Clearly there's no such thing as a safe firearm and we should do everything within our power to minimize the risks of gun violence in Canada. Why should the rights of a collector or target shooter trump the rights of his or her fellow Canadians? We're talking about a hobby here—a hobby that has the potential to end others' lives. In a civilized society, how is this defensible?
If you don't believe it is, sign the City of Toronto's online petition to Ban Handguns in Canada.
Watch David Miller's plea to the people of Canada:
Meanwhile Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day continues to mouth the tired old Conservative line that “handguns are already banned in this country except for a few legitimate purposes, a category that includes police officers, target shooters and approved collectors.” And meanwhile innocent people across the country continue to die from gun violence, sometimes from legal weapons used for illegal purposes and other times from guns that have migrated north across our porous borders.
Miller wants to see the handgun ban extended to target shooters and collectors and while I'm sure no one believes such a ban will end gun violence altogether, a gun less on the street is a gun less on the street. Currently there are 535,000 legal handguns in Canada, just waiting to find their way to a crime scene in Vancouver, Mississauga or Saskatoon. During 2004 3,582 legally registered firearms were reported lost or stolen in Canada. In the first 11 months of 2006 the number had already risen to 4,187. Clearly there's no such thing as a safe firearm and we should do everything within our power to minimize the risks of gun violence in Canada. Why should the rights of a collector or target shooter trump the rights of his or her fellow Canadians? We're talking about a hobby here—a hobby that has the potential to end others' lives. In a civilized society, how is this defensible?
If you don't believe it is, sign the City of Toronto's online petition to Ban Handguns in Canada.
Watch David Miller's plea to the people of Canada:
