Doug Ford opposes ban on handgun sales in Toronto.
No surprise there. He represents the right-wing neo-conservative movement we’ve seen in the states. City Council made the request of the feds and provincial governments and it passed 41 to 4. The usual suspects opposed: Michael Ford (DoFo’s nephew), Giorgio Mammoliti (DoFo’s pet). But there were some new characters as well, Stephen Holyday and Jon Burnside (former police officer). No idea what their angle was.
Thankfully the federal government has jurisdiction over gun sales. and the provinces around ammunition.
I know from working in the bush that licenses for handguns are not easy to come by. Restricted firearms are limited to collectors, target shooters and people who require them for work. I worked in a gold mine many years ago and the lead geologist carried a 45. This was because if he had a rock hammer in one hand and a sample bag in another and he was charged by an animal, like a bear, he wouldn’t have time to pull a rifle out of his pack. As a result he carried a side arm, and one big enough to stop a bear.
But there are no bears in Toronto.
“We have to refocus all our resources going after the bad guys, not the good guys.”
According to DoFo we need to get the guns away from bad guys, and leave the good guys alone. I wish it was that simple. First what is the requirement to be a “collector” and second where in the city can you shoot at targets now that the gun range in Union station is gone.
The simple fact is all guns were once legal. There is no illegal gun factory selling to hoodlums, which means every gun currently in the hands of criminals was once purchased legally. Usually what happens is someone sells it to someone else. Because there is no registry anymore we don’t know who has them. Secondly they get stolen from cars and homes. You are not supposed to keep a firearm in your car, and I believe in the home their supposed to be kept in a safe.
Chief Mark Saunders told council during a debate on gun violence on July 24 that 50 per cent of firearms used for crimes were lawfully obtained in Canada and then, typically, resold.
So the question becomes, how to you stop legal hand guns from becoming illegal hand guns?
First you stop selling legal hand guns. Secondly you stop selling ammunition for handguns. It isn’t going to stop it completely but if it is much harder for people to get ammo, it becomes harder to have a shooting spree.
How many of those bullets were sold locally? How many of those guns were obtained legally? And before you whine about the poor gun-shop owner losing their store. Consider the citizens of this city who have lost their lives to gun violence. And how many more will join them if we don’t do something.