Desertdog
Member
The second line says it's our fault. If it wasn't for OUR guns, the gangs wouldn't be armed. BS, if they would allow their honest citizens to arm themselves, the gangs wouldn't be so bold. Eleminate all firearms and the tough would rule over the weak. An armed 90 pond, 90 year old woman CAN protect herself from a 300 lb mean SOB.
Canada struggles to deal with increasing gun-related violence
Gang activity, U.S. weapons blamed for recent spike
By Rebecca Cook Dube Special for
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060103/a_canadaguns03.art.htm
TORONTO — A 4-year-old is wounded in a drive-by shooting. A teenager is shot to death at the funeral of a friend, also a victim of gunfire. A gunbattle between rival gangs kills a 15-year-old bystander and wounds six others in the heart of the downtown shopping district.
The violence would be shocking anywhere, but it's especially so in Toronto, where Canadians pride themselves on their city's safety and civility. The number of gun-related homicides nearly doubled in the city last year.
The spike has prompted a debate in Canada over what is behind the unprecedented violence. Law enforcement officials and crime experts point to an alarming increase in gangs.
“The fact that street gangs are now emerging in our city is a huge problem for us,” Toronto Police Chief William Blair said. “This whole culture of urban gangsterism has emerged over the last four to five years. … There's no simple solution.”
Police have identified 73 street gangs operating in Toronto, 25 of which are involved in organized crime, Blair told CBC Radio. Many of the groups arm themselves and fight for turf. Some of the shootings are by young men attempting to emulate gang violence.
Blair has called for tougher sentencing laws and said police are frustrated that many of those arrested with weapons are soon back on the streets.
Some Canadian politicians are blaming the spike in violence on guns coming from the USA. “The system you have in place in the U.S. is causing violence to be exported to my city,” Toronto Mayor David Miller said.
Toronto police estimate that half the guns seized in criminal investigations come from the USA.
The United States disputes that claim. “We disagree that's an accurate figure,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins told CTV News in October.
All firearms in Canada must be registered with the government. Handguns require a permit issued to people who can prove they have a legitimate use for the gun.
U.S. gun laws are generally more permissive, though they vary by state. Maine and North Dakota, two states that share a border with Canada, don't require a permit, registration or waiting period to own a handgun.
Fifteen-year-old Jane Creba was caught in the crossfire of rival gangs while shopping with her family near Toronto's popular Eaton Center mall on Dec. 26. She was Toronto's 52nd gun victim in 2005 — a new record, and nearly double the 27 gun-related homicides in 2004.
With a population of 2.5 million people and 78 homicides this year, Toronto still has a lower murder rate than comparable U.S. cities: Chicago, with 2.8 million people, had 446 homicides last year. Houston, with 2 million people, had 329.
Gun control has become an issue in Canada's Jan. 23 election. Both of Prime Minister Paul Martin's opponents — Conservative Stephen Harper and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton — say Canada should get tougher border security to stem the flow of illegal guns.
Martin has proposed a ban on private handgun ownership. His opponents argue that a ban is unnecessary because handguns are already severely restricted in Canada.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, police estimate that more than 90% of crime guns come from the USA. Toronto and Vancouver police reached their estimates by tracing the ownership of guns they seized in criminal investigations.
The United States says it is cooperating with Canada in fighting crime. “We're working hand in hand with Canadian officials to help solve this problem,” Wilkins said, referring to all cross-border crimes.
Canadians are far from unanimous on where the blame lies for the recent surge in gun violence. Some criticize Martin, Miller and the ruling Liberal government for being soft on crime, and others say blaming the United States is a diversion.
“People will point the finger at the U.S. and go on about those wacky Americans and their wacky gun culture,” said John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Canadian think tank. “That is a real easy way of diverting attention from the real problems the gang culture presents.”
Thompson said Canada will never be able to eliminate gun smuggling from the USA.
“We tighten up security and we interfere with a vast amount of legitimate commerce,” Thompson said, noting that trade with the USA makes up nearly a third of Canada's gross national product.
Other parts of Canada also are grappling with firearm violence.
In rural Alberta, four Mounties were shot to death while raiding a marijuana farm in March, the worst loss of life by Canadian law enforcement in 120 years.
In Vancouver, several shootings have shaken the suburbs this winter, including the fatal killing of 23-year-old artist and skateboarder Lee Matasi.
Matasi was fatally shot in December after he objected to someone shooting a gun in the air outside a nightclub, according to the Vancouver Police Department report on his death.
“I don't get it,” Matasi's mother, Susan Jessop, told The Province newspaper of Vancouver. “This isn't supposed to happen in Canada.”
Canada struggles to deal with increasing gun-related violence
Gang activity, U.S. weapons blamed for recent spike
By Rebecca Cook Dube Special for
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060103/a_canadaguns03.art.htm
TORONTO — A 4-year-old is wounded in a drive-by shooting. A teenager is shot to death at the funeral of a friend, also a victim of gunfire. A gunbattle between rival gangs kills a 15-year-old bystander and wounds six others in the heart of the downtown shopping district.
The violence would be shocking anywhere, but it's especially so in Toronto, where Canadians pride themselves on their city's safety and civility. The number of gun-related homicides nearly doubled in the city last year.
The spike has prompted a debate in Canada over what is behind the unprecedented violence. Law enforcement officials and crime experts point to an alarming increase in gangs.
“The fact that street gangs are now emerging in our city is a huge problem for us,” Toronto Police Chief William Blair said. “This whole culture of urban gangsterism has emerged over the last four to five years. … There's no simple solution.”
Police have identified 73 street gangs operating in Toronto, 25 of which are involved in organized crime, Blair told CBC Radio. Many of the groups arm themselves and fight for turf. Some of the shootings are by young men attempting to emulate gang violence.
Blair has called for tougher sentencing laws and said police are frustrated that many of those arrested with weapons are soon back on the streets.
Some Canadian politicians are blaming the spike in violence on guns coming from the USA. “The system you have in place in the U.S. is causing violence to be exported to my city,” Toronto Mayor David Miller said.
Toronto police estimate that half the guns seized in criminal investigations come from the USA.
The United States disputes that claim. “We disagree that's an accurate figure,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins told CTV News in October.
All firearms in Canada must be registered with the government. Handguns require a permit issued to people who can prove they have a legitimate use for the gun.
U.S. gun laws are generally more permissive, though they vary by state. Maine and North Dakota, two states that share a border with Canada, don't require a permit, registration or waiting period to own a handgun.
Fifteen-year-old Jane Creba was caught in the crossfire of rival gangs while shopping with her family near Toronto's popular Eaton Center mall on Dec. 26. She was Toronto's 52nd gun victim in 2005 — a new record, and nearly double the 27 gun-related homicides in 2004.
With a population of 2.5 million people and 78 homicides this year, Toronto still has a lower murder rate than comparable U.S. cities: Chicago, with 2.8 million people, had 446 homicides last year. Houston, with 2 million people, had 329.
Gun control has become an issue in Canada's Jan. 23 election. Both of Prime Minister Paul Martin's opponents — Conservative Stephen Harper and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton — say Canada should get tougher border security to stem the flow of illegal guns.
Martin has proposed a ban on private handgun ownership. His opponents argue that a ban is unnecessary because handguns are already severely restricted in Canada.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, police estimate that more than 90% of crime guns come from the USA. Toronto and Vancouver police reached their estimates by tracing the ownership of guns they seized in criminal investigations.
The United States says it is cooperating with Canada in fighting crime. “We're working hand in hand with Canadian officials to help solve this problem,” Wilkins said, referring to all cross-border crimes.
Canadians are far from unanimous on where the blame lies for the recent surge in gun violence. Some criticize Martin, Miller and the ruling Liberal government for being soft on crime, and others say blaming the United States is a diversion.
“People will point the finger at the U.S. and go on about those wacky Americans and their wacky gun culture,” said John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Canadian think tank. “That is a real easy way of diverting attention from the real problems the gang culture presents.”
Thompson said Canada will never be able to eliminate gun smuggling from the USA.
“We tighten up security and we interfere with a vast amount of legitimate commerce,” Thompson said, noting that trade with the USA makes up nearly a third of Canada's gross national product.
Other parts of Canada also are grappling with firearm violence.
In rural Alberta, four Mounties were shot to death while raiding a marijuana farm in March, the worst loss of life by Canadian law enforcement in 120 years.
In Vancouver, several shootings have shaken the suburbs this winter, including the fatal killing of 23-year-old artist and skateboarder Lee Matasi.
Matasi was fatally shot in December after he objected to someone shooting a gun in the air outside a nightclub, according to the Vancouver Police Department report on his death.
“I don't get it,” Matasi's mother, Susan Jessop, told The Province newspaper of Vancouver. “This isn't supposed to happen in Canada.”
