It wasn’t enough for Toronto to ask for federal money to fund youth violence prevention programs and enhanced surveillance and security in parts of the city most affected by criminals who might choose guns as their tool of choice to inflict havoc. No, the council added an amendment to further ask the federal government to ban the sale of handguns and ammunition within the city limits.
The agenda item was put on the council’s to-do list just days after a gunman, whose family later said had mental health challenges, shot more than a dozen people near a restaurant. A 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman were killed in the attack. The gunman, identified as Faisal Hussain, killed himself before police could arrest him.
As an extension of the proposed ban on the sale of guns and ammunition in Toronto, the council is reportedly going to urge the national government to ban all guns, other than those for law enforcement, military and security personnel.
The came even after Police Chief Mark Saunders stood up for gun owernship, telling the city council that law-abiding gun owners are not the concern. It’s the criminals who cause the problems.
Jordan Donich, a criminal defense lawyer, also admitted that a “ban” would do little to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Here is an excerpt from his interview for “As It Happens,” a CBC production.
Host: Toronto city council passed a motion calling for a ban on the sale of handguns in the city. Given all you've just told us about access to illegal handguns, what do you make of the motion?
Donich: Even if it were to go through, we have to ask ourselves: Is it going to actually have any meaningful impact on crime? The issue here is crime, not lawful gun owners going to the shooting range and locking their guns up safely and protecting them. The problem is the unlawful weapons. So banning handguns isn't, I think, going to have a lot of impact on violent crime because the handgun used in the violent crime generally are not legal.
With a 41-4 count in favor of pursuing the ludicrous ban, it looks like Toronto’s councilors don’t care much about the lives of law-abiding citizens, who might soon have one less way to protect themselves against violent criminals.
