Ten Reasons To Ban Handguns BUT.

....no solutions to gang and youth violence and while I will admit it is an overused cliche not one mention of "it is people who kill people."

10 reasons we need a national handgun ban

Special report: banning handguns in Canada

Enzo Di Matteo

Comments

Posted by Aardvark on 09/18/2008, 07:04 AM

I could not agree more. Here in the United States we have the right to keep and bear arms but Canada does not. A national handgun ban in Canada would be the perfect laboratory experiment for seeing what could happen if the United States tried a similar ban. Plus, it costs us nothing. Hopefully David Miller will find politicians with the guts to pass such a ban. Besides, it will mean one less armed country for us to worry about.

Posted by docwatson on 09/18/2008, 07:05 AM

1 There's way too much cold, hard steel floating around.First of all who's this 'We' you speak of? Can you provide their names and contact info or is it just your Editorial Schutzstaffel? 2 Gun dealers and the feds can't keep track of what's out there.Seems that banning firearms really doesn't work does it? The bad guys get guns no matter what and the people pretty much have ignored the ban anyway so they can protect themselves. 3 Firearms are the third leading cause of death among young people....and 60 percent of homicides were by other means. Why are gun deaths more horrible than head injuries or stabbings? Scotland's complete ban on firearms ownership has only resulted in murder by other means and an asinine attempt to legislate *knives*. You can't legislate homicide - if someone wants to kill you, they will use whatever they can get their hands on. 4 It's not mostly a gang thing.Again, people who want to kill themselves pretty much will. Why is a gun more horrific than say a hanging or poisoning? 5 Gun violence is costing us billions.Take a hard look at the cost of brain injuries for the SNHS. People will find a means of expressing violence no matter what. The cost of health care is up everywhere and you're not going to 'trade down' costs by eliminating firearms - you just trade off long term costs for short term gains. Long term care for a brain injured teen goes well into the millions per individual over their lifetime. Unless you're advocating euthanasia, are Canadian taxpayers willing to make that trade? Here in Virginia where we have concealed carry and open carry of firearms, crime has gone down. It seems to follow the dictum "An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life" - Robert A. HeinleinNow most squishy Canadian Liberals would faint dead at the thought of self-defense but the reality is that the police and the legislators they have elected *can't* protect them. Self-defense implies self-responsibility for your own actions in the defense of your community, your family and yourself. 7 We share the world's most porous border with the world's largest manufacturer of handguns.If there wasn't an actual market in Canada, then no one would sell. The answer is to legalize firearms, train citizens to protect themselves, and take some responsibility for what's going on around yourselves.8 The Firearms Registry is riddled with holes where handguns are concerned.Gun Control is a lie because the bad guys get whatever they want and the average citizen becomes a sheep for slaughter. Fortunately most Canadians are smart enough to know that and have pretty much ignored a bad law. The answer is to change the law and enable Canadian citizens to protect themselves. 9 Gun manufacturers and the gun lobby are lying to us.I'm not advocating fear or lying to anyone; just advocating common sense and self-responsibility. The presence of a Porsche Carrera 944 doesn't mean you're going to speed, the presence of a large chocolate cake won't make you fat, and the presence of a book, newspaper, or magazine won't make you smart. Having a gun doesn't make you any more inclined to shoot someone than a dinner fork will make stab someone. (okay, *maybe* in Scotland but I digress). You're full of bull on this one. 10 Gun violence creates obstacles to economic growth.OH PLEASE! The global economy is in the tank and you're blaming guns?? Are you fracking serious?? Are kids leaving school to join roving Mad Max gangs so they can shoot their gats? This is just stupid and not worthy of print in any newspaper worth it's ink. You should be ashamed of yourself!

Posted by burton on 09/18/2008, 07:23 AM

aadvark you say a handgun ban would cost us nothing?what about the owners of the handguns?would you willing give up your LEGALLY owned and obtained property for free?if they banned your new car would you willing hand it in?the Government does indeed check any firearms removed from the registry need to be signed off buy a licensed gunsmith as such see http://www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca/factsheets/deactivate_e.aspGun dealers do keep track of what firearms they have in their inventory to not do so would lead to thier arrest very quickly This country did not track rifles and shotguns untill the mid 90's handguns have been registered since the 1930'sas for breakins of homes and stores would you blame the VICTIMS of any other crimes? should you not own a nice car or any other items as they MIGHT get stolen? the registry (which has been hacked) provides criminals with a complete shopping list of who has whatsuicides so your saying useing a gun to kill yourself is VERY bad but any other method is ok?

Comments

Posted by Jonathan Langille on 09/18/2008, 10:29 AM

Is our objective to have less murders in Toronto? If it is, reducing poverty, eliminating underground economies and jailing gang members should be our priority, not some silly gun ban. It's actually disturbing to think some parties crime strategy includes these proposals. I want tangible results, not fake solutions at election time.

Posted by The below message is still 100% true... like it or not dummy. on 09/18/2008, 05:00 PM

"Handguns have been effectively banned for all but legitimate licensed purposes, like employment reasons and legitimate target shooting and for approved licensed collectors."Criminals don't get licences Why? Uh well I guess if you are too much of a dullard to understand that you likely can't read.

Posted by TristanYockell on 09/19/2008, 05:11 PM

Handguns are effectively banned In Canada Already. To possess a handgun in Canada without training, background check and license is illegal.If you are a criminal you are PROHIBITED from owning a handgun. Somehow even when Criminals are "Banned from owning a handgun", they still manage to get them very easily.Perhaps Criminals do not care what Anti-gun fanatics think.Just a guess of course.