I have spent the weekend thinking about numbers as they relate to guns in this city and what can be done to decrease those numbers. Here are the numbers:
Total number of firearms seized in 2007 by the Toronto Police Service was 2603.
• 817 of these firearms were identified as crime guns.
• 368 of these crime guns had their origins proven, of those
• 190 (51.5% of the 368) were proven to be smuggled into Canada.
• 178 (48.5% of the 368) were domestically sourced
Last Thursday, Chief Bill Blair spoke to the Toronto Police Services Board on the issue of guns in the City. You may have seen some of the media stories here and here.
No one can deny that we have a gun problem in the City of Toronto. I have blogged on the issue numerous times. It is an issue that the Toronto Police Services Board cares deeply about. It is an issue that needs to be addressed head on.
How can we address it?
WITH A HANDGUN BAN.
A handgun ban is something that the TPSB, the Mayor , Ontario’s Attorney General, Ontario’s Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and the Premier of Ontario have all called for.
And yesterday, June 23, the Toronto City Council overwhelmingly approved a strategy to keep guns out of our community. Read about it here, here and here.
It is time for our political leaders, particularly those in Ottawa, to step up to the plate and work towards a handgun ban.
While a handgun ban alone is not the solution, it is an extremely necessary part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the horrific effects of gun crime.
Every worthwhile endeavour needs a starting point. The starting point for Toronto is a ban on handguns.
