Gun Crimes

A Solution to Reducing Gun Crimes

I truly feel for the families of victims who are shot, even more for the innocent victims such as the young boys that were killed recently in Toronto/GTA.

Can any politician tell me that someone somewhere has been able to PROVE that banning all legal handguns from law-abiding citizens will actually reduce gun related violence? Clearly prohibition did not work for alcohol in the 1920s in the US. Similarly, prohibition has not eliminated the use of marijuana or other recreational drugs. A gun ban does not appear to have been successful in reducing violence the UK or other countries with similar laws. In fact, banning murder has not worked out either. The current Mayor of Toronto, David Miller and other politicians do not seem to understand this. They mouth platitudes and look to somebody else to fix the problem with words. My sense is that the problem stems from the fact that a criminal will illegally obtain his next gun from sources that can not be controlled by Canada (ie: smuggled or imported illegally). A criminal will continue to be a criminal without regard for our laws unless we can stop him. Criminals will not register a gun since it is illegal, so the gun registry does not address that major issue – it only targets law-abiding gun owners. The gun registry may, however, let criminals know who has a gun that they can steal!

A gun ban will certainly generate an immediate “do good” feeling (mainly for politicians) without accomplishing the goal of actually reducing the number of people who have no fear in using guns in the commission of a crime. The impact of the billion dollar gun registry has shown this to be the case. Criminals fear their armed gang competitors more than they fear the police (who have to obey rules of engagement) and the ineffective courts. Ask any regular Canadian citizen if they feel that the courts look after rights of law-abiding citizens!

If a gun ban did work, should we then ban cars? Cars kill far more people, especially when driven by a driver under the influence or one just being overly aggressive.

Logically, perhaps there is a better solution in a country where it is already very difficult to get a handgun legally. If you do not believe how tough it is to legally get and have a handgun in Canada, try to get one – go through the entire lengthy process. Why not use existing laws more effectively?

My solution would be to have all governments “direct” the courts in their jurisdiction to operate in the following manner, without ANY leeway:
1) No bail if caught with an illegal handgun (this is an immediate danger to society).
2) No plea bargaining if in possession of an illegal handgun, period.
3) Mandatory 5 years without parole for possession of an illegal handgun.
4) Mandatory 10 years without parole for use of a handgun in any crime, whether fired or not.
5) Mandatory 20 years without parole for wounding any person in any crime.
6) Mandatory life sentence without parole for any murder using a handgun.
7) Ensure that sentences for weapons offences run consecutively to any other crime punishment.
8) If a non-Canadian is convicted on a weapons offence, they should serve their time and be deported back to their country of origin, immediately upon release – jail to airport.
9) Make the time served, hard time doing northern road construction or fighting forest fires (with GPS locator ankle bracelets for tracking). Rehabilitation is useless for a hardened criminal.

With these low cost and immediate actions, we can begin to regain our streets without impacting legal gun owners who use their firearms for sport or hunting. Of course, politicians may say that this solution will not work even though they have not attempted this as a solution. Is this because the criminals have more rights than the rest of us?

The police do their best to catch criminals and place them behind bars. However, the weak court system seem to delight in getting them quickly back out on the street, even if previously arrested for weapons offences or other serious crimes. WHY? Should the criminal with a long record not have to prove he should be eligible for parole (ie: a license for freedom)? What happened to the rights of citizens and victims to be protected against these criminals and predators? Criminals certainly do not care about our rights!

I am concerned that politicians only say what they “think” vocal people want to hear. I am concerned that politicians want to be “seen” to be doing something useful. Sound bites are all about their image and the media unwittingly encourages this. Our leaders appear to have no real documented vision for Canada. Certainly from my perspective, they do not show true leadership, just poor (expensive) management and support for their pals. Of course expensive TV ads are used to show of their accomplishments at our cost! What about what is best for Canada and the average Canadian? Is it just me or do most politicians want to get re-elected again and again just to keep power? Was democracy not intended to be “rule by the people”, not professional politicians? If so, why do politicians not impose a 2-term limit (at any level) upon themselves? Who needs or wants a professional” politician other than the politicians?

Finally, why is it that the family of the latest victim gets very upset and vocal when their family member is killed but NOT for the previous victims. Why does a local community stay silent and not cooperate with the police or at least call the anonymous 222-TIPS hotline with information? The only reasons that I can think of are:
1) Fear of retribution since the perpetrator will be out on bail within hours.
2) The sense that the courts really do not care a whit about victims’ rights.

PROVE ME WRONG! GET INVOLVED!

When local communities start to actively involve the police to curb gang violence (not just gun violence), I am sure we will see a reduction in these violent crimes. Think logically - banning handguns will not accomplish this goal! Let’s use existing laws to the maximum to send a message to criminals. Let’s take back our streets. Tell our justice system to do its job of protecting us.