Should Canada ban handguns? Debate stirs after Danforth's mass shooting



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Mass shooting in Toronto that killed two girls and injured 13 others revived the debate on gun control in Canada, including the issue of handguns.

Faisal Hussain, 29, opened fire. with a handgun in the vibrant Greektown of Toronto, killing Reese Fallon, 18, and Julianna Kozis, 10. Hussain also died, either because he exchanged shots with the police or he hurt himself.

As a result of the tragedy, Mayor John Tory appeared before the City Council to protest the firearms.

READ MORE: Reese Fallon, 18, identified as a victim of the Danforth Shootout

"I have been saying for some time that the city has a problem with it. firearms. "Tory told me Monday:" You've heard me ask the question why would anyone need to buy 10 or 20 guns, what do you think? it can legally be done under current laws, and this brings us to another question that we need to discuss: Why does someone in this city need a firearm? "[19659007] Firearms in Canada

There is no shortage of weapons in Canada: The 2017 RCMP Firearms Commissioner's Report shows 839,295 prohibited and prohibited firearms – including [19659009] handguns all over Canada. almost doubled from 480,000 in 2005.

is also on the rise In 2017, there were 2,734 violent firearms offenses compared to 2,534 in 2016.

READ MORE: An armed suspect Danforth was known to the police for mental health reasons


Cressy, For Legislation So According To Wendy Cukier, a professor at Ryerson University and chair of the Coalition for Gun Control, the debate on handguns has been going on for more than two decades, but "

" This would require bold and fearless leadership, a a massive wake-up call to Canadians and a mobilization beyond what we've seen in its last 25 years. " she says. Cukier pointed to the ban on handguns in the UK following the Dunblane massacre, which had a "dramatic" effect on the reduction of firearm homicides. "Last year, the United Kingdom, with 60 million people, has said to me." In Canada, the gun lobby has diverted the public safety agenda and politicians have not. did not even want to reinstate handgun controls or sales of rifles and rifles in place in 1977.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday that Ottawa is ready to consider a proposal to ban handguns, but that such changes would be complex and would require "significant remodeling of the situation."

"A number of groups and groups. organizations have made representations to that effect earlier this year.I said we would be ready to consider their arguments and we will do it, "Goodale told reporters on Tuesday.

"We will, of course, look carefully at what they have to say Public safety is extremely important to all Canadians and we must make sure that we do it."

Goodale stated that a similar proposal was made following the January 2017 shooting in Quebec City that killed six people [19659029]

Toronto Police seized weapons in the Patton Project on June 22, 2018.

Kelly Skinner / TPS / Twitter

Investigators did not say how Hussain acquired the handgun. are usually legally purchased, illegally after being smuggled from the United States or legally purchased in Canada, but sold for criminal purposes through the purchase of straw.

Rob Di Danieli, from the Unity Guns and Global Gangs News in a recent interview that in 2011, about 70% of guns were smuggled from the United States, but that changed in 2017.

"Last year, we had 55% contraband, 45% of national origin "I said. "We had to clean our own yard, so we started doing some unusual compliance checks and buying habits."

READ MORE: Reese Fallon remembers, honored by loved ones [19659033] In 2013, this number was 478. A Toronto police investigation called Project Patton led to the seizure of over 70 firearms from Florida and more than Di Danieli was also concerned about the increasing prevalence of firearms. "Ghost weapons" (unidentified and unidentifiable firearms) shipped from the United States and elsewhere that contribute to the availability of illegal firearms.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police also warned against the issue of "buying straw", which represents about "50 percent of all handguns" used in crime that have been traced.

"Without action, we do not see ACCP stated in a statement

that Solomon Friedman, a criminal defense lawyer from Ottawa, disputed recent statements by police departments at the the rise in the number of firearms produced in Canada

. "There is a huge mistake with that number and it's in the fine print," he told Global News in a recent interview. "They say the number of criminal firearms that can be traced – obviously this figure will be skewed relative to the weapons that can be traced across the country."

Friedman said that about 16 % of firearms could be found, which means that only 8% of firearms came from within. [19659003″Leproblèmen'estpaslesarmesdepoingLeproblèmeesttoutcequicontribueàl'affiliationàungang»a-t-ildéclaré”Cesontdesindividusquisontprêtsànepastenircompted'unepeined'emprisonnementàperpétuitépourmeurtreIlsneserontpasdécouragéspar[gun legislation] "

Faisal Hussain, 29, lived with his family in an apartment building in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park neighborhood.

(Andrew Russell / Global News)

A recent report from BC The government concluded that almost 60% of the weapons seized in criminal investigations came from domestic sources – either bought, traded or stolen in Canada. obtained by persons without a criminal record, then sold to organized crime groups.

Jooyoung Lee, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Specialized in Armed Violence, said that whenever there is a legal market for civilians "It is still possible that these purchased firearms legally can be used by people who want to use them to commit carnage, "he told the

READ MORE: A friend of Faisal Hussain said he was shocked by the firing of Danforth

Ottawa is seeking to pass Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Firearms Act outside the five years immediately preceding a potential purchase, to include all information from the federal government. story of a potential buyer.

For Jordan Donich, a Toronto-based defense attorney, prohibiting firearms "The prohibition of firearm-related homicides, as most firearms used in murders are smuggled here illegally. "

" Forbidding handguns is not going to fix the crime, "he says. "The problem starts at the border."

Donich said that the cost of enforcing the policy would be costly.

"That says to people who are legally respectful, who are professionals, who follow the rules, that they can I do not have a handgun," he said. said. "This will not solve the problem."

Friedman said policy makers should examine the reasons why disgruntled young men pick up a firearm in the first place.

"The end of the problem gun is the dressing, "he said." The regulatory side of this is a distraction to the problem. The problem requires real resources to repair. "

– With files by Patrick Cain and the Canadian Press

© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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