Canada needs more firearms controls
Re: RCMP officer among 17 confirmed dead in Nova Scotia killing spree, April 20.
Those deadly shootings in Nova Scotia should renew calls by Canadians for greater control over the use and ownership of firearms in Canada.
Fighting criminals is not the only reason to have strict gun control. Controlling access to firearms also impacts safety and mental health. Firearms are inherently dangerous consumer products.
Guns are an efficient way to kill: almost half (46 per cent) of victims shot will die. The proportion of completed suicides is highest with a firearm (92 per cent).
Guns are easy to use and rather impersonal. Medical experts say it takes a less well-informed motive to shoot someone than to beat someone to death. Ready access to firearms makes it easier to become a killer.
The issue of gun registration must not and cannot be limited to its impact on criminals. There are compelling reasons and widespread consensus in favour of compulsory gun registration. Gun registration provides vital safety information to police officers and is a valuable tool in detecting stolen or smuggled firearms and the prosecution of related crimes.
While police always assume a firearm may be present at any call, more information will be to their advantage.
The Montreal massacre on Dec. 6, 1989, triggered a collective national response calling for greater control over the ownership and use of firearms.
That tragedy spurred numerous organizations and individuals with important interests and constituencies to support the call for more effective legislation to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands.
Canadians simply do not want a society where shooting deaths are an everyday occurrence. Prior to the abolishment of the registry, the federal government’s gun control legislation, including the long gun registry, reflected long-standing Canadian values in support of measures to promote public safety and security.
Unquestionably, that law did not end all violent encounters. But if the government can make it harder for people to kill and injure not only each other but themselves, it is certainly acting in the public interest.
Prof. Neil Boyd of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver has concluded there is more evidence to support the efficacy of gun control legislation in reducing deaths and injuries than there is for most other legislative interventions. Rosemary Gartner, a University of Toronto criminologist, has stated that firearm laws not only have practical utility, they also reinforce social values.
Canada needs progressive gun control legislation. Our social order demands it. Politically driven and ineffective gun laws thwart and undermine the efforts of those working in the criminal justice, public safety and mental health fields. Emile Therien, Ottawa, public health and safety advocate