Canada Gun Violence - False Narratives??

Image from Stats Canada

Promises to ban 'assault' style weapons .....

Valid point or just election talking point??

Recently Justin Trudeau promised to give cities the option of banning handguns and on a national level would ban all assault style military weapons. Other party leaders I am sure will offer similar promises as one more blank in their platform.

It would seem to make sense if the homicide rates in Canada could be linked to the possession of AR 15 style firearms. 

Do the facts support the narrative??

These numbers all come from Statistics Canada for the year 2017.

Total homicides = 666

By shooting 267

By stabbing 203

By beating 108

By strangulation 27

By other means 61

Of all homicides 163 were gang related which means 25% of all homicides are gang related.

During this same time period nearly 4,000 people died by suicide.

Type of firearm used and number of deaths

Handguns 130, rifle or shotgun 50, sawed off shotgun 13, other types 30. The last category can include nail guns, flare guns and pellet guns.

The facts simply do not support the notion that we need to ban AR15 style firearms which in the hands of law abiding citizens are an effective means of self defense. In Canada high capacity magazines are illegal and in fact an AR15 style firearm can only hold five rounds unlike the 40 rounds you hear about in the USA.

Handgun use is already pretty much banned

As for banning handguns, the fact is they are pretty much banned in the way they can be legally used now. In Canada you can not even legally carry a handgun if you are out walking in the bush in bear country, a fact few people know. The only legal place you can discharge a handgun in Canada is on a range at a gun club. Effectively handguns might as well be banned given the highly restrictive regulations governing their use.

False sense of security??

With politicians at all levels calling for more gun controls there is the sense that will somehow make us safer. Fact or false security?? The stats clearly show that you are more likely to be stabbed or beaten to death than you are to be shot. You have nearly a zero percent chance of being shot with an 'assault' (AR15) style rifle, yet that is where all the focus is with political talking points. Assault rifles just sound more dangerous so banning them sounds as if you are really doing something to protect the public.

If you are one of the 666 homicide victims there is a 40% chance you will have been shot a 30% chance you have been stabbed and a 16% chance you will have been beaten to death. Put another way 46% of homicides are from stabbing and beating, while 40% are from firearms.

You are also fifteen times more likely to commit suicide than you are to be killed by a firearm.

Street checking

a real crime deterrent

Image Toronto Sun Article

From the Toronto Sun article:

Back in 2013, when the controversial practice known as carding was increasingly coming under fire over racial profiling concerns, Toronto Police conducted 196,907 street checks — a year that saw 22 gun murders.

In the five years that followed, street checks dropped precipitously — first to 17,001 in 2014 and virtually none in subsequent years.

The city’s cops simply all but stopped doing street checks.

The short version of the Toronto Sun article (I would encourage you to read) after a dramatic rise in murder in 2005 the Toronto police started a serious crackdown on guns and gangs. They used street checks to keep an eye on known trouble makers.

Within a few years the murder rates dropped to levels not seen in decades. The intelligence gathered during these checks was very effective at deterring and solving crime. To the point senior commanders ordered more of these checks which peaked in 2013 with nearly 200,000 checks being done in the year.

The following year members of marginalized communities and Black Lives Matter were successful in getting the media onside and eventually the program was scrapped.

The increase in crime, since is undeniable.

Police Association

says banning handguns pointless

Image links to CBC article

Conclusion

Banning handguns in some cities will make criminals out of law abiding citizens who have handguns for the sport, and personal protection in their homes. The laws in place already covering handguns makes them all but banned already. The gang members on the street did not acquire their weapons through legal channels in the first place and will continue to be armed regardless of laws.

Banning AR type firearms will have absolutely zero impact on crime rates as they are not being used now in crimes.

Proactive policing is proven effective and should be encouraged if there is any real desire to make society safer from the ever increasing criminal element in our midst.