How should government try to reduce gun crime?

UPDATED August 13: After three men were shot dead in the Montreal area between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, police say they are investigating to see if the killings are gang related. The three victims were gunned down separately at three different locations.

UPDATED July 24: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will host Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an attempt to come up with a plan to tackle gun violence in the city.

On Monday, at a similar "gun summit" meeting with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto's police chief, Ford secured financing for a special police squad to curb violence for another year.

The provincial funding for Toronto's anti-violence intervention strategy (TAVIS) unit was due to wrap up at the end of the fiscal year. Ford is expected to seek a similar monetary commitment from Ottawa today.

UPDATED July 19: Ontario Attorney General John Gerretsen renewed his call for a ban on handguns in Canada on CBC's Power & Politics on Wednesday.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said the mandatory minimum for possession of an illegal gun should be increased. "Three years for possession of a handgun? That's nonsense. They should do some serious hard time," he said.

Original post, July 18:

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes are "absolutely essential to create a strong deterrent" against crimes like the mass shooting in Toronto Monday that left two people dead.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said during a radio interview Tuesday that the Harper government is 'very concerned' about recent court decisions striking down mandatory minimum sentences. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)Toews criticized Canadian courts for striking down such mandatory minimums as disproportionate and unconstitutional.

"I am concerned that some courts have been striking down mandatory prison sentences for those who have illegal firearms," Toews said in an interview with Prairie network Golden West Radio.

"These guns are being used by gangs in order to perpetrate the kind of violence that we've seen on our streets," he said.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson also defended the government's record on trying to rid the streets of smuggled handguns.

"We have taken steps to ensure that the border is open to legitimate business but closed to criminals and gun smugglers," Nicholson said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

While opposition politicians have not commented on politics of the Scarborough shooting, the Toronto Star has advocated a national handgun ban in its editorial pages.

"As of the end of May, there were almost 700,000 legally registered handguns in this country -- a sizable arsenal waiting to be stolen by criminals. While this isn't the main origin of their firepower, private collections represent a significant source that should be shut down," the Star said.

"Unlike a shotgun or hunting rifle, a handgun has no practical use except to kill a human being...These weapons should have no place in Canadian society apart from police, the military, and a few top competitive shooters," the editorial said.

How should government try to reduce gun crime in Canada? Are mandatory minimum sentences the answer? Or further restrictions on the ownership of guns? Let us know what you think.



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