Meanwhile Public Safety Minister Stockwell
Day continues to mouth the tired old Conservative line
that “handguns are already banned in this country
except for a few legitimate purposes, a category that
includes police officers, target shooters and approved
collectors.” And meanwhile innocent people across
the country continue to die from gun violence, sometimes
from legal weapons used for illegal purposes and other
times from guns that have migrated north across our
porous borders.
Miller wants to see the handgun ban extended
to target shooters and collectors and while I'm sure
no one believes such a ban will end gun violence
altogether, a gun less on the street is a gun less on
the street. Currently there are 535,000
legal handguns in Canada, just waiting to find their
way to a crime scene in Vancouver, Mississauga or Saskatoon.
During 2004
3,582 legally registered firearms were reported lost
or stolen in Canada. In the first 11 months of 2006
the number had already risen to 4,187. Clearly there's
no such thing as a safe firearm and we should do everything
within our power to minimize the risks of gun violence
in Canada. Why should the rights of a collector or target
shooter trump the rights of his or her fellow Canadians?
We're talking about a hobby here—a hobby that has
the potential to end others' lives. In a civilized society,
how is this defensible?
Miller
Calls For a National Handgun Ban
