Gun Crime: What is the Solution?

Canada is said to have some of the toughest gun crime laws in the world, so why is gun crime on the rise? Incidents like the shooting of fourteen university students in Montreal in 1989 and in 2006, the Dawson College, Montreal shooting, where twenty students were shot; In the USA, Columbine and Virginia Tech. massacre are images that are etched in our minds forever.

There have been several shootings in the last several weeks in Toronto. It seems like every day for the last three weeks, the media has announced another death by gun. Frankly it is getting scary and frustrating. Everyone is in edge as the memory of 2005 Summer, which was dubbed the "Summer of the gun" is fresh on our minds. Over the last ten years the number of gun crimes have been gradually increasing in Canadian cities like Vancouver,Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal and Edmonton. The number of teenagers aged 12 to 17 accused in gun crimes rose to 32 per cent since 2002. (StatsCan, 2008) Many parents mourned the loss of their children who died as a result of gun crime. While some of these children were irresponsible, others were innocent victims of crime.

The issue of gun crime is troubling and front of mind hence I believe that addressing it though a hub is cathartic. I cannot offer a socio-political analysis of why or what is happening with the rise in gun crime. I write this hub about gun crimes from the perspective of a mother; a concerned parent who just want this killing to stop. I do not pretend to begin to understand or know what is the solution to this troubling matter. As I ponder this issue, I ask myself: Can gun control reduce the number of crime committed with guns? What will happen if nothing is done to stem the incident of crime by gun?

Proponents of hand gun band have been saying that gun control is necessary as a means of reducing gun crimes. They argue that access to guns is a major factor in domestic violence and suicide. They also suggest that legally owned guns are part of the problem and that gun owners must be held accountable for their guns. Proponents of gun control saw Bill C68 as helpful in reducing gun crimes. Other proponents, like, Const. Gary Gomez, of 42 Division, agrued that stronger border controls and tough enforcement of gun laws are one of the most effective ways to stop gun crime.(Toronto Observer).

Those who oppose gun control agrue that restricting gun ownership will not reduce the number of gun crime. They contend that banning guns to the general public increases people's vulnerability and fails to reduce violence because the law-abiding citizenry are victims of violent crime, not perpetrators. (GOA)

Regardless of what our views are, it is a no brainer that something has to be done to reduce gun crime. What is obvious is that more people are getting killed or maimed for life because of irresponsible use of guns that they can get access to easily.

According to 2005 Gun statistics in the USA, national data released in 2002 reported that 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States. That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)

In Canada, an average of 1,300 people die of gunshot wounds each year. The economic costs of firearm deaths and injury are estimated at over $6 billion annually. The proponents of gun control make a convincing argument that registration and licensing are cost effective methods of preventing firearm deaths and injury. They further argue that policing, social services, community and human costs far outweigh control measures.