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The Toronto Sun DATE: 2005.09.22 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: 19 COLUMN: Editorial WORD COUNT: 313 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMER OF GUNS IS FAR FROM OVER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the good news, following yesterday's one-day summit on gun violence in Toronto. Today, everyone from Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler to Toronto Mayor David Miller, who both attended this pointless gabfest, can declare that our Summer of Guns is over. Why? Because summer officially ends today. Not that the gun violence will. Fact is, more people (41) have already died in gun violence in Toronto this year than ever before -- with more than three months left in the year. And we now know that the collective response from our politicians is basically to do nothing. Cotler's view? Our gun laws are plenty tough, we don't need mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes (a position with which even Ontario's Liberal Attorney General Michael Bryant disagrees) and Cotler's not into "a quick-fix solution." Or any solution, apparently. As for Miller, he's demanding new federal spending for social and job creation programs for at-risk youths, which is fine for trying to prevent gun crime down the road but does nothing to address today's crisis of gangs and guns. To illustrate how bad things are, let's review the initiatives our politicians have proposed to date to combat gun crime: From Cotler? Nada. From Miller? A proposal to create a central gun storage facility, to scrap the Safe Schools Act (don't ask), and a lot of finger-pointing at the U.S. for lax gun laws and at Canadian snowbirds, who are apparently notorious gun smugglers. Our left-wing mayor has also said we should get tougher on criminals who use guns, but his heart doesn't seem to be in it. From Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti and Etobicoke-York community council, a loony call for a 10:30 p.m. curfew for kids under 16. That would have our beleaguered cops acting as babysitters instead of pursuing adults who commit most gun crime. And finally, the city has promised to hire 150 more cops -- NEXT YEAR -- assuming the money can be found. Isn't it funny how the only policing issue which seemed to truly energize Miller and our left-wing dominated city council since they took office was getting rid of Julian Fantino -- an old-style, "law and order" cop -- as police chief? Enough said. ---------------------------------------------- August 10, 2005: Ottawa Citizen
Editorial - Who's doing the shooting and why? |