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Disarm the gun culture

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In the wake of Toronto's deadly "Summer of the Gun," Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant wants tougher penalties for anyone using illegal firearms. He is far from alone. Stricter laws are welcome.

Even so, defusing a culture of gun violence that has claimed more than 40 lives in the city this year demands more than harsher court verdicts and extended jail time. It requires investing in young people.

Gun crime has dominated a meeting this week in Whitehorse of federal and provincial justice ministers. Bryant called for "zero tolerance" of illegal activity related to a firearm.

He advocated longer minimum sentences for anyone committing a serious crime with a gun. And he proposed changing the Criminal Code to provide for minimum sentences for some gun offences which carry no set minimum now. For example, someone with an illegal gun in a car, presumably for use in a drive-by shooting or some other crime, would face a stint of mandatory jail time, over and above any sentence for other crimes.

Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler supports tougher sentencing. And Manitoba Attorney General Gord Mackintosh has called for raising the minimum to four years, from one, for gun smugglers. At the very least, tougher sentences for gun-wielding thugs will keep them off our streets for a longer period. They may make a few people tempted by gang life to think twice before taking the plunge. But it would be naive to expect tough sentencing to end gun crime.

Most of the alienated young men taking up firearms and drug dealing as a way of life are unlikely to be deterred by the prospect of a few more years in jail. Rapper and former drug dealer 50 Cent captures the code of the streets in five words "Get rich or die trying." It is a code rooted in nihilism. Those who choose to live by the gun inhabit a world where death can be the penalty for even a minor misstep. Some will not be discouraged by more jail time.

Even so, hiring more police, and having extra officers patrol trouble spots, must be part of any solution, to make it harder for gangs to operate. And in the end society must find positive ways to draw young people away from the suicidal lure of gang culture. That is the longer-term, and costlier, challenge. Expanded recreation programs, job training, mentoring, and a host of other community-based services offer the best hope of giving young people a healthier stake in their communities, and faith in their future.

Toronto must offer alternatives to the lure of gang life, with its suicidal "get rich or die trying" ethos. It's not all about guns. It's also about hope.