PUBLICATION:
National Post
DATE:
2003.07.16
EDITION:
National
SECTION:
Editorials
PAGE:
A15
SOURCE:
National Post
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Pellet-gun
hysteria
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Nothing
prompts public outcry like a crime against a child. Thus did Toronto's media
outlets go ballistic over news that a five-year-old visitor to the Molson Indy
on Sunday was shot in the eye by a pellet gun fired from a passing car. The
victim will likely retain vision in his injured eye, and shows no signs of
cognitive impairment. But this good news has done little to calm the more
hysterical reactions.
With
justice apparently being served -- the two 18-year-olds and one 17-year-old who
allegedly committed the shooting spree face various criminal charges -- it seems
to us there is little more to this story beyond the coming court proceedings and
the boy's recovery. But others, notably the Toronto Star, evidently disagree.
Yesterday, the Star suggested it is time to "regulate" pellet guns and
the like. "Air pistols and rifles should be every bit as difficult to
obtain as other firearms," its editorial pronounced. "That means
air-gun owners should be screened, there should be a 28-day waiting period and
they should be listed in a national firearms registry."
Would
that be the same $1-billion registry that has emerged as the worst boondoggle in
recent memory? Apparently so. But no matter, because the consequences of air gun
usage apparently warrant extreme measures.
And
what are those consequences? According to the Canada Safety Council, which
echoes the Star's call, more than 50 Canadian children go to hospital with air
gun injuries each year. Deaths: zero.
We
have no doubt that each of those injuries is horrific for all concerned. But to
put the council's numbers in perspective, consider that almost 10,000 Canadian
children were hospitalized due to bicycle injuries over a recent four-year
period. Approximately 4,300 visit hospital each year with burns caused by hot
liquids. More than 28,500 annually require medical attention for playground
injuries. And in the United States, four children were killed in balloon-related
incidents in 2001, the last year for which data is available.
On
the available evidence, we can only assume the Star and others are equally keen
to make Canadians register their bicycles, hot liquids, playgrounds, balloons,
and anything else that can do serious damage if improperly used by children. The
same goes for items that can be used as weapons -- among them cars, kitchen
knives, baseball bats and golf clubs. Each of these items, of course, also
fulfills a useful purpose -- just like air guns, which are used by rural
residents to ward off crop-eating rodents and other pests.
Rather
than feeding the bureaucracy, it would be less costly and more effective to
focus on the criminals themselves, and leave it to parents to fulfill their
traditional roles by ensuring that their children play safely. In the immediate
aftermath of Sunday's shooting, the Star might temporarily find more support
than usual for its peculiar vision of an all-encompassing nanny state. But once
the incident fades from the front pages, even the government that brought us the
$1-billion gun registry should know better.