PUBLICATION:
The
Toronto Sun
DATE:
2004.02.14
EDITION: Final
SECTION:
News
PAGE:
23
BYLINE:
IAN ROBERTSON
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BRITISH
CONTROLS NOT BULLETPROOF
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For
those who insist controls will curb Canada's gun violence and halt the spread of
illegal firearms, Great Britain's attempts serve as examples of good intentions
shot full of holes.
In
a country where getting a legal handgun was already extremely difficult, its
crime levels had remained steady at a time when rates were falling in the United
States.
After
the registry was launched in 1996, British gun crimes began to climb, with a 40%
jump in firearm offences between 1997 and 2000. Police estimated 300,000 illegal
firearms were in circulation -- one for every 200 people.
The
clampdown came after 16 children and their teacher were gunned down March 13,
1996, in Dunblane, northern Scotland.
Before
killing himself, Thomas Watt Hamilton wounded another 12 youngsters and two
teachers.
A
gun amnesty was offered and 200,000 weapons were surrendered in Britain.
Handguns were banned by 1998, despite outrage aimed at MPs by sport shooters.
However,
as with Canada's registry system, Toronto Police communications director Mark
Pugash said criminal guns remain a constant threat on the streets of Great
Britain's major cities.
"Britain
is dealing with a lot of the same issues we're seeing being played out on the
streets of Toronto now," he said.
"There
are similarities -- high-profile, brazen attacks in public and similar concerns
about why people are behaving the same," said Pugash, a 17-year British
police spokesman.
"Gun
crimes are still a fraction of where they are in North America, but they have
increased significantly," Pugash said.
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A
FRASER INSTITUTE OCCASIONAL PAPER
Number
71 / November 2003
The
Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada, Australia, England
and Wales
by
Gary A. Mauser
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/files/FailedExperiment.pdf