Of Shootings, Teenagers and Politicians

Yesterday, Toronto was once again rocked by gunfire, this time killing a 15 year old girl, and wounding six or so other bystanders.

The culprits were in their late teens and early twenties - no surprise there.

Of course, both Stephen Harper and Paul Martin had to make their obligatory statements about the tragedy. From Stephen Harper, we get yet another example of how utterly clueless he can be about real issues:

Harper said Martin's call for a ban on handguns is not the answer, and that the government should be enforcing laws already on the books.

Like a great many politicians, Mr. Harper seems to be completely oblivious to the problems involved in "enforcing" some of the laws on the books. Our police forces have limited resources, as do our customs and immigration officials. Between the fact that guns are readily disassembled into individual parts, and handguns can be remarkably small, it's not difficult to see how they flow into Canada through ports of entry. It would be relatively trivial to move a batch of gun barrels as part of a shipment of machinery parts for manufacturing equipment, and most people would never notice them, or think anything odd of it.

The cold, hard reality is that we have to recognize that our border with the United States is porous in both directions, and that the American "gun culture" will seep through to some degree, regardless of existing laws. While I have no objection to stiff penalties for people who use guns in a criminal way, the fact is that we cannot practically do much to prevent criminals from getting guns. Short of turning our nation into a police state, criminals will find ways to acquire firearms, and those that do are not likely to consider "the law" to be a deterrent. (at the age of 20, most people think that they have all the answers, and they are invulnerable)

Of course, after a recent incident in Calgary where a young girl's father tried to fire a handgun at her at point-blank range because he didn't like her current boyfriend, I'm still an advocate for gun controls. She had the foresight to empty the gun of its ammunition - an act which no doubt saved her life. Her father was stupid enough to keep the gun "at hand" in the family living room, and chose to use it in a fit of anger. Even if he had engaged in the most basic precautions for firearms storage (weapons lockers, unloaded, ammunition in a separate locker etc.), he probably would have cooled off enough by the time he put it all together to stay his hand. (If he didn't, he would have had time to form intent, which would have made a fatal result 1st degree murder)

Mr. Harper - and Mr. Martin for that matter - need to step back from talk of "tougher laws" and "stronger enforcement", and take a long look at the social conditions that make gang life appealing to the teenagers in our larger cities. Law enforcement is necessary, but it will only be effective if we pair it with sensible approaches that address the root problems that are involved.