As Canadians grapple with rising rates of gun violence, it is worth addressing some of the overriding issues that continue to be distorted by opponents of gun control as well as many elected officials.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Indeed, one of our main concerns is that the conversation around gun control has turned into an “either” debate, i.e. “either we invest in prevention, or Well we control guns. It’s like saying “either we get people to quit smoking, or we screen for cancer”.
And, like the fight against cancer, different variants of this disease require different preventive measures and different treatments. The public health approach to reducing gun violence relies on a multidisciplinary approach that includes prevention, restricting access to means, and closing law enforcement gaps. Armed violence is not a one-dimensional problem, nor is its solution.
In contrast, the gun lobby tries to frame the problem as being driven solely by “criminals” using “illegal weapons” and asserts that gun crimes and violence are not perpetrated by gun owners. law-abiding.
While gangs and smuggling weapons must be tackled, the problem is not limited to the illegal sphere. Most mass shootings are committed by legal gun owners, and most suicides and intimate partner homicides involve shotguns. Virtually all illegal firearms were once legal, either before being diverted to illegal markets by being stolen, illegally sold, or illegally imported.
The thesis that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths, injuries and crimes has been demonstrated by data from many industrialized countries.
We and over 200 partner organizations agree that the root causes of violence must be addressed. But, at the same time, the availability of firearms means that suicide attempts are more likely to be fatal, women are more likely to be killed by their attackers, the risk of mass shootings is increased and that it’s easier for gangs to have access to firearms.
Recommendations
As for the solutions, we are united in our opposition to Bill C-21, which was tabled by the previous Liberal government, but which was not passed. The measures it contained were not based on evidence or expert consultation and were ineffective and potentially even detrimental to efforts to reduce gun violence.
This is why we are calling on Minister Marco Mendicino to reject Bill C-21 in its entirety and develop a new set of measures and interventions.
Together, we recommend the following:
1) Ensure substantial new investments for more rigorous screening of candidates, for better application of the law and for better accountability of the authorities. The government should also ensure the proper use of the PIAF (“Person of Interest – Firearms”) system, which requires continuous training of police officers to properly feed the system and raise public awareness of the real risks associated with firearms. fire arms.
2) Strengthen the conditions related to access to permits, including criteria leading to an automatic ban on possessing weapons such as being the subject of a protection order associated with intimate violence.
3) Oblige the police and other authorities to intervene in response to concerns raised by health professionals, including in emergencies where warranted.
4) Change the weapon classification system to prohibit all assault weapons, including centre-fire semi-automatic weapons.
5) Eliminate all loopholes and exemptions related to 5/10 bullet limits for loaders.
6) Require a weapons license for the purchase of magazines, as it is mandatory to purchase ammunition.
7) Introduce Canada-wide measures to counter the proliferation of handguns, including freezing the number of licenses for restricted weapons and subjecting existing weapons to “grandfather” clauses.
8) At the very least, ban the importation and manufacture of new handguns.
9) Remove the requirement for police to obtain a court warrant to access commercial sales records.
10) Meet our obligations under international treaties, including the 2008 UN treaty on marking and tracing aimed at reducing international traffic.
11) Remove the six-month grace period for non-renewal of permits.
12) Reinstate Restricted Weapons Permits for ALL trips (not just 3.5% as under C-71).
13) Remove the 20-year limit on keeping records of gun sales (as the US just announced).
The Liberal government was elected in each of the last three elections (2015, 2019 and 2021) on promises to reverse the wrongs done by the previous Conservative government and to strengthen gun control legislation. It is time to put in place the controls that the majority of Canadians expect and to finally allow survivors and families of victims to move on.
* – Nathalie Provost, Heidi Rathjen and Suzanne Laplante-Edwardspokesperson for PolySeSouvient
– Wendy CukierPresident of the Coalition for Gun Control
– Martha JackmanMember of the National Steering Committee, National Association of Women and the Law
– Ken Price and Claire SmithCoordinators, Danforth Families for Safe Communities
– Alan DrummondSpokesperson, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians
– Boufeldja BenabdallahSpokesperson, Quebec Mosque
– Maxime Riera, Shawn LeBlanc and Benjamin Turgeonspokesperson, student movement NOT_HERE / PAS_ICI
– Luna VadlamudySpokesperson, Together for Thomas
– Louise De Sousa and Meaghan HenneganFamilies Associated with Dawson for Gun Control
– Alison Ironsformer RCMP officer and mother of Lindsay Wilson, victim of femicide by shooting (1986-2013)