Guns and Rights

There has been some discussion lately as to whether or not Canada should forbid the ownership of hand guns. The debate is driven by the increasing number of deaths occurring mainly, in urban areas done by young people killing other young people, defending or taking control of specific areas for the purposes one assumes, of selling drugs etc. I suspect that many of us would not mind terribly much if the killings were limited to dark alleys and if the only people being hurt were only those who were involved in these "turf wars". However they are happening in busy, well populated areas, in broad daylight and other people are getting hurt. Clearly the politicians need to be seen as doing something.

The debate (both here and even more so in the USA) hinges on whether or not law-abiding citizens should have their rights violated (by losing the right to own certain types of guns) so that perhaps there might be fewer deaths caused by mal-adjusted individuals. While the debate in the USA is hampered by the fact that within their constitution is the "right to bear arms" statement, in Canada there is no such provision. Blessedly, our "founding fathers" were not infatuated with the sound of musket shots rattling in their ears and therefore never even considered making have a gun a right, if not an obligation. In fact if anything, owning a gun in Canada should be conceived as a privilege, not a right. A privilege that is earned - just like driving a car is a privilege that is earned and one that can be taken away if circumstances warrant it.

The far right of the gun owners club likes to argue that any attempt on the part of the government to restrict the use of hand guns is an attack on rural people's life style by urban dwellers. While it is true that many urban dwellers do not hunt or that they do not have any recent family history of hunting. It is also true that they may have a limited understanding of a culture that celebrates an annual gathering of the (mostly) male members of a club to go out an hunt their winter's meat. However, the banning of hand guns is not an attack on rural values or lifestyles. To the best of my knowledge relatively few farmers hunt for food or protect their livestock with a hand gun. I suspect that far more hand guns are registered in Toronto than in the rest of Ontario. Banning hand guns is not an attack on traditional values. It is, if anything, an attack on new values that are destructive to the community.

There are all kinds of things that could be done to reduce the possibility that young people engage in such criminal activities - in what use to be called juvenile delinquency. Government funded programs such as recreational activities for teens or safe places they can go can be useful to effectively reduce gang membership (Reducing Youth Violence: The Role of Afterschool Programs). Providing supports to schools and to families specifically in communities that are under pressure ( - Canadian Psychological ) has also been proven useful. To the best of my knowledge banning hand guns has never been proven to prevent violence. Violence is a social issue that needs to be dealt with by making people's lives better.

I appreciate the fact that the government would like to be seen as doing something, but band aid fixes are not the answer. If we truly would like to see a reduction of people shooting each other then not only do we need to restrict their access to firearms but we also need to enhance their opportunities to make positive life choices.