Declare war on gangs (Toronto)

The Ottawa Sun ^ | Wed, December 28, 2005 | Ottawa Sun Editorial Board

[fanfan]

When scores of shoppers are forced to cower on the ground on Canada's busiest street because more than a dozen gun-toting punks are using it as a shooting range, it is time to stop kidding ourselves.

It is time to demand action.

Where is the leadership? Where is the law?

An innocent 15-year-old girl is dead, gunned down in yet another gang fight. Six other innocents were also shot, all for daring to go Boxing Day shopping in downtown Toronto -- a city once so staid, Boxing Day shopping itself was illegal.

Toronto's police chief calls it "infuriating." The city's mayor is "saddened and angered." Our PM blathers about "the consequences of exclusion" (whatever that means), our premier blames "the insanity of guns" (can guns go insane?), and a senior cop declares "Toronto has finally lost its innocence."

No, no, no, no, no! Toronto lost its innocence long ago -- not with this, the 78th murder and 52nd gun homicide of 2005. This isn't even the first shooting near the Eaton Centre this year -- it's the third.

What we have lost -- we hope -- is our naivete.

We've lost the dangerous illusion that the escalating gun violence that has scarred Toronto in recent years -- not months, years -- is an isolated problem, confined to a certain community, a certain income bracket or certain neighbourhoods.

We've lost the self-righteous notion that guns and gangs are problems imported from somewhere else. We've lost the elitist view that this kind of thing doesn't happen in Toronto.

Monday's victims are from all over; they are male and female; white, black, Asian. They are all of us.

We've heard the promises. Where are the results?

What we need are leaders who will stare down the laughing gangsters and tell them: You will not take over. We will hunt you down. We will take away your guns and put you away -- or kick you out of Canada -- for good.

We need leaders who will tell our citizens, and all those now questioning whether Toronto is safe to visit: We will put police on the street and declare war on the gangs -- now, not years from now. We will break their gun culture by imprisoning every thug we catch carrying one -- not by harassing collectors and sportsmen. Yes, we will spend money on social programs, but first we will do our job and protect you.

How many more innocents will die before we lose our complacency and demand that the job be done?

[fanfan]

Canada Ping!

Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.

[Lancer_N3502A]

How's that gun ban thing workin for ya'll?

[fanfan]

Ain't it great?

I feel so safe with libs in charge./sarc

[jackson29]

being the good citizens they are, i'll bet they used their dually registered weapons

[dsc]

"Toronto's police chief calls it "infuriating."

Well, then, get your guys together, and go out and bag some gangsters, ya wuss. Dead or alive.

[crz]

Whens the PM/Gov' gonna blame the USA for this?

[NorthOf45]

They already did. But, then changed gears, as the article states, to blame it on "the consequences of exclusion" ... pathetic, huh?

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Yeah, what does that mean, " Our PM blathers about "the consequences of exclusion"? Sounds like excusing them rather than accusing them.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"We will take away your guns and put you away -- or kick you out of Canada -- for good."

I'm not sure that being "put away" is all that serious punishment in Canada. Most Holiday Inns in the US are not as nice as some of the detention facilities in Canada.

[sgtbono2002]

**What we need are leaders who will stare down the laughing gangsters and tell them: You will not take over. We will hunt you down. We will take away your guns and put you away -- or kick you out of Canada -- for good. **

Lets see: We will hunt you down and take away your guns and put you away,Or Horror of Horrors we will throw you out of Canada. LAWD have mercy not that.

No mention of Capitol punishment for murdering innocents. just a threat to be put away in a Country Club Canadian jail for a couple of years. That would scare hell out of most gang members. Jail is like going home to most of these guys.

****Monday's victims are from all over; they are male and female; white, black, Asian. They are all of us. ****

Well we know they killed anyone unlucky enough to be on the street but how come no mention of the racial makeup of the perps? Are they all of us too??

[NorthOf45]

Martin, AKA "Dithers", is a senile old fool and a danger to our country.

[Capt. Tom]

from another news article-

(Toronto Mayor David Miller) "It's a sign that the lack of gun laws in the U.S. is allowing guns to flood across the border that are literally being used to kill people in the streets of Toronto," Miller said.

Miller said Toronto, a city of nearly three million, is still very safe compared to most American cities, but the illegal flow of weapons from the United States is causing the noticeable rise in gun violence.

"The U.S. is exporting its problem of violence to the streets of Toronto," he said.

[Godzilla]

We will break their gun culture by imprisoning every thug we catch carrying one -- not by harassing collectors and sportsmen.

Spot on! However, I doubt the Canadian leadership will be as wise to catch on.

[GreenLanternCorps]

The only party and leader offering a real solution is the Tories and Stephen Harper. Put the bad guys in jail! Wake up Ontario, the Grits have failed you. Put in a real leader and get the crooks in jail!

[Klickitat]

"Monday's victims are from all over; they are male and female; white, black, Asian. "

Question isn't where the victims are 'from' -- it's where the gang members are 'from'.

[kajingawd]

total backfire...since Paul Martin( PM ) declared that he was going to outlaw handguns, gunshops have seen an increase of 70-80% in sales.

The same mediation activists that you see in the US, we have here also...they want us to * understand* how hard it is to find jobs, what it feels like to be monoparental...and of course...the RACISM ticket they wave around every now and then.

Well, you urban retards, come to atlantic Canada and try to find work other than fisheries, forestry or call centers( if your education level fits the mold) ...THEN , MAYBE then i'll start giving a crap about how hard it is to live in Toronto...WHERE ALL THE PHOCKING JOBS IN CANADA ARE...wimps, pussies, and cowards, all of em...come to NB and try and pull that crap, you'd shoot one, then most of your block wouldnt be walking for a month...and sipping out of straws for food.


* starts taping tin foil on my knuckles

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Question isn't where the victims are 'from' -- it's where the gang members are 'from'.

Yes, that sentence sounds like an ominous evasion of the truth. My curiosity asks Hispanic or black?

[headstamp]

Wait a minute, I thought this was our fault.......

[CaptainCanada]

It's too late, so let's get used to the violence, cause
it's only going to get worse.
It's part of the Black culture of gangs, hip-hop, gangsta rap,
drugs & guns and single parents on welfare
. And it ain't just here.. It's wherever there's a large black
population, anywhere in the world.
It's not poverty as many immigrant groups came over poor, so attempts
at social engineering have, and will, fail. The problem was our lax immigration policy which assumed that
all racial, cultural and ethnic groups were equal in their ability
to contribute to our society.
But they're here now and it's too late to shut the barn door.
So you have a population segment in Toronto of approx 8% doing 95%
of the shooting.
The good news (if there is any good news), is that they're shooting each
other for the most part, so there's a self correcting mechanism at play
as the gun violence increases.
Of course there would be better options to stop this sort of shit from happening
but all would entail politically incorrect solutions.
My recommendation is tough manditory minimum sentences.
Give the police back the right to profile and search likely suspects at random.
And deport any 1st generation immigrant found guilty of a felony
And that just for starters.