OPINION: Gun Control In The City

Courtesy TheMarkNews.com

The Mark: In your experience how does the long-gun registry help to prevent gun-related crime in the city?

David Miller: The police use the registry as a very important investigative tool – they use it every day and there are a whole range of things the police use it for, but some simple examples: they’re going to a domestic dispute, it’s very important to know if there are guns in the house. All of the studies show very clearly that if you have a gun in your home, it’s more likely to be used on you. Police need to know that. They also need to know and trace guns.

TM: What is your response to critics of the registry who maintain that those who do commit violent crimes do so with smuggled, unregistered weapons?

DM: This is a popular criticism that I think is incredibly misguided. It says, “Well, criminals use unregistered guns.” That may be true, but the guns come from somewhere, and tracing them helps determine where they come from. This is exceptionally important. A final point on that: it’s true in Toronto, it’s true in Edmonton, it’s true across this country – there are often people who have one registered gun, but have many unregistered. And we’ve seen Toronto Police time and time again find people who are so-called legal gun owners with numerous guns that aren’t registered, that aren’t legal on their property. And one of the real risks for society is that criminals who want to use guns know where those people are and know how to target them. And the gun registry is a very effective tool for making sure that if there’s supposed to be one gun, there’s only one gun, not another 19 that can get stolen and used in crimes in our city.

TM: How has Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair advised you on how the registry helps police?

DM: In Toronto, police are arm’s length from civilian authorities. They’re governed by the Police Services Board. I was on the Police Board when the economy dropped, and I stepped off to focus on jobs, but I’m briefed every month by the chief on various issues and I think his perspective as the head of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is that it is an extraordinarily important tool for law enforcement in this country. I agree with him, he’s right, and I think it needs to be maintained.

TM: In your opinion, if the gun registry were abandoned, would violent crime in Toronto increase or decrease?

DM: There’s no question that crimes with guns would increase and there’s a couple of reasons for that. First of all, domestic violence is more likely to result in a woman being assaulted when there’s a gun in the house, suicides increase when there’s a weapon in the house, and the fact that the police could not effectively keep track of where these weapons are in a built-up urban area like Toronto would mean that it would be far easier for them to get in the hands of criminals. And nobody wants criminals to have guns. We all understand, including in the urban areas, that people in rural areas have a different lifestyle that often involves the use of a rifle. But I hope that the people in rural areas can understand that, in urban areas in particular, if we don’t have a system of registry, you’re putting people’s lives at risk every day. And frankly, the issues around suicide and domestic assault are true in both rural and urban areas. Everybody is safer when the police know where the guns are and are able to protect themselves and the people against their illegal use.

TM: As mayor of Canada’s biggest city, what message do you have for Canadians (both in urban and rural spaces) on gun control in the country?

DM: Canadians, whether they live in an urban or a rural area, deserve to be safe. Canadians, whether they live in an urban or a rural area, deserve to have effective policing. And Canadians, whether they live in an urban or a rural area, can only be truly safe from the threat of gun violence if there is a proper and reasonable system of keeping track of weapons. The long-gun registry, despite initial problems, is now a proper and reasonable system. That’s why the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police are speaking out so strongly about it. And if you’re not persuaded by those arguments, think of the job of a front-line police officer who knocks on a door not knowing if there are guns there or not when there’s a domestic dispute, for example. For their safety alone, we should ensure that this registry continues.

The Mark News is Canada’s online forum for opinion and analysis.

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