We asked whether cancelling the leases of two gun clubs that rent city-owned property would have an impact on gun violence. Here’s what you had to say:
Our justice system is still on the side of the criminals. Punishment is too weak, bail is too easy, our police forces are handcuffed when fighting crime. Send the convicted criminals away for a long time and bring back the death penalty for murderers.
Peter Wassill, St. Catharines, Ont.
Mayor Miller has stirred up a mess that will do nothing to reduce gun violence. What is needed is an effective deterrent, something that suits the crime. Perhaps we should be re-visiting capital punishment for gun-related crimes. If the punishment is bad enough ...
Bill Western, Southampton
In case you didn't notice, the bad guys use illegal guns to shoot people on public streets, not on gun ranges. How about you folks in Toronto give your collective heads a shake?
Douglas Kress, Vancouver
Miller is either not listening to anyone or he has lost it. It is hard to believe that an educated man would stoop to such ridiculous lengths to prove his point.
Hillar Alkok, Oakville
Hard to believe that a group supposedly well educated people could be led to believe that punishing the only Canadians obeying the ludicrous Firearms Act will somehow affect criminals (who couldn't care less for our rules and regulations).
Michel Trahan, Montreal
As long as guns are seen as being something "normal" within our society or as something that "good" people can use and "bad” people cannot, then we are not going to be able to rid society of gun violence. Guns have only one purpose and that is to maim and kill, and that is obscene enough to warrant banning them completely from society.
Joseph Cooper, East York
The legal guns are not the problem, it is the drug dealers and the illegal guns that prose the problem.
Ann Harwood, Ajax
It would be interesting to ask Mayor Miller what his thought are regarding alcohol being served at city-owned facilities. Since alcohol is a factor in spousal abuse, assaults and car accidents and therefore is a significant drain on our health care system, I'm sure it will be the next item on Miller's "We need to ban ..." agenda.
Todd Carlson, Burk's Falls
Are you kidding me!! Sure, close the gun club down that is the home club to an Olympic hopeful?! Yeah, she's out doing drive-bys all day long! Legal firearms owners are not the problem, never have been and never will be. It's just a whole lot easier to crack down on them then attack the real problem of ILLEGAL firearms and all the problems that do along with them, like drugs, murder, gangs, etc. God forbid you actually put the resources and money where the problem actually is!
Caron Woods, Corunna, Ont.
When will the powers that be wake up and realize that it's not legal handguns that are the problem? By no means am I a pro-gun person, but I have no illusions as to what the problem is, either.
Dave So, Scarborough
Sadly, Miller may have the right idea, but his political agenda and bully tactics will always get in the way.
Ernest Reed, Toronto
Why would it have an impact on gun crime? Law abiding target shooters, including at least one Olympic hopeful, aren't the ones out there shooting each other. Toronto has no gun problem. Toronto has a criminal problem. That's what needs to be dealt with and that's the 800 lb. gorilla that Miller and his gang are ignoring.
Mike Webster, Mississauga
Gun violence on the streets has nothing to do with the government cancelling the leases on two gun clubs. Criminals commit crimes on the streets, not legal gun owners, and these gun clubs can easily set up business elsewhere!
Patricia Duck, Toronto
Unfortunately, street gun violence is here to stay. It is a way of life in some countries. Some day, every law-abiding citizen will have to have a gun in his home to protect himself. Face reality folks.
Rejean Lauzon, Timmins
Time, money, and effort should be placed on weeding out gun sellers and organized crime, which supply the illegal guns. Anything else is just a waste of taxpayers' money.
Kelvin Hui, Toronto
Any move to reduce the availability of weapons to criminals must be applauded.
Gary Dale, Toronto
If there is no appreciable decrease in street gun violence after the leases are cancelled, then David Miller should resign.
David Pelletier, Toronto
It is the criminals that are the problem, not the guns. Stop letting violent criminals back into society and the crime rates will plummet and the streets will be much, much safer for decent honest and law abiding people.
William Mellor, Durham
Of course this won't have any sort of immediate or direct effect on gun violence; however, any measure that reduces our gun culture will eventually have an impact.
Peter Smith, Sudbury
This will make no difference whatsoever to street crime and violence. But it is still a statement, that this city doesn't want handguns within our borders. And even though it's entirely symbolic, that's a good statement to make.
Tanya Grolsch, Toronto
Giving current legislation some real teeth in dealing with illegal gun possession would go a lot further.
Larry MacKinnon, Ajax
The city of Toronto has completely missed the point yet again. Do they really think that all the gang bangers with illegal guns are sitting around thinking, "Darn, the gun clubs are closed, I guess I'll get rid of my illegal gun collection since I have nowhere to go to shoot now"? Once again the legal gun owners are being punished because the city of Toronto is too stupid to see the big picture.
Jennifer Stanley, Hamilton
Miller's showboating is useless and will not make the streets any safer. Who is he kidding, besides himself?
Jason Cuthbertson, Newmarket
The city cancelled the leases of two gun clubs? Oh, I bet the criminals are quaking in their boots now! Where are the criminals with their illegal guns going to practice now?
J. Hamer, Toronto
