The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) is joining the chorus of voices criticizing a ban on guns and ammunition proposed by Toronto city councillor Adam Vaughan.
Greg Farrant, OFAH’s manager of government affairs and policy, says the proposition is a “misdirected attempt to address the issue of gun violence by gangs” in the City of Toronto.
“Once again, we see an urban politician seeking to demonize all legal law-abiding firearms owners and portray them as part of the problem, when the recent violence in Toronto is clearly the result of gang activity and has nothing to do with trained and licensed hunters and recreational sport shooters,” Farrant said in a press release.
Vaughan proposed the ban in reaction to the June 2 shooting at the Eaton Centre by a man who fired off several shots in the crowded shopping mall. One person died and seven were wounded in the incident.
Police said the shooter, 23-year-old Christopher Husbands, and his victim were involved in the same gang.
“The recent shootings at the Eaton Centre are profoundly disturbing, but they had nothing to do with the legal, lawful use of firearms by trained, licensed, and law-abiding firearms owners, and everything to do with street violence,” Farrant said.
“To suggest that by banning legally owned guns and ammunition this type of gang-related activity will cease is ridiculous.”
Vaughan, who says the number of guns in Toronto is “astronomical,” wants amendments to the zoning provisions related to the sale and storage of guns and ammunition, essentially prohibiting them within city limits.
Both Police Chief Bill Blair and Mayor Rob Ford have said that such a move would be ineffective in solving the city’s problems with gangs and guns. Several newspaper op-eds have also panned the proposal.
OFAH, which represents more than 100,000 members and subscribers, says criminals who are unable to acquire guns within city limits will simply buy them in neighbouring jurisdictions and use those same guns on the streets of Toronto.
“The only ones affected by bans are the legal firearms owners. Criminals will continue to acquire guns on the street, whether it’s in the City of Toronto or elsewhere, and use them to settle their differences. No ban, however well-intentioned, will address that fact,” said Farrant.
Police forces across the country have long indicated that the vast majority of guns in the hands of criminals and gang members have been smuggled into Canada from the United States.
Farrant said Vaughan “should be looking for ways to work with the senior levels of government to significantly increase the penalties for the illegal possession and/or use of illegal firearms and to prevent these illegal guns from getting into the country in the first place.”
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