Mayor calls for Canadian ban on handguns
Published: March 28, 2008 at 8:14 AM
TORONTO, March 28 (UPI) -- Toronto Mayor David Miller has written Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leaders asking for a national ban on handguns.
Showing the letter to the Toronto Star, Miller said he also is seeking for Canada to tighten border controls to make it tougher for the weapons to move into Canada from the United States.
"It is so abundantly clear, when you look at the international statistics, the tougher the laws about handguns, the fewer murders there are, the fewer suicides, the fewer accidental deaths," he said. "It is absolutely black and white."
Harper's minority Conservative government came under pressure on a handgun ban three weeks ago by two ministers of the Ontario provincial Liberal government. However, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day rejected the call outright in a statement he made to the Star at the time.
"We want to aggressively go after the illegal use of handguns," Day said. "That's where our focus should be and that's where it will continue to be."
Showing the letter to the Toronto Star, Miller said he also is seeking for Canada to tighten border controls to make it tougher for the weapons to move into Canada from the United States.
"It is so abundantly clear, when you look at the international statistics, the tougher the laws about handguns, the fewer murders there are, the fewer suicides, the fewer accidental deaths," he said. "It is absolutely black and white."
Harper's minority Conservative government came under pressure on a handgun ban three weeks ago by two ministers of the Ontario provincial Liberal government. However, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day rejected the call outright in a statement he made to the Star at the time.
"We want to aggressively go after the illegal use of handguns," Day said. "That's where our focus should be and that's where it will continue to be."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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