Parsing the Intellectually Challenged Toronto Star, Vol II.

Another from JacksNewsWatch:

"The dumbest editorial the Star has produced in years"

"I linked to the editorial this morning but it’s time to revisit because I’m certain that whoever wrote it can’t walk and chew bubble gum "at the same time (I truly believe it).

Ban handguns before more die

The senselessness of allowing widespread handgun ownership has never been more clear as Toronto mourns another innocent life lost in the crossfire of gang warfare. Easy-to-conceal pistols are the weapon most commonly wielded by drug dealers and other thugs. And, as events last weekend tragically showed, they seldom hesitate in opening fire with these guns, even in the presence of harmless bystanders."

“Widespread handgun ownership” is a lie. Handguns have been banned in Canada since the 1930’s with few exceptions. As a retired cop I feel safe in saying that after carrying and qualifying with a handgun for over FOUR decades I would have to jump through myriad legal hoops in order to own one in retirement. People who do have them belong to gun clubs and follow strict laws in order to continue their sport. That includes safe storage (removing the barrel from the weapon in the case of automatics and storing it elsewhere, along with the ammunition). Everything is under lock and key. Personally, I can’t be bothered with all the trouble and most wouldn’t. There are other ways to protect oneself.

"If pistols were made harder for criminals to obtain – if they were less prevalent in society – the bullets that ripped through 11-year-old Ephraim Brown on early Sunday might never have been discharged. That is why Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant, Toronto Mayor David Miller and others are right to continue to press for a Canada-wide ban on handguns. There is simply no good reason for the average citizen to own a pistol, certainly none that outweighs the devastation such weapons can inflict on innocent lives."

“If pistols were made harder for criminals to obtain…”. They aren’t. One can go to almost any street corner in downtown Toronto and arrange to buy one on the black market with no legal hassles. You pay a bit more but I could likely have any type of handgun I desired in my possession within a week. It has become very profitable for criminals to get into this line of activity, much like they have with tobacco. The more governments try to ban something the motoring public wants the more likely it will become a hot ticket item for those who disregard the law. The Firearms Registry has turned a struggling underground industry into a thriving business and handguns are now being trafficed across our borders in alarming numbers as crooks realize that the motoring public is defenceless.

"Law-abiding people with a practical use for firearms, such as farmers needing to rid their land of varmints, are better-served by a rifle or shotgun than a pistol. They have no need for this class of firearm. Yet about 400,000 Canadians own handguns."

"That’s right. Bring the farmers into this debate regarding long guns and then it’s back to bashing people who own handguns — ”Yet about 400,000 Canadians own handguns.”

"These gun owners are inadvertently helping to outfit a criminal army of the streets, which obtains many of its firearms by theft. About 97,000 firearms have been stolen or reported missing in Canada over the past 30 years. Between 2,000 and 3,000 more guns are added to that total each year, with a significant number believed to end up in the hands of gangsters. The other main way criminals obtain firearms is by smuggling them in from sections of the United States where these weapons are easily purchased. Action is needed to squeeze off both cross-border and domestic sources of gang firepower."

“These gun owners are inadvertently helping to outfit a criminal army of the streets.” As if every gun owner is a victim of theft and all guns being used in crime derive from this source. It gets better — “About 97,000 firearms…” — no mention that MOST of those firearms stolen are long guns (because there are no “short guns” available). This is cute — “Between 2,000 and 3,000 more guns are added to that total each year”. They don’t tell you that most are long guns because they don’t want you to know that. They want you to infer that what they are ranting about are hand guns."

"Canada’s police officers and border guards are doing their best to block the flow of firearms. There have been some significant arrests."

“There have been some significant arrests.” Indeed their have been some good grabs. So now, count the hand guns in the pictures displayed for all and sundry as opposed to AK47’s and rocket launchers."

"As well, police are right to continue their efforts to break up gangs and to put more emphasis on community policing in a bid to lower violent crime. Governments must contribute, too, through increased recreational opportunities, mentoring, job training and other services designed to discourage youths from joining criminal gangs."

Getting close to the end of the Star rant we notice they give an “Atta Boy” to the good guys (”As well, police are right to continue their efforts to break up gangs and to put more emphasis on community policing”). I am highly suspicious because they are using police efforts for their own ends.

And what are those ends?

“Governments must contribute, too, through increased recreational opportunities, mentoring, job training and other services designed to discourage youths from joining criminal gangs.”

As if that young gang kid is going to go to a gym and play volley ball when he can hang out on the corner with “Joe Cool” who’s “packin’ heat” and can teach him all the neat things little kids want to know. “Rapper stuff ya know”. Like how to screw the cops.

But the most pressing need in this struggle to control violence is a nationwide ban on handguns. Such a ban should be enacted without delay and with few exceptions to the rule. Police officers and the military obviously should still be allowed to carry pistols. And there may be room for a narrow exemption for elite competitive shooters. Everyone else should have to surrender their weapons under a federal buyback program.

“But the most pressing need in this struggle to control violence is a nationwide bad on handguns.” This is the dumbest statement in the article because all must realize that the only people that carry hand guns (apart from the cops and the military) are the bad guys and really — they don’t give a “flyin’ f**k” about handgun laws.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has not been a supporter of tighter gun control – quite the opposite, it has loosened adherence to the national long-gun registry. That attitude must be reversed if further tragedies, like the slaying of innocent bystanders such as Ephraim Brown on Sunday, are to be avoided.

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has not been a supporter of tighter gun control – quite the opposite, it has loosened adherence to the national long-gun registry.” Stephen Harper understands the situation and wants to correct it through tougher penalties for those who use guns in crimes. Unlike Miller and “McShifty” he isn’t pandering to the masterbating masses in order to buy votes and it’s well past time that Ontario MP’s DEMANDED that parliament be recalled and that crime bill he wants be passed immediately. There is no need for more kids to die. The only reason they still do is because of weak people using weak arguments which achieve nothing.

Final note: A gun (any gun) is an inanimate object, just like a car. Nothing happens until a human picks it up (or starts it). In each case a concious decision has been made by someone to use said object for ill or good. Nobody would suggest for an instant that because impaired drivers kill, all cars should be removed from the road.

But that is exactly what the Star suggests regarding guns.

“Gun’s don’t kill.”

They are a tool ”like a hacksaw”.

“People kill” and the sooner we deal with the real problem the sooner we will all be safe in our homes. I suggest we consider building a special prison just for them on an island in James Bay. We’ll let the flies, mosquitoes and extreme cold teach them what we cannot.

No soft cushy jail — no deportation.

Just a “fly bitten life” for the next 20 years or so with no phones and no visits from family.

“Poof — you’re gone.”

Picture it (mom sees the gun).

“You should get rid of that thing.”

“Why mom?”

“Cause if you get caught with it doing a crime you’re going to James Bay.

“Where’s James Bay?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Goodnight.
... Jack"