Why is it that only the criminals are allowed to have firearms in countries like the UK, Australia and Canada? Bruce http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060603/gun_violence_06 0603/20060603?hub=Canada
Experts warn of another 'Summer of the Gun' Updated Sat. Jun. 3 2006 11:51 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Gun violence is on the rise in Canada's major cities, and police are bracing themselves for another season of escalating casualties. "Summertime months are peak months for gun violence, and the question is will we face another 'Summer of the Gun,'" Bill Hubble, deputy director of the Criminal Intelligence Service, a federal agency, told CTV News. In Toronto, Canada's largest city, 52 of 78 homicides in 2005 had firearms involved. A spate in late summer saw about 20 shootings in a two-week period. Gun violence isn't just a summer thing. In mid-November, a young man was shot to death at a church while attending the funeral of a friend, who was shot to death himself a week earlier. Gun crime became a major election woman when a teenage girl died in the crossfire between hoodlums as she was out shopping on Boxing Day on Yonge St., the city's major thoroughfare. Experts trace the problem to guns flowing into Canada from the United States, although criminals also steal from legitimate gun owners. The reason for the flow of illegal guns northward is quite simple: Gun smuggling is highly profitable. A high-quality $300 pistol bought in Philadelphia can fetch around $2,000 in Canada. Criminal organizations like the Hells Angels and Asian triads, competing for control over the lucrative trafficking, are willing to pay for firepower. "They are fighting for money," said Insp. Paul Nadeau of the RCMP Drug Squad. "It's profits, it's power and this is drug driven. Make no mistake about it, this is drug-driven." On the West Coast, Canadian criminals are buying weapons from the U.S. with drugs. "We see marijuana going south and we see guns coming back," said Hubble. Armed criminals are an increasing presence on Canada's streets -- a threat all too familiar to police. "Every day in the city of Toronto, my police officers are encountering armed criminals in possession of loaded handguns," said Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. This year, Toronto police have confiscated about 800 guns compared to , up 20 per cent from last year. >From coast to coast, gang members prefer semi-automatic handguns. "Having a gun is part of the scene, it's part of the image," said Nadeau. "It's the gangster lifestyle." Police are fighting the problem with undercover operations, trying to crack the organized smugglers. The Conservative government pledged $20 million in the federal budget to fight gun crime. Officials say the money and the Conservative government's promised legislation to toughen penalties for gun crime will help, but they want more people at the border for searches and increased funding to retrieve serial numbers from guns used in crimes. With a report by CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get to your groups with one click. Know instantly when new email arrives http://us.click.yahoo.com/.7bhrC/MGxNAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
