Does it work?

I am a big proponent of "what works". In fact, that's pretty much my political philosophy in a nutshell. Does it work? If so, I support it. Does it not work? Then why isn't something being done to make it work?

Gun crime in Canada is dramatically up in recent years. My 50 Cent(s) says it's the culture that's responsible. Have you seen videos lately? It was a shock when NWA came out with Straight Outta Compton several years back. But that number sounds like the theme from A Summer Place when put on a playlist with some of today's top songs.

So what's to be done about all the gun violence?

Many people will tell you that it's merely a symptom of a disease called poverty. Treat the disease and you'll cure the symptoms, they say. That's a slanderous insult to the vast majority of working poor who are law-abiding. While it's true that more opportunities need to be created to lift the poor out of their ghetto, the mere lack of them isn't an excuse to go and shoot somebody...and those who suggest that poverty is a "root cause" of gun crime are perilously close to abetting it.
They also ignore the large number of killings committed by middle and upper-class youth--youth like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, of Columbine infamy. They didn't fit in to their high school surroundings, apparently.
Well guess what? Neither did I. Last I looked, I haven't killed anyone because of it.

I think much of this rampant gun crime is committed out of boredom, as hard as that is to fathom. What do you do when you're bored? I read a book, most often. But lots of kids take to the streets to act out their favourite video. When you're in thrall to the culture around you and it serves as your primary referent, killing someone is a perfectly valid thing to do "because you feel like it."

Unfortunately, while we've been sleeping over the past ten or fifteen years, this gun culture has evolved to the point where we can't shove it back into its box. Any attempt to ban the artists, the music, or the images will simply push it all underground.

So we're stuck with the culture, at least until something comes along to take its place. What to do with the violence?

Well, the Liberals want to ban handguns. A response to this proposal showed up in my mailbox today. Here it is:

From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia

Hi friends, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.
The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not! and criminals still possess their guns!)
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly.
Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns." You won't see this on the Canadian evening news or hear your Member of Parliament disseminating this information.
The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note Canadians, before it's too late!

I am not a "gun nut". I've never been, and barring a brain transplant will never be one. In point of fact, I hate the damned things. But even I can distinguish between guns owned by law-abiding citizens and guns in the hands of criminals--something Paul Martin is evidently incapable of doing.

Well, okay, let's not be cruel: Mr. Martin knows perfectly well that his proposed gun legislation won't work...but it plays well in Toronto. Maybe next he'll ban criminals. Think that'd work?