The horrific loss of many young lives as a result of yet another school shooting – this time at an Oregon community college, raises further flags regarding the lack of effective gun control in the U.S.A. In fact CNN reports today that “from 2004 and 2013, 316,545 people died by firearms on U.S. soil” and that only 313 Americans were killed in acts of terrorism domestically and internationally in that same time period.
However, gun enthusiasts there proudly wave their 2nd Amendment “right to bear arms” and decry any political will to bring forth legislative change. Although it was written with the greatest of intentions for public safety in 1791, which was prior to the formation of any policing system or the world’s most powerful military, that was then. We are now at a different time and place.
The current reality is that many homes, vehicles and people have loaded handguns and even assault rifles at the ready. The few citizens that don’t can most often obtain same with no more than a driver’s licence and a smile, or by breaking into the home of pickup truck of someone who does. Gun acquisition laws vary from state to state. Some states have waiting periods, an element of record-keeping and more extensive background checks, others don’t. It’s a sad and ineffective hodge-podge of liability in my view.
Canada is far from perfect. But obtaining a handgun legally or illegally is much more challenging here and getting access to military rifle with a large magazine capacity is next to impossible, comparatively. Combining more effective firearms acquisition processes with stricter gun and ammunition storage laws makes our gun crime numbers pale in comparison to U.S. stats, per capita. Mere coincidence? I think not.
Yes, we’ve had occasional school shootings north of the 49th parallel. Even one such event is totally unacceptable. But reportedly, yesterday’s heartbreaking tragedy is the forty-fifth U.S. school shooting incident so far in 2015 and the one-hundred forty-second one since the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School gun deaths in 2012. However, except for grieving mothers and the occasional brave political figure, there is surprisingly a low level of public outcry.
Most U.S. sheriffs (not all) strongly defend the right to bear arms, presumably because they are elected officials and the political clout of the National Rifle Association scares them. But most American police chiefs that I have spoken to fully endorse a more rigorous gun control regime. They see what gun violence is doing to their communities.
One has to wonder where all those exercising their 2nd Amendment rights are when public shooting sprees occur? It is a rare occurrence when one of them heroically rises and neutralizes the threat before police arrive. Actually in one recent case in Houston, Texas, an assumedly well-intended armed citizen accidentally shot the victim of a carjacking rather than the robbers. Does society really want untrained citizens bearing guns and opening fire in a crowded school, theatre or other public place when these awful things occur? Who do responding police officers target when they arrive? Having numerous armed but not necessarily properly trained individuals on the street can potentially bring more harm than good to a situation.
It is interesting that during a Twitter war-of-words with a self-proclaimed gun-lover some weeks ago, I was advised that “Guns don’t kill people, other people do”. I thanked him for that tidbit of knowledge and added, “Yes, there’s no doubt. But people would kill a lot less people if they didn’t have guns.” It’s hard to murder a dozen people with a knife before a brave good samaritan hits the killer over the head with a blunt object.
When the Democratic and Republican Candidates are finally selected and the 2016 U.S. Presidential race reaches its expected fever pitch, my fingers are crossed for the innocent potential future victims of gun violence there. Hopefully saner heads will prevail and sufficient legislative reform will take place at the behest of the people. In the meantime, and although I love our American friends and allies, I remain proud to be a resident of country with stricter and consistent firearms laws from coast to coast.
Chris Lewis served as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police from 2010 until he retired in 2014. He can be seen regularly on CTV and CP24 giving his opinion as a public safety analyst.
