Blame it on the U.S.

dogdoc · December 28, 2005

Copied this from another forum.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005; Posted: 9:54 p.m. EST (02:54 GMT)

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- Canadian officials, seeking to make sense of another fatal shooting in what has been a record year for gun-related deaths, said Tuesday that along with a host of social ills, part of the problem stemmed from what they said was the United States exporting its violence.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Toronto Mayor David Miller warned that Canada could become like the United States after gunfire erupted Monday on a busy street filled with holiday shoppers, killing a 15-year-old girl and wounding six bystanders -- the latest victims in a record surge in gun violence in Toronto.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute among a group of 10 to 15 youth, and the victim was a teenager out with a parent near a popular shopping mall, police said Tuesday.

"I think it's a day that Toronto has finally lost its innocence," Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou said. "It was a tragic loss and tragic day."

While many Canadians take pride in Canadian cities being less violent than their American counterparts, Toronto has seen 78 murders this year, including a record 52 gun-related deaths -- almost twice as many as last year.

"What happened yesterday was appalling. You just don't expect it in a Canadian city," the mayor said.

"It's a sign that the lack of gun laws in the U.S. is allowing guns to flood across the border that are literally being used to kill people in the streets of Toronto," Miller said.

Miller said Toronto, a city of nearly three million, is still very safe compared to most American cities, but the illegal flow of weapons from the United States is causing the noticeable rise in gun violence.

"The U.S. is exporting its problem of violence to the streets of Toronto," he said.

Miller said that while almost every other crime in Toronto is down, the supply of guns has increased and half of them come from the United States.

Miller said the availability of stolen Canadian guns is another problem, and that poverty in certain Toronto neighborhoods is a root cause.

"There are neighborhoods in Toronto where young people face barriers of poverty, discrimination and don't have real hope and opportunity. The kind of programs that we once took for granted in Canada that would reach out to young people have systematically disappeared over the past decade and I think that gun violence is a symptom of a much bigger problem," Miller said.

The escalating violence prompted the prime minister to announce earlier this month that if re-elected on January 23, his government would ban handguns. With severe restrictions already in place against handgun ownership, many criticized the announcement as politics.

Martin, who says up to half of the gun crimes in Canada involve weapons brought in illegally from the United States, raised the smuggling problem when he met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in October.

Martin offered his condolences in a statement Tuesday, saying he was horrified by the shootings.

"What we saw yesterday is a stark reminder of the challenge that governments, police forces and communities face to ensure that Canadian cities do not descend into the kind of rampant gun violence we have seen elsewhere," Martin said.

John Thompson, a security analyst with the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute, says the number of guns smuggled from the United States is a problem, but that Canada has a gang problem -- not a gun problem -- and that Canada should stop pointing the finger at the United States.

"It's a cop out. It's an easy way of looking at one symptom rather than addressing a whole disease," Thompson said.

Two suspects were arrested and at least one firearm was seized soon after the shootings Monday. Kyriacou said it was an illegal handgun.

Three females and four males were injured, including one male who is in critical condition. Police believe they were bystanders.

Texan_Til_I_Die · December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

Good timing! I just posted the same thing in another thread...

You can delete mine if you want to. I'll just add my comments to this one.

Texan_Til_I_Die · December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

[ QUOTE ]

"It's a sign that the lack of gun laws in the U.S. is allowing guns to flood across the border that are literally being used to kill people in the streets of Toronto," Miller said.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't doubt the statistics at all. We've seen it in city after city here in the US. The more restrictive the gun laws, the more gun related violence. The less restrictive the gun laws, especially concerning the availability of Right to Carry, the less violent crime. So where does Toronto Mayor David Miller get the crazy notion that a crime problem in a Canadian city is being caused by the laws in a totally separate country? I know absolutely nothing about Mayor Miller, never even heard of him until I read this article, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that he's a member of the Labor/Leftist/Socialist (whatever the liberals call themselves in Canada) Party. That's the only explanation I can think of for his idiocy.

oo_buck · December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

Yep, I personally exported 500 handguns to Toronto...... They need to get a friggin' clue.

December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

Don't even know what to say, Maybe it is our fault. Jk

It is human nature to desire things that are forbidden, ie Guns in Canada. But I am pretty sure that a person could prabably find hand guns illegaly just aboot anywhere, not just here. "Exporting Crime"!! is that like selling drugs? I mean the US should market this stuff... just think we could really put a dent in the Natl defficit. Sorry canada for the tragedy, but now someone is reaching.

buckee · December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

That's a real cop-out all right. When will they learn?

We already have very strict handgun laws here...very strict. If they were to ban handguns, all they would do is add another few 100,000 handguns to the black-market. What a bunch of idiot politicians we have here.

[ QUOTE ]

"I think it's a day that Toronto has finally lost its innocence," Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou said.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where the heck has this guy had his head buried for the last 40 years. Toronto was a cess-pool for violence, way back in the 60's when I was a teenager.

It's not a gun problem we have in our two countries, it is a spiritual problem we have. If folks, young and old, would get their heart straight with God, there wouldn't be any gun problems.

Gun laws, are like taking an aspirin for cancer.

fisherguy · December 28, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

A way for the liberals to ignore the fact this happened on their watch despite their wonderful gun registry. A very large portion of the handguns are smuggled in from the US, and can be traced to that. Teh problem with their argument is twofold. One, why are they getting across the border?, and two, why does our government not give the police the power to stop the gangs. Why do they let the courts give these gan members a slap on the wrist for illegally having a gun? One comment i have to add...I am surprised at soem of the US sources who are so irate over this...they are some of the same one's who were so quick to blame Canada for 911.

py_archer · December 29, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

Canada new destination of choice for pedophiles?

High court ruling legalized

group-sex clubs with 14-year-olds

Posted: December 27, 2005

1:00 a.m. Eastern

by James L. Lambert

The Canadian Supreme Court ruling that redefined obscenity for that nation and legalized group-sex clubs, combined with Canada's unusually low age of consent – 14 – will result in an influx of pedophiles to America's neighbor to the north, contends a former consultant to the U.S. Justice Department.

In its Dec. 20 decision, Canada's Supreme Court legalized a type of business activity previously restricted by Canadian law, overturning two previous Quebec Court of Appeal decisions that had ruled group-sex clubs qualified as "bawdy houses" violating Quebec's community decency standards and were therefore illegal.

Judith Reisman, a world-renowned scholar and author of four books, including "Kinsey: Crimes and Consequences," said that since under Canadian law 14-year-olds are legally considered "consenting adults," the court's controversial decision "will now make Canada a sex traffic playground for pedophiles."

A former consultant to three U.S. administrations, Reisman, who is also a WND columnist, says the court's decision sends a clear message to pedophiles: "You don't have to go to Asia anymore. Pedophiles can have the blond, blue-eyed kids in Canada, too."

The Canadian government, Reisman believes, is sending a strong message to international sex traders that "you can get all the kids you want when you come to Canada." The liberalization of the Canadian courts, the author contends, shows "that pedophiles or politicians who refuse to prosecute these types of crimes are in power more than ever in Canada."

Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin was joined by Justices Major, Binnie, Deschamps, Fish, Abella and Charron in the sex-club decision. Dissenting justices Michael Bastarache and Louis LeBel said the high court's ruling "strips of all relevance the social values that the Canadian community as a whole believes should be protected," according to Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper.

"There is a real trend to break down moral principles in Canadian society," said Gwen Landolt, vice president of Real Women of Canada, according to LifeSiteNews.com. "The implications are horrendous," said Landolt. "It's an exploitation of human sexuality. Fourteen-year-olds will be exploited."

"The Canadian government," Reisman told WND, "will see that the kids are clean from sexual disease by giving them the appropriate drugs and medication and if they get pregnant, they will provide them with abortions."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48075

ParrotHead · December 29, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

Well it's good to hear NAFTA is really working. At least we're exporting something!

What a joke but it's ok Buckee, we're planning on exporting some democracy next so hopefully you folks will get some of that!

muggs · December 29, 2005

Re: Blame it on the U.S.

[ QUOTE ]

Well it's good to hear NAFTA is really working. At least we're exporting something!

What a joke but it's ok Buckee, we're planning on exporting some democracy next so hopefully you folks will get some of that!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and when we start exporting democracy, we bring the bombs and war planes too, so watch your arsh Buckee.

EKYhunter · December 29, 2005