CAN WE ESCAPE BEING  SHOT?

There isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t learn of a shooting taking place somewhere in Canada and elsewhere.  

When I and my wife and two daughters lived in Etobicoke which is an administrative district and one of six municipalities amalgamated into the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it comprised of the city's north-west  end of Toronto. Etobicoke was first settled by white Europeans in the 1790s, then the municipality grew into city status in the 20^th  century.

There were two reasons why we moved out of our townhouse in our townhouse complex. It was because black families moved into our townhouse complex. They were rude, they left garbage on our pathways and didn’t  seem to want to communicate with non [black families. The non-black families began moving out of the complex and I didn’t want my family to be the only non-black family left behind. 

Now let me be clear. I am not a white racist. I married a Japanese  woman and we associate with  many non-white families including black families.

However, I don’t tolerate rudeness or violence no matter what the race of anyone is.

The second reason why I wanted to move out of our home was because there was another area to the east of us where many black families lived which is about a quarter mile  away that was at an area where there were constant shootings going on. I feared that the shooters would eventually move into our complex.

Ironically, before we moved into Malton, a black  man was shot dead at one end of our  street we were moving into. Years later, another black l man was shot dead at the other end of our street.

Malton is yet another example of a suburban area caught in the crosshairs of violent crime in the area of lower-income neighborhoods surrounding Toronto's more prosperous core. Some blame geography, arguing that gangsters from Rexdale and Brampton use Malton as a meeting ground for drug deals. Others say there aren't enough social services to keep Malton’s  kids occupied while their parents work at two jobs.

I am concerned about shootings going on in Canada. Crime statistics give many residents and politicians concerns. This year, five of the Peel Region's  24 homicides occurred and in Malton, they   were many gang-related. According to Peel police statistics, violent crimes in 21^st  Division, which includes Malton and south Brampton that has  increased steadily over the past three years, second only to Brampton's 22 Division. And while Peel saw an overall decrease in violent crime between 2006 and 2007, the decline was less than Toronto experienced.

Canada has strict laws governing ownership of guns and there are consequences when those laws are violated. As I see it, the penalties are not sufficient.  In my opinion, they should be as follows:

Possession of an un-licenced  gun:  one year in prison

If the gun is loaded:  two years in prison.

Carrying a loaded gun in public:  five years in prison.

Aiming a loaded gun at someone:  ten years in prison.

Shooting a gun at someone:   fifteen years in prison.

Wounding someone with the gun: twenty years in prison.

Killing anyone by shooting a person:  twenty-five years for each person killed.

Perhaps these laws that have teeth will make living in our communities safer.