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 20th 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 21st
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.
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