Handgun ban sought by Toronto victims' families

The families of two Torontomen who werefatally shotfour years agomarked the grimanniversary by calling for a countrywide ban on handguns.

Oliver Martin, 25,and his friendDylan Ellis, 26, were in a Range Roverat Richmond and Walnut streets indowntown Toronto on June 13, 2008, when they werekilled. Toronto police say the slayings remain unsolved and no arrests were made.

Martin's stepfather, Alan Dudeck, wants politicians from every level of government to enact a ban on the private ownership of handguns.

The families took their plea to Queen's ParkonWednesdayafternoon.

"I believe ultimately it's the federal government's jurisdiction," Dudeck said. "But I think we need everyone on sidemunicipal, provincial and federal."

The families argue that smaller firearms serve no legitimate purpose.

"No one should have the right to own a handgun except the police," saidOliver Martin's mother, Susan. "Handguns are easy to hide and are used, with few exceptions, for one purpose only: to wound or kill someone."

The familiesarealso urging the federal governmentto keep the now defunct long-gun registry'sdata available to police. "Harper and his cronies seem to be determined todelete that information, which would be a travesty," Dudeck said.

Toronto Coun. Adam Vaughan joined the families at Queen's Park, backing the gun ban and also calling for a ban on bullets.Vaughan said there's no reason anyone would need to buy bullets in Toronto.

"Whether it's domestic violence, whether it's suicide or whether it's some of those situationswe see in public spaces, the harder we make for peopleto get bullets, the safer we're going to make it for all those other people in this city," he said.

Vaughanhopesto achieve the ban through city zoning rules.The councillor said if Toronto canban plastic bagsas the council did last week, banning weapons shouldn't be a problem.He will introduce a motion in Toronto council next week.

Mayor Rob Ford said such a ban would unduly punish legal hunters, whileFederal Public Safety Minister Vic Toewscalled the proposal a "a misdirected effort."

"The issue isn't the legality or illegality of bullets or guns," he said Wednesday. "The issue is these guns in the hands of criminals. That needs to be stopped."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said that he supportsa handgunban, but thatit's a federal decision.

Gun bans attempted before

Handguns are considered restricted or prohibited weapons under current federal law, meaning they must be registered by their owner.

Anyone looking to purchase one must also obtain a licence.

Many have sought to get rid of them altogether, including a 2005 bid by then Liberal leader Paul Martin.

Toronto cracked down on shooting ranges under former mayor David Miller, who then launched an unsuccessful petition to prohibit handguns across the country.

Toronto gun violence up in 2012

The fresh calls for a handgun ban, which were also heard at a vigil at Yonge-Dundas Square Monday night, comes as gun violence is on the rise in Canada's largest city.

A daylightshooting June 2 at the Toronto Eaton Centre that killed two menis one of 114 shootings so farin 2012 a year-to-date increase of 33per cent. The number of victims as of Tuesday stands at143, up from 102 at this time last year, a40 per cent jump.

Gun violencewas down considerablythe last two years, however, andthe 2012 numbers are roughlythe same asat this time in 2009.

Reformedgangleader says banwouldn't work

Attemptsto ban gunshave met staunch opposition from the gun lobby and other critics, who argue a ban would do little against illegal handguns typically used to commit crimes.

At least oneman who has seen his share of gun violence said a ban would miss the mark.

"You would have to remove every gun from society," said Richard Atkinson, who once led the Dirty Tricks gang, responsible for hundreds of bank robberies and holdups during the 1970s and 1980s.

Atkinson, who served nearly 30 years in prison, now works with at-risk youth in his old Alexandra Park neighbourhood. He says the solution is the sameas it was three decades ago: programs for youth in at-risk neighbourhoods.

"Albeit they didn't have an impactwith me, I was the leader," he said. "But they had an impact on some of the guys that hung around with me, and those guys went on to lead pro-social lives."

Atkinson and other community members met with police on Tuesday night, so police could discuss their plans to increase patrols in response to the Eaton Centre shooting. Atkinson called it a Band-Aid solution that does little more than send gang members into hiding for a few weeks.