Toronto Gun Violence is "A National Crisis"

[kimmy]

The Prime Minister met with leaders of Toronto's black community over gun violence issues. I'm surprised that Paul Martin didn't tell these people that gun violence couldn't possibly be spiraling out of control, because the gun registry makes that impossible. However, that didn't happen. Instead, PMPM appears poised to reach for the wallet.

The Star: Gun violence summit

They made a proposal to set up "an immediate and intense" offensive against gangs and guns that would include "a massive deployment of youth workers across our communities."

Toronto Mayor David Miller and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty have already agreed to attend any such summit. The coalition members also spoke of the need for a community healing initiative and eventually setting up an economic and social development agency run by blacks for blacks.

...cash... and a hugs-for-thugs program. uh huh

CTV: More with the summit.

"Aren't the lives of our young black men important to the leaders of this country?" Douglas asked at a press conference held before the meeting. "Aren't their lives important to the rest of Canada?"

The rest of the country isn't ignoring you, Sandra. The rest of the country is paying attention, and is grateful that we don't live there.

"We are not talking about the War Measures Act," Black Action Defence Committee Dudley Laws said at the press conference. "We want concrete action that can give motivation to young people."

Parsons also disagreed with a "law and order" approach that could introduce mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes.

"What we want is for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to empower and give the community the capacity to make the immediate and intense intervention that is required to deal with our young people," Parsons said.

(Black Action Defence Committee?)

Yeah, in a situation where crime and violence are out of control, a "law and order" approach is the last thing you'd want. Cash, please.

-k

[fellowtraveller]

"What we want is for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to empower and give the community the capacity to make the immediate and intense intervention that is required to deal with our young people," Parsons said.

This sounds like an appeal to allow lynch mobs.

Has Paul Martin abandoned his position that the USA is to blame for the guns?

Why on earth would the PM be involved in a local police/community issue?

[PocketRocket]

Here's my idea for dealing with gang violence.

Open up a park for "gangsta's".

This would be a place where gangs can go to work out their differences away from innocent civilians and residential areas.

Have it tightly fenced in.

Let them go there, give them real weapons, and let them blow themselves all away.

This accomplishes two things; it gets the violence off the streets, and it eliminates a lot of the problem people.

As an added benefit, several cameras aroung the park to broadcast the action may de-glamorize the whole "gangsta" mytstique among kids, especially when they see their respective heroes laying in a pool of mud and blood, gasping their last.

If the shattered hero is using his last strength to try re-install his own intestines, so much the better. Nothing shatters a glamorous image like seeing someone try replace their own personal plumbing system.

As a reality program, there could even be prizes awarded. For example, the first-place winner gets an all-expense paid relocation to inner-city Detroit, so they can REALLY live the gangsta lifestyle.

No prizes for second place as there is no one left to collect.

As for the myopic parents whose kids "would NEVER do anything like that", well, the answer to them is simple; "If your kid would never do anything like that, he wouldn't have been in the park in the first place. Now please sign this copy of your son's death certificate."

[Argus]

"What we want is for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to empower and give the community the capacity to make the immediate and intense intervention that is required to deal with our young people," Parsons said.

This sounds like an appeal to allow lynch mobs.

If the "Black Action Defence Committee" is going to lynch anyone it'll be cops and other racist white devils. They're one of those groups which blames all the problems on racism in society. When they talk about "immediate and intense intervention" they're talking about the government giving money to his group, among other such groups, so they can go in and do make-work projects for unemployed and unemployable Black youth (with a tidy profit for his group, of course).

Has Paul Martin abandoned his position that the USA is to blame for the guns?

Why on earth would the PM be involved in a local police/community issue?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's called the ethnic vote.

[Guest eureka]

This is a terrible crisis indeed. If the shootings continue at this rate, then Toronto will have suffered, by year's end, about three weeks worth of similar offences in the much smaller city of New Orleans. Almost as bad, proportionate to size as the situation in a couple of other Canadian cities, too.

Let's address a problem of violence; but let's leave the political posturing out of it.

[scribblet]

It's called the ethnic vote.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course it is, there's an election around the corner. and all those criminals have registered their guns of course.