Canada is often portrayed — by filmmaker Michael Moore and others — as a nation with common-sense gun control and fewer murders.
Apparently that’s not enough for Toronto’s mayor, who called Monday for the total disarmament of the city — saying nobody needs a gun — in the wake of a gunman’s rampage through its Danforth district.
Mayor John Tory was cited in the National Post as not only calling the shooting that killed two people and wounded 13 others an “unspeakable” act, but adding that the city needs even tighter restrictions on guns.
“Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?” he said, going on to claim that total disarmament would be worth it if it prevented a single mass shooting.
“I know answering questions like this won’t fully eliminate tragedies like this, but even if we can prevent one of these incidents, then in my view it is a discussion worth having and having very soon,” he said.
Washington, D.C., had a similar total ban on handguns, but it was struck down in 2008 by the landmark Heller decision on the basis that it violated the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.
Even before Sunday night’s rampage, blamed on a Toronto man named Faisal Hussain, the city had seen in recent weeks a spike in shootings.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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