In fact, 48 percent of Canadians are in favor of the ban, with politicians in Montreal and Toronto leading the charge. The possibility seems more likely than not.

Though Americans are rarely interested in Canadian politics, American politicians often uphold Canadian firearms legislation as a model to be emulated, thanks to the fact that Canada has (and has long had) a far lower murder rate than America. But on closer inspection, the results of Canadian gun control offer a baleful vision of the future if Americans ever tire of the battle to uphold the Second Amendment.

The Canadian gun-ban debate may prove instructive for Americans looking to avoid the consequences of hasty, emotion-driven gun legislation. Three lessons can be gleaned, with each highlighting the pitfalls of a distorted national conversation and the ineffective legislation it breeds.

Some have speculated that 50 percent of the firearms used in crimes are from domestic sources, but this claim is not supported by hard facts. In fact, an Access to Information request revealed that only 9 percent (148) of the firearms seized by Toronto police were legally acquired in Canada. This weakens the argument that “straw” purchases play a large role in gun violence.

Still, let’s assume for a moment that a gun ban successfully reduced the number of domestically sourced illegal firearms in Canada. Gun bans are never effective. Not in Chicago. Not in England. Not in Jamaica. Public mass shootings often occur in “gun free” zones. But let’s assume for a moment that a gun ban successfully reduced the number of domestically-sourced illegal firearms in Canada. What happens next?

A gun ban treats the symptom, not the disease. Given the lucrative nature of the illegal drug trade, drug gangs would continue to operate. In 2005, the U.N. estimated annual drug revenues in the Americas to be $150 billion USD. If a gun ban reduced the availability of domestically sourced weapons, it would stimulate gangs to broaden current supply channels. Guns and drugs go hand in hand because the competitive nature of the drug trade demands violence for purposes personal protection and eliminating rivals. In fact, one study found strong ties between drug and gun trafficking networks operating inside Canada. More drugs equate to more drug deals. And more drug deals yield additional gang violence. It is quite likely that gun violence in Canada would increase if handguns were banned.

Then there’s the issue of corruption. In addition to cases of state corruption in Quebec and British Columbia, reports from 2007 and 2012 revealed hundreds of cases of corruption among Canadian police and federal officials. For the Canadian government, corruption is the elephant in the room.

Guns and drugs go hand in hand because the competitive illegal nature of the drug trade demands violence for purposes personal protection and eliminating rivals.

Buck13 wrote: Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:57 am I hate to sound like a Libertarian, but banning drugs doesn't make us safer. The National Firearms Act of 1934 was driven by mob violence caused by alcohol Prohibition. How'd that work out for us?

shinzen wrote: Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:21 pm Yep. Drug prohibition is a HUGE driver of homicides. Thanks to the drug trade, 30k people were murdered in Mexico last year. And that's just in Mexico. Sweeping changes to drug policy are needed if we want to really move the needle.

featureless wrote: Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:24 pm

shinzen wrote: Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:21 pm Yep. Drug prohibition is a HUGE driver of homicides. Thanks to the drug trade, 30k people were murdered in Mexico last year. And that's just in Mexico. Sweeping changes to drug policy are needed if we want to really move the needle.

Let's not forget the property crimes associated with drugs. I imagine most burglaries and car break ins are "fund raising" ventures for the next fix.

TheGunBlog.ca — The Canadian Coalition for Gun Control said in a November fundraising letter that it got politicians to toughen a planned law against hunters and sport shooters, and that the government’s possible handgun ban is “within our reach.”

The letter, published below, outlined plans to further attack the rights of federally licensed shooters by demanding the seizure of their firearms and pushing for more privacy intrusions by police. The fundraising pitch used falsehoods and distortions to seek penalties and punishments for honest men and women, not lawbreakers.

Critics of a federal government online questionnaire on gun control say it suffered from vague questions and manipulation after results showed at least three-quarters of responses oppose new limits on access to handguns and assault weapons.

The federal government has been exploring a possible ban on handguns and military-style rifles since last summer, after a lone gunman walked down Toronto’s Danforth Avenue with a .40 calibre handgun, killing two people and wounding 13 others.

Shortly after the Danforth shooting, Minister of Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair began consultations on a potential ban, including running an online survey between Oct. 11 and Nov. 11 of last year to gauge national attitudes toward firearms. Respondents answered a series of questions about where the federal government should focus resources to curtail rising gun crime across the country.

Ottawa has officially ruled out a countrywide ban on handguns, but the Liberals will be running in the next federal election on a plan to prohibit and buy back some military-style assault weapons that are currently legal in Canada, minister Bill Blair said.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, the former Toronto police chief said months of consultations on gun control have led him to reject the possibility of a full ban on handguns, despite official requests from the cities of Toronto and Montreal.

“I believe that would be potentially a very expensive proposition but just as importantly, it would not in my opinion be perhaps the most effective measure in restricting the access that criminals would have to such weapons, because we’d still have a problem with them being smuggled across the border,” said Mr. Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction.