I am not to good with this computer yet . i am still learning. i have a question that i feel needs to be asked . who was the police officer or gun control personel that is issueing the fac and carry permits to the criminal sooters in Canada. what did the billons in dollars go to control. we were promiced that by removeing and restriction the shooting crime would go away. no access to guns the criminal would be disarmed.by takeing away guns this will do the job. who sells them now what dealer or shop sells them now.why with all the police resorses have they not been shut down. i am as you can tell been fesius .if the bann on guns did not work before how will it work with a nother ban. is there not a better move .ilegal guns come with no papers or documents and only the right ban again and only the price goes up

Hi Jim:

Handguns, while not banned, are already very restricted weapons in Canada. And you're right -- it seems fair to question whether a full ban will make much difference.

The question I want answered is how many weapons in the hands of Toronto street criminals are stolen from legitimate owners and collectors versus being smuggled in from the United States.

Even if no civilian in Toronto owned a handgun, the bad guys could still obtain them from the U.S.

There's a legitimate question to be asked about whether tougher laws will help. My sense is they only work after the fact, but they won't prevent crime. I'm not sure where you're from, but one year in Toronto, we had a shooting in full view of video surveillance cameras and with police all around.

There is a "guns and gangs" task force in T.O. whose job is to go after gang-bangers and take guns off the street.

But the criminologist I talked to said ultimately, you need to do more in terms of social supports, especially for single-parent families, to help keep kids out of the clutches of crime and gangs.

In terms of the big picture, T.O. isn't a complete Wild West show. In 2006, there were 61 homicides here. In 2005, Chicago -- pop. about 2.8 million compared to T.O.'s 2.5 million -- had 448.