Guns: A Tool Not Worth Keeping Around

Ethan Xu (10) | STAFF REPORTER

Since 2013, the number of gun-related crimes has jumped by almost 42%. In 2017, there were a grand total of 7700 victims involved in firearm-related crimes. In 2018, Toronto alone had 428 shooting incidents, amounting to nearly two and a half times the number of incidents in 2014. Obviously, this is a very negative and alarming trend, and the solution seems to be simple: get rid of all guns. The problem, however, is that criminals don’t follow the law, and if we take away guns from civilians we are simply making it easier for criminals.

What is the main benefit of banning firearms? On paper, the banning of firearms would ultimately make it a lot harder to get guns in the first place. This is because, by making all firearms illegal, any form of possession whatsoever would be illegal, and thus, all guns can be cracked down upon. This means that it’s harder to smuggle or distribute guns under the pretense that one person has a permit or something like that. 

The problem with this is also pretty clear, however. This would really only apply to law-abiding citizens. People who commit gun crime to begin with won’t follow these laws anyway, and although it’s true that by making it harder to find technicalities and loopholes, it’s harder for criminals to get guns, criminals will likely always find a way whatsoever. 

I think that banning all guns is probably a good idea. This is because, no matter what, criminals will have access to guns on either side. However, when we allow people to have concealed carry or even just allow for “legal” guns to stay within Canada, the risk of these guns being used for malicious purposes still increases. For example, if we allow gun shops to sell rifles for hunting purposes, it also means that someone could buy the rifle under a hunting facade when, in reality, they plan to use it for criminal reasons.

All in all, guns are a great tool for many things, but because of their immense power, I believe that they should be enforced as strictly as possible so as to minimize the risk that guns deemed “legal” will be used for malicious purposes.

This article was written in March 2024.