We have that however-many-thousand-kilometres long undefendable border.
We may not like American guns laws, but we can't control American legislation. Let's take responsibility for this ourselves ...Well, that's true. But there really is more to it than that.
You might want to read up on things like international efforts to control trafficking in small arms, and the pariah that the US has made itself in that respect.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2003/11/c1733.html(media release; no copyright issues)
Gun Lobby Attacks on Canada's Gun Control Efforts at the UN Backfire: International Groups Praise Canada's Resolve in Tackling the Gun Problem
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, NY, July 11 /CNW/ - As the United Nations Biennial meeting on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms wrapped up in New York, advocates working to fight gun violence worldwide concluded that the gun lobby's efforts to discredit Canada seem to have backfired.
"Aggressive attacks on Canada by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Canadian gun lobby only strengthen the resolve of groups and governments around the world to tackle illegal gun running," said Professor Wendy Cukier, President of the Coalition for Gun Control (Canada), who attended the meeting.
Noting the repeated efforts in recent years of the NRA to undermine Canada's gun control program, she said: "Our success seems to make them nervous: Americans might actually realize there is another path to follow. When we compare Canada to most countries in the world, as we have over the past week, it's clear that we are on the right track".
The National Rifle Association (NRA) and Canada's Institute of Legislative Action (CILA) attended the UN Biennial Meeting on Small Arms as two of a small number of pro-gun groups trying to slow the progress of an international plan to prevent illicit small arms proliferation. On Wednesday, sarcastic comments from pro-gun representatives about Canada's gun control efforts elicited little support. After listening to attacks on Canada's licensing and registration system, Ambassador Kuniko Inoguchi of Japan, the conference chair, thanked the gun lobby for its comments but expressed her confidence in Canada's approach. The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) praised Canada's commitment to fighting the illegal trade despite the vocal opposition. "Laws are only words on paper unless they are effectively implemented. It has not been easy, but Canada has persisted despite the obstacles," said a spokesperson for IANSA, a network of 500 NGOs.
"Canada's persistence despite the relentless and vocal opposition of the gun lobby has been commendable," noted Rebecca Peters, Director of IANSA. "The results of the program are impressive and we can learn from the challenges Canada experienced with implementing the law in the face of many obstacles. It is critical to understand that Canada is not alone. Many other countries have rejected the path taken by the USA and are working together to fight the epidemic of gun death and injury. It may not be easy, but it is the right thing to do."
Recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights suggested that countries that do not adequately regulate firearms may be failing to meet their obligations under international law.
At the conference, several international studies highlighting the human costs of guns were released. The studies showed that guns claim an estimated 500,000 lives each year in conflict, in crime and in suicide. As guns in civilian possession account for more than half of the small arms worldwide, effective regulation is essential to prevent their diversion to illegal markets.
"In Canada, we have done our best to fulfil our international obligations," Cukier explained. "But we are vulnerable because of lax regulations in neighbouring countries. For example, half of the handguns recovered in crime in Canada originated in the United States, as do more than 80% of the guns in Mexico and most of the guns in the Caribbean. Lax gun control in the US is a cause for international concern in North America. What is encouraging about this conference is to see that countries around the world share our concern about illicit trafficking".
And the problem is not confined to the Americas. Not only are conflicts worldwide fuelled by the illegal trade, but countries with strict laws such as Great Britain also find their efforts undermined by inadequate laws in other countries. Michael Page of the London-based International Alert noted that "Guns tend to flow from less regulated areas to more regulated areas. We must have effective regulation of civilian possession. Licensing, registration and safe storage are essential elements of a regime to prevent the diversion and misuse of guns".
Although the United States had forced removal of any reference to regulating civilian possession of guns from the consensus-based Programme of Action adopted in 2001, Cukier noted that "the progress of many nations is quite remarkable. Not only are countries as diverse as South Africa, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Yemen strengthening their gun laws, but there are growing efforts to develop regional agreements to strengthen and harmonize legislation. Most illegal guns begin as legal guns, so adequate regulation of legal guns is critical to prevent diversion to illegal markets", she said. "It's been quite a year in Canada for gun control. It's heartening to hear from so many quarters that, despite the obstacles, we are on the right track."
All countries *do* have obligations to others, and to the international community. Some are only moral, and some are by agreement.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with asserting that the US has a moral obligation to Canada to control things that
Canada can't, simply as a matter of reality, but that have serious negative outcomes for Canada.
Not that I'd cite the US as authority in such things, but it's worth pointing out that the US does not hesitate to do the same. In fact, when it wants to stop something being brought into the US from another country, it has a tendency to go right on in and handle the problem itself. Colombians could talk a little more on that question.
BTW, I live in downtown Toronto (Corktown area just south of Regent Park) and I feel very safe. Our murder is less than the country's average so lets not blow this out of proportion. In fact, the murder and crime rates across Canada are at an all-time low.That's quite true, but it's rather beside the point here. We're talking about people being made dead -- including people who have nothing at all to do with any criminal activity. In a previous little wave of gun violence in Toronto, for instance, a man was shot dead while standing in his driveway in the early morning, for no reason other than that the gang whose members shot him wanted to deliver a message to the neighbourhood and its rivals.
That is not something that makes for a healthy, happy society. And complacency doesn't make for keeping a society safe.
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