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Many believe that gun violence is just an urban problem, and that the issues are centred on crime, gangs and youth who are not preoccupied enough. This is a popular view; when Public Safety Minister Goodale held a summit on gun control, it was centred on gang crime. Addressing the issues of children and adults in gangs is important, but limiting the conversation of gun violence to gangs is negligent.

Gun violence is not just about gangs. Gun violence is being hit by a stray bullet; being shot by a stranger; dying with your children at the hands of a spouse or partner in a domestic dispute; being shot accidentally while handling a firearm; and dying from suicide, to name a few horrific examples that too many of us are familiar with.

The issue of gun control is complicated, the perpetrators and victims are different and vary in every scenario. If we limit our conversation of gun control to gangs, we are missing opportunities to create legislation that keeps everyone safe.

As experts have said, gun violence can spill into the public health arena. Guns are too often the weapon of choice for individuals who end their lives. The current law states that guns should be kept away from people who have been treated for a mental illness associated with violence. What do we do in situations where an individual’s mental illness is untreated? Or situations where there is an issue of capacity, such as in the case of a degenerative cognitive illness such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. The new federal bill does not allow for ongoing assessments of an individual’s mental state. Bill C-71 does not even mention “mental illness,” leaving a large gap in the way we can continuously properly identify individuals who should not be eligible to possess a firearm.