Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow says she supports a Toronto handgun ban.

In a Wednesday chat with readers on thestar.com, Chow said “yes” when asked if she backed a ban.

“Don’t see why ordinary citizens (not police) need them. Several 15-year-old kids were shot with handguns. We need to prevent violence,” she wrote.

Citing the example of Chicago, candidate David Soknacki argued that there is no evidence that municipal bans actually work. The violence-plagued city had a ban on the possession and sale of handguns for 28 years before it was ruled unconstitutional in 2010.

“I don’t see it as an effective way of reducing crime or violence,” Soknacki said.

Police Chief Bill Blair has offered a similar argument. “I don’t see that would be a solution to the problem,” he said in 2012, adding that he believes guns are already well-regulated in Canada.

The federal government makes criminal law and regulates firearms, and council formally asked Parliament in 2008 to ban the possession and sale of handguns. No action was taken. Chow rival Karen Stintz said she supported that request, but she would not take a position this time, suggesting the issue is moot.

“(Chow) wasn’t on council at the time, so maybe she doesn’t realize we did it. But we’ve already done that,” Stintz said.

The idea of a local handgun ban was highly popular in a 2012 opinion poll. Three-quarters of residents supported the idea in a summer survey by Forum Research.

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