TORONTO, June 24 (UPI) -- Toronto's city council, in a bid to clamp down on gun violence, approved canceling the leases of two shooting ranges operating on city property.

The move was the idea of Toronto Mayor David Miller, who last month called target shooting "a hobby that creates danger to others," the Toronto Star reported.


Councilors voted 31-9 Monday night to cancel the leases of a range in the city's east end and one in the downtown Union Station rail station, the Toronto Sun said.

"In a day when you can't bring a large tube of toothpaste on the plane with you, how could we possibly allow guns to wander through Union Station, the biggest transportation hub in Canada?" Miller said.

Bernard Becker, a member of the Union Station gun club board of directors, said the council showed ignorance of gun laws and gun clubs, and said target shooters still have to carry their weapons through Union Station and on public transit to other facilities.

The city bylaw also bans the opening of new gun clubs or gun-related manufacturing facilities, the Sun said.