Premier Doug Ford says he is against a council-requested ban on the sale of handguns and their ammunition within Toronto’s boundaries.

“I wouldn’t support a ban on handguns,” Ford said Thursday. “There’s a lot of legal, responsible handgun owners.”

“We have to refocus all our resources going after the bad guys, not the good guys.”

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Council made the request of the federal and provincial governments at a meeting last month. A motion from Councillor Joe Cressy passed 41 to 4 (Councillors Jon Burnside, Michael Ford, Stephen Holyday and Giorgio Mammoliti were against).

The federal government has jurisdiction over gun sales and the province is responsible for the rules around the sale of ammunition.

Ford pointed to Chicago — where the Ford family business, Deco Labels, operates — where he claimed there is a ban on handguns but still a high number of shootings.

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“You look at Chicago — you all know that I spend a ton of time in Chicago — and they have a ban and guess what, last week they had 72 shootings, 72 or 76 shootings. Imagine that.”

But there has not been a ban on legally possessing handguns in Chicago since 2010 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a nearly 30-year ordinance, stripping the city of some of the strongest gun controls in the country. According to Chicago police, there were 70 shooting incidents reported citywide between July 30 and Aug. 5.

In Canada, most people can’t legally possess a handgun. Licences for this “restricted” class of firearm are limited to those who are collectors, target shooters and who qualify for their job, such as trappers.

Chief Mark Saunders told council during a debate on gun violence on July 24 that 50 per cent of firearms used for crimes were lawfully obtained in Canada and then, typically, resold.

Cressy said there is a direct link around the world to the number of guns and the number of shootings — “It’s not rocket science.”

Coupled with community-based policing and investments in community building, “rigorous gun control” is part of a “comprehensive solution,” Cressy said.

“As usual, Doug Ford’s logic fails to manifest itself in anything that will solve the issue of gun violence.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called Ford’s opposition to a handgun ban “disturbing.”

“Increased gun violence in the GTA has devastated lives. Children have been among the victims. And survivors, and the families, friends and communities of victims and survivors are facing the lifelong impacts of trauma,” she said in a statement.

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“There is an urgent need to address the sale, possession and use of handguns and ammunition within densely populated urban areas and municipalities. There is an urgent need to stop the gun violence from going from bad to worse.”

Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat tweeted following Ford’s news conference that Toronto residents are “rightly worried about the gun violence that has plagued our city this summer and before.”

“Handguns should’ve been banned long ago in this city, but a ban isn’t enough on its own,” her tweets said. “We must engage communities to work collaboratively to address the root causes of this violence. We know we need to do a better job of developing local programming and economic opportunities that drive people away from violent paths.”

Tory’s acting spokesperson in the mayor’s office said: “The federal government has made it known they are considering a handgun ban in addition to other gun control measures . . . The mayor supports the ban of ammunition sales, as he voted for at city council. Our expectation is that, with a federal ban on handguns, ammunition will become a moot point.”

With files from Kristin Rushowy

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