Toronto has lost a decade in the fight against gun violence, Editorial, Nov. 20

Never let it be said that the Star Editorial Board will let facts confuse their opinion.

This is not the first time you have used false information in expressing your distaste for handguns in the hands of responsible, registered, licenced firearm owners.

Just because the police chief once misstated that more crime guns are from licenced owners, you keep repeating it. Statistics from Toronto police, provided to a researcher in Alberta under a Freedom Of Information request, stated that the number of crime guns from licenced owners “was trending down” over the past years, not increasing as you propound.

“Straw purchasers” are a small, but distastefully real problem. This should be very easily caught, as every legally purchased firearm in Canada is registered to the holder of the Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL). RCMP computers could easily be programmed to alert them when any PAL holder purchases more than one or two firearms in a short period of time. They could then notify local police to check out the purchaser and ensure the firearms are for personal use, and still in their possession, properly stored in a safe or locked room.

Stop blaming legitimate firearm owners for the gun problem in Toronto. The criminal element has been obtaining firearms illegally for years and will continue to do so, regardless of any roadblocks you place in front of legitimate owners.

George M. McCaig, Burlington

Tackling inequality and poverty are too complex and too enshrined in our society to be handled by one group or one level of government. There must be a serious and collective attempt by all levels of government to get to the root of the problem. And strong leadership must come from the federal government.

The recent report on gun violence among OECD nations (36 developed countries) has placed Canada at the fourth-highest level of gun violence and Japan at the lowest, with zero per 100,000 people. A closer examination reveals that Canada’s ranking is logical, as it has the second-highest rate of gun possession in the developed world.

So the federal government can slow the rise of gun violence by introducing laws to ban firearms and reduce gun possession.