"suspects were not licensed to own weapons"

[Fifth Wheel]

From Toronto's Globe and Mail:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-toronto-police-seize-drugs-firearms-in-major-bust/


Reading this article, the following sentence caught my eye:

The source of the firearms has not been determined but police did confirm that the suspects were not licensed to own weapons.

It seemed odd to me. Would anyone expect that big time drug-dealing gangsters make a point of being properly licensed, while illegally transporting carefully concealed prohibited firearms in their vehicles?

Then I remembered the more enlightened latte drinkers in urban Ontario, pushing for even more gun regulations, and the need to mention the lack of firearm licenses became clear.

(Disclaimer: Nothing against drinking latte, of course).

[elkhunter11]

And the courts way of dealing with these unlicensed criminals seems to be to assess firearms prohibitions. If they never had a license in the first place, what good does it do to prohibit them from legally possess firearms, and then extend the prohibition, every time they are convicted? Stricter firearms regulations don't effect criminals, because they could care less about obeying the firearms regulations.

[dmac]

The police did their appropriate checks and then reported their findings in their press conference. The Globe reported it. Whats the problem?

Are you suggesting that the Globe is an urban Ontario paper?? That it caters to latte drinkers (not that there anything wrong with it)?

[bat119]

The source of the firearms has not been determined

That's because the pistols in the photo are short slide auto's banned 20 years ago they must have been smuggled into Canada the same way as the drugs.

Letting the public know they were not legal owners is a good thing.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by dmac

The police did their appropriate checks and then reported their findings in their press conference. The Globe reported it. Whats the problem?

Are you suggesting that the Globe is an urban Ontario paper?? That it caters to latte drinkers (not that there anything wrong with it)?

I suspect the issue isn't with the police or the Globe, but the fact they were illegally possessing firearms. Passing more laws that make guns more illegal, likely isn't going to stop these types of people from possessing firearms. So, if these guys are already break firearm laws, what is the point of passing more and who are they targeting?

[Fifth Wheel]

All valid points, thanks!

I guess it just seemed to me like the old "Dog Bites Man" vs. "Man Bites Dog" headline aphorism in journalism. (i.e. I would have been more surprised if the they were licensed for any firearm classification -- and of course, no classification would permit these criminal activities involving prohibited guns). In the press conference, the police also may have mentioned the suspect was not licensed to drive the vehicle, but is anyone surprised that detail was not reported one way or the other?

My other less-than-subtle point was that more regulation aimed at non-criminal gun owners won't encourage criminals to mend their ways and sign up for the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, pay the application fees and wait for their PALs to come in the mail.

And the Toronto police did great job!