Case Study: Gun Violence In Canada

Gun Violence in Canada
Oct 19, 2012-10-19 Gun violence in Canada is an issue which is evident within Canadian society, especially in the last year. The shooting in the Eaton’s Centre in Toronto recently was the largest mass shooting in its history. The reason behind the shooting was related to gang violence in the area, therefore there is a social issue that demands solution. Gun violence in Canada is generally on the low end of the overall crime rate, and in recent years the severity of crime was down four percent, but this does not mean there is no reason for alarm anymore. A Statistics Canada study on criminal code statistics offer misleading information on the severity of the situation, this includes gun violence. A past Statistics
Gun violence is as Global Mail see’s it an expression on manly rage, but I do not agree with this accusation. Gun violence in Canada is a social issue in relation to gang violence, and although this crime rate is not on the rise it cannot be taken lightly and it is not to be blamed as an expression of manly rage also known as pistolization. As the Globe and Mail states two weeks after the shooting in Toronto’s Eaton’s Centre, Police Chief Bill Blair sees the gang violence at its root (Globe and Mail, Aug 2012). Gang violence is the cause for the largest mass shooting Toronto has ever seen, but it is also the basis for any other reported shooting in the Toronto area, along with the rest of Canada. The solution is to prevent the young men in and around the communities with the highest recorded gang violence from joining or going down the path of gang violence. Catching them at a young age is easy, young men are easily influenced and this is generally how they join a gang in the first place. Therefore, if society gives those
Although it is obvious that gun crimes are nearly always perpetrated by men does not mean that gun violence is a problem of men’s social-psychological dimensions (Globe and Mail, July 2012). We live in a culture that gun violence is all over the media, whether it be in video games or in movies. There is proof that men tend to be more susceptible to any sort of violence, but just because gun violence falls under this category does not mean there is a social psychological problem. Women can be part of the same crimes as men, the only reason the rate for women is lower is because we still live in a society where the media is still geared towards men. It is also unwise to believe that gun violence coming from men is a form of status anxiety and that the culture has been significantly shaped by pistolization and guns are being used as a weapon for acting out (Globe and Mail, July 2012). Blaming gun violence in Canada on drug dealing because there is no form of legal recourse is a scapegoat. It is true that drug deals can be violent if a merchandiser or customer of drugs does not live up to their end of the bargain, but to blame gun violence in Canada on this is inappropriate. It would be understandable if one was in Columbia, due to the amount of cocaine that is imported and exported from there, but Canada has never been one of the top