‘Gun Control Gets a Boost’

My wife and I just returned from a three-week tour of eastern Canada. During our sojourn the only act of violence that caught my eye in the local newspapers was the report of the killing of a bank robber who made an attempt to escape with a female hostage. The police were responsible for the killing. Of course, the Hells Angels were arrested for drug possession and causing a melee in Quebec. Subway patrons were cautioned about pickpockets in the metropolitan stations and protesters against the summit meeting in Toronto were arrested. Only one death stood out in all these news reports.

By contrast, the following appeared in the first issue of The Times that we read following our return home: black youth is shot in racial attack; a Long Beach man killed his wife and sister-in-law before turning the gun on himself; three killed in gang shootings; a former Los Angeles police officer is charged with two contract murders; paraplegic is seized in ’74 killing of woman; a 17 year old is charged with killing a 10-year-old Pacoima boy by gunfire.

Canada has a gun-control law. The disparity in the headlines truly tells the story.

One Toronto cabbie told us he was almost robbed one night by a knife-wielding passenger. The cabbie disarmed the robber with a hefty flashlight he kept at his side. Apparently there isn’t any flashlight control in Canada.

S.M. ROSEN

Newbury Park