the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1132
(6/12/06 12:31) Reply
Violence begets Violence
SOURCE: REUTERS · ASSOCIATED PRESS · AFP · FOX NEWS · US NEWSWIRE ·
Violent Crime Up for 1st Time in 5 Years
Jun 12 1:43 PM US/Eastern
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By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
Murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the United States increased last year, spurring an overall rise in violent crime for the first time since 2001, according to FBI data.
Murders rose 4.8 percent, meaning there were more than 16,900 victims in 2005. That would be the most since 1998 and the largest percentage increase in 15 years.
Murders jumped from 272 to 334 in Houston, a 23 percent spike; from 330 to 377 in Philadelphia, a 14 percent rise; and from 131 to 144 in Las Vegas, a 10 percent increase.
The overall increase in violent crime was modest, 2.5 percent, which equates to more than 1.4 million crimes. Nevertheless, that was the largest percentage increase since 1991.
Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect the nation's complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns.
Robberies were up 4.5 percent and aggravated assaults 1.9 percent, according to preliminary data. Alone among violent crime categories, the number of rapes fell 1.9 percent.
Violent crimes peaked at 1.9 million in 1992 and fell steadily through the end of that decade. The number has been relatively stable for the past six years.
Crime last year increased in all regions, although the 5.7 percent rise in the Midwest was at least three times any other region's. These states make up the Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1230
(9/16/06 0:03) Reply
the Americanising of CanadaVictims' families demand tougher gun laws
Updated Fri. Sep. 15 2006 9:54 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The brother of a Dawson College shooting victim has lashed out at Prime Minister Stephen Harper[politically Right Wing/neoCon =Republican], for refusing to back down on his plan to abolish the long-gun registry.
Hassan Kadhim, whose 17-year-old brother lies in hospital with three bullet wounds to the leg, neck and head, wants Harper to think twice about his decision.
"Canada is supposed to be a peaceful country. We're not in the United States," Kadhim told CTV News.
"For (Harper) to talk about removing the registry for guns and maybe making it easier for people to get themselves guns... And then we see this tragedy happening. I mean, does it take something like this for our prime minister to understand? He's sitting in Ottawa, drinking his coffee, taking it easy. And the families here are all paying the price. It's good to be in power, but you've got be responsible for what you say and what you think."
One woman was killed and 19 wounded when 25-year-old Kimveer Gill opened fire indiscriminately at the Montreal school on Wednesday. Anastasia DeSousa, 18, died of her wounds. Gill took his own life after being shot in the arm by police.
DeSousa's mother, Louise DeSousa, said something has to be done to stop gun violence.
"It has to stop. There are too many cases of this going around and it's not necessary," she said.
Gill used a pistol and restricted Beretta CX4 Storm semi-automatic carbine in the violent rampage, both of which he acquired legally.
Harper has refused to enter a debate on whether the federal long-gun registry should be scrapped, saying it's too soon after the tragedy to debate the issue.
"Frankly, I think it's not a day for a discussion of policies," Harper said Thursday. "I can only note that obviously the current laws did not prevent this incident, and as a government we are seeking more effective laws for the future."
On Thursday, a tearful Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he will oppose Harper's plan to abolish the registry.
"I told Mr. Harper (Wednesday night) he can certainly expect a tense debate over the registry," Charest said Thursday after meeting with families of the victims.
"We hope that Ottawa will take into consideration that here in Quebec our view on the registry is one that has sadly been forged by these tragic events and that they will take that into account."
Virtually all Quebec politicians, outside of Harper's caucus, stood united to save the controversial $1 billion gun registry.
Quebec will send a delegation to Ottawa to make their case to keep the gun registry in place. It will be headed by Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis, and will include police chiefs, psychologists, family members of the victims, and other groups, The Globe and Mail reports.
As a key ally to Harper, Charest's opposition could hurt Harper's chances of a much-needed breakthrough in Quebec if he is to win a majority government.
Conservative MPs weigh in
On Friday, Conservative MPs outside of the last Tory caucus meeting of the summer commented on the situation.
Garth Turner, the outspoken Ontario MP from Halton, said it's too soon to speculate on how to avoid future tragedies. However, Turner said the fact Gill legally owned the guns he used in the shooting indicates something needs to change.
"We're too close to this tragedy and I don't think any of us know exactly what the answers are, other than this is a giant wake up call," Turner told reporters. "It's a giant alarm bell going off, that if someone actually complies with every element of our law and we end up with this situation, the law doesn't work.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, speaking in French, said the government will examine current laws to determine "how it is possible a person so unbalanced could have the possibility of having firearms," and must take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.
But critics argue the government should ban semi-automatic weapons, that can fire off five rounds within seconds.
"Semi-automatics have no role to play in the hands of private owners in this country," said New Democrat justice critic Joe Comartin.[no equivelant party in the USA not to be confused with the Democrats of the USA, the NDP are far more left, Americans would consider the NDP socialists, Limbaugh would call them Communists.]
The tragedy has prompted Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald to order a review of school security and emergency services practices in that province.
"What's important is that, whether it's our Primary-to-12 education system, whether it's our college system, the appropriate measures be put in place to have a safe atmosphere,'' MacDonald said. "But also an inviting atmosphere, and that is always the balance.''
Four of the shooting victims remain in "very critical" condition, said CTV's Montreal Bureau Chief Jed Kahane, reporting Friday morning from outside Montreal General Hospital.
"There has been no change in their status overnight. One of them is in an induced coma, and they are trying to just let their bodies rest, to somehow begin to heal from these very serious gunshot wounds. It's a minute-to-minute affair."
Victim described as "perfect" by family
Details have begun to emerge about Anastasia DeSousa, who was known to her friends as "Stacey."
The 18-year-old girl who loved the colour pink and had dreams of a career in international business or marketing was described as "the perfect little girl" by mourning family members.
"She was so good, so generous ... the loss is enormous," said her uncle Real Hevey.
Her friend, James Santos was with her in the college. He knelt by her side after she had been shot, while Gill looked on.
"I basically stayed with her, trying to keep her awake. She was breathing, but she was not doing great," Santos told CTV News.
In a cruel twist, Santos said that Gill then turned a gun on him and ordered him to leave DeSousa behind. He then grabbed Santos.
"He told me, 'Today I'm going to die today,'" recalled Santos. "And I said, 'You don't have to, you don't have to die, you can make this easy on you and let everyone go.' ... He said, 'Well, I'm going to die.'"
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