tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/danforth-shooting-57451/articlesDanforth shooting – The Conversation2019-06-19T22:54:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1190552019-06-19T22:54:45Z2019-06-19T22:54:45ZWhat authorities can learn from the Raptors parade shooting<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280241/original/file-20190619-171281-1fzb65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4928%2C3280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thousands of fans cheer as the Toronto Raptors pass by during the championship parade in Toronto. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Toronto is still basking in the glow of the Raptors’ NBA championship win and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/17/huge-crowds-line-the-streets-as-toronto-marks-raptors-win-with-parade-and-rally.html">the outpouring of love and celebration</a> at a parade in honour of the team <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/5399541/raptors-victory-parade-2-million-fans-now-the-lower-end-of-estimates">that an estimated two million people attended</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5400259/shooting-toronto-raptors-championship-parade/">A shooting at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square</a>, however, where the parade route ended, marred the festivities. It’s an incident that should cause us to seriously consider threats to public space in Canadian cities. We can better prevent and control violence at mass public gatherings if we understand the factors that influence it and consider how we as individuals can be better prepared. </p>
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<p>While the gunfire in a celebratory crowd resulted in four people being shot, along with numerous other minor injuries due to the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/5400955/raptors-fans-say-they-were-trampled-after-shooting-causes-stampede-of-fans-at-championship-parade">chaotic stampede-type movement away</a> from the chaos, the incident thankfully stopped short of a larger mass casualty incident.</p>
<p>The fast action of authorities to isolate the area of the disturbance, contain the threat, provide rapid first aid and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/matt-devlin-raptors-calm-crowd-shooting-1.5179259">issue public announcements</a> acted to minimize the chaos, averting a tragedy that could have been much worse.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, as Toronto and other cities move into the summer months with other large public events on the schedule, enhanced public safety is required. </p>
<p>And understanding what happened during the Raptors celebration shooting can help authorities better prepare for the next event. </p>
<h2>Violence in sports crowds</h2>
<p>The body of knowledge on sports crowd violence provides some insight into the circumstances in Toronto during the Raptors celebration.</p>
<p>Social scientists have identified <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2014.02.002">seven main categories of sports crowd violence:</a> Fighting, verbal abuse, unauthorized entry into the field of play, throwing projectiles, vandalism and terrorism. </p>
<p>Despite its <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/how-did-toronto-the-good-become-the-city-canada-loves-to-hate-1.4933223">“Toronto the Good” reputation</a>, the city has hardly been immune to sports crowd violence. For example, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/beer-can-tosser-jays-1.4181421">the infamous 2016 incident of a fan tossing a can of beer</a> onto the outfield during a Blue Jays baseball wild card playoff game was an example of throwing projectiles as part of sports crowd violence. </p>
<p>Historically, cities have faced problems after their teams won big championships. This form of sports crowd violence was given a name of its own in the 1980s — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19361610.2015.1069532">the “celebratory riot.”</a> </p>
<p>Basketball celebratory riots have included anti-social behaviours like fighting, burning and looting of the type witnessed in Chicago neighbourhoods <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/%7Emrosenfe/Bulls%20Riot.pdf">after the Bulls won multiple championships in the early 1990s</a>. </p>
<p>While massive crowds gathered during the Raptors playoff and championship runs at locations like the Jurassic Park celebratory zone, adjacent to the basketball arena, the situation in Toronto never degraded into celebratory riots. </p>
<p>This could be due to the large visible security presence at those gatherings.</p>
<p>The parade shooting has characteristics of both sports crowd violence and celebratory riots, but at the same time the incident should not necessarily be defined in such terms. While it took place during a celebration, it doesn’t seem to have been part of a celebratory riot.</p>
<p>So how to understand what happened? </p>
<h2>Gun violence on the rise in Toronto</h2>
<p>Two recent circumstances stand out: the trend of public mass violence that emerged in the city during 2018, and the ongoing slow-moving disaster of gun violence afflicting Toronto.</p>
<p>In April 2018, a man driving a van in north Toronto plowed through pedestrians, killing 10 people. </p>
<p>A few weeks later, a public mass shooting resulted in the deaths of two young women who were otherwise enjoying a summer evening in the city’s Greektown district, known as the Danforth. </p>
<p>These two incidents illustrated that Toronto is not immune to violent attacks in public spaces, which are soft targets.</p>
<p>Toronto witnessed <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4352467/danforth-shooting-gun-death-rate-toronto/">a record toll of gun violence in 2018</a>, with 228 shootings and 96 people fatally shot. The average yearly death toll due to gun-related violence from to 2014 to 2017 was 33. </p>
<p>Given the trend towards public mass violence in Toronto, along with the increasing gun violence on the city’s streets, it’s not surprising a gun incident would occur during a mass gathering and spoil an otherwise positive event for the city.</p>
<h2>A failure of imagination</h2>
<p>In the aftermath of the incident marring the celebration, an initial lesson learned is the failure of imagination in anticipating risk due to a condensed planning time frame. </p>
<p>Despite the fact that public safety authorities in charge of managing special events are well-versed in handling such gatherings, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5403321/toronto-raptors-parade-route-plan/">apparently no one anticipated the crowd size</a> and the city is looking into where it went wrong. </p>
<p>The infectious nature of the excitement of the celebration, along with the desire to offer as many people as possible close access to festivities, seemingly blinded planners to the possibilities of disaster.</p>
<p>Plans that have proven adequate in the past for managing events were overwhelmed, as the city temporarily experienced unprecedented demands on space and resources for a span of a few hours. Minor altercations like the gun incident were amplified due to the sheer size of the crowds. </p>
<p>The fact that three days elapsed between the Raptors winning the championship and the implementation of the celebratory parade presented a situation where it was apparently impossible to properly plan for the implementation of such a large event. </p>
<h2>How to prepare if you’re in the crowd</h2>
<p>While under the circumstances it would have been impossible to prevent someone intent on firearm violence from joining the massive crowd, more planning time to better estimate the risks for gun violence and enact strategies like restricting crowd sizes at the end of the parade route would have served the city well. </p>
<p>As for those heading out to major public events? Knowing what you are in for is always a good first step. If you’re attending an event with a very high crowd density or potential controversial undertones, it might be worth rethinking your attendance.</p>
<p>Studying a map of the area where the event is taking place (and bringing the map with you or keeping it handy on your phone) can act to help you find your way out if you are required to leave in a hurry. </p>
<p>If the event brings with it overwhelming crowds, staying patient and remaining calm helps one keep safe. Rudimentary first aid knowledge and skills can help save lives. And lastly, if you see anyone acting suspiciously, alert the authorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack L. Rozdilsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More planning time to better estimate the risks for gun violence and enact strategies like restricting crowd sizes at the end of the Toronto Raptors parade route would have served the city well.Jack L. Rozdilsky, Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1008132018-08-21T20:59:00Z2018-08-21T20:59:00ZToronto mass shooting: How the city is coping a month later<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231908/original/file-20180814-2918-m6nkuz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man holds a sign at a memorial remembering the victims of the July 22, 2018 shooting in Toronto. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’re a month out from the latest episode of mass casualty violence in Toronto, and the city is still grappling with the impact of the shooting that left two dead in the bustling area of the city known as The Danforth. </p>
<p>The shooting came just three months after the van attack <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/1-month-after-toronto-van-attack-scars-are-very-deep-but-healing-continues-1.4673355">that killed 10 people in Toronto’s north end,</a> traumatizing a city unaccustomed to such acts of mass violence.</p>
<p>In the first four weeks after the July 22 mass shooting, events included two funerals, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/billy-talent-danforth-benefit-concert-1.4782089">a benefit concert</a>, community vigils and the creation of temporary memorials along The Danforth. </p>
<p>As an expert in disaster and emergency management at York University, not far from where the latest attack occurred, I’ve been making detailed observations at the scene in order to both document and understand the first month of this newest disaster recovery for Toronto — a city that is unfortunately becoming too well-versed in mass casualty disasters.</p>
<h2>Public mass shooting</h2>
<p>Danforth Avenue was the site of the shootings in Toronto’s Greektown neighbourhood. It’s an area of the city known for its vibrant public spaces and busy patio culture.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-chief-on-danforth-shooting-1.4766562">The motives of the deceased shooter remain unknown</a> as the investigation proceeds. But we do know that for some reason he targeted one of the city’s most high-profile neighbourhoods, symbolic of Toronto’s summertime festival culture. </p>
<p>Like the van attack, terrorism came to mind as a possible cause in the immediate aftermath of the violence. After the shooting, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/toronto/isil-claims-responsibility-for-toronto-danforth-shooting-but-releases-no-evidence-of-terror-link">issued a communique claiming responsibility</a> for the event, but authorities indicated the claim doesn’t match what their investigation has uncovered. </p>
<p>The shooting on The Danforth <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43004.pdf">is best defined</a> as a public mass shooting. These incidents occur in relatively public places, usually involving four or more deaths, and a gunman who somewhat indiscriminately selects victims. A public mass shooter’s agenda stems from their specific personal experiences and psychological conditions, not broader socio-political objectives. </p>
<h2>The initial response</h2>
<p>Like the van attack, the mass shooting resulted in a large crime scene with multiple deaths and injuries at different locations. The rampage occurred along a 400-metre stretch of Danforth Ave. and involved sites ranging from a public parkette to individual businesses. </p>
<p>At the time of the incident — approximately 10 p.m. on a Sunday evening — it was initially difficult for those in the middle of the mayhem to identify the type of crisis that was occurring around them. A roving gunman randomly targeting people was completely unexpected in that setting. </p>
<p>Immediate civilian responses included rapid first-aid provision to the wounded, followed by actions to evade the gunfire, including evacuation, sheltering in place and lockdowns. Out of necessity, ordinary bystanders improvised lifesaving medical assistance until first responders converged on the scene within minutes. Some of the bystanders <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/danforth-shooting-victim-1.4768951">acted heroically and sustained injury</a> as they attempted to save others. </p>
<p>A 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman died from their wounds, and 13 people were hospitalized with various prognoses for physical recovery. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231905/original/file-20180814-2903-54ohtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mourners embrace outside of the public visitation for Reese Fallon at a funeral home in Toronto on July 29, 2018. The 18-year-old Fallon was one of two people killed in the mass shooting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span>
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<p>The shooter, identified as a 29-year-old man, died from a self-inflicted wound when confronted by police. As in the van attack, hundreds of people on the street were directly exposed to trauma by witnessing the carnage.</p>
<h2>Organizing recovery</h2>
<p>The disaster response efforts obviously began immediately following the shooting. Police response protocols relating to gun violence incidents transitioned to first responder actions to manage mass casualties. These immediate actions were followed by subsequent crime scene investigation and cleanup, all of it taking place within hours.</p>
<p>Given the multiple urban functions (recreation, retail, residential and transportation) of Danforth Avenue, it was necessary for normalcy to return to the street quickly.</p>
<p>In the week after the shooting, one business, a popular dessert café where one of the casualties occurred, remained boarded up, though it has since reopened. Other businesses that were impacted quickly repaired bullet holes, erased remnants of the violence and resumed business as usual. </p>
<p>While the physical recovery of the neighbourhood was accomplished in short order, social recovery will take much longer as the neighbourhood comes to terms with what it means to be the site of a public mass shooting.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/violence-in-toronto-how-support-can-help-prevent-ptsd-95563">Violence in Toronto: How support can help prevent PTSD</a>
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<p>One of the ways that the Danforth is coming to terms with the public mass shooting is via memorials. Residents of the Danforth, businesses in the neighbourhood, the local business improvement association and churches worked quickly to reclaim the streets after the violent attack. An evening vigil held three days after the attack was one of the first public events. Temporary improvised memorials to the victims also materialized. </p>
<p>The main site of grieving was a city-owned parkette, the focal point of Greektown. At the Alexander the Great Parkette, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/danforth-shooting-makeshift-memorials-victims-community-rallies-1.4759562">a memorial grew around an existing fountain</a> and garden.</p>
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<span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, pays his respects after placing flowers at the fountain at the Alexander the Great Parkette in Toronto on July 30, 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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<p>In addition, two sidewalk memorials also emerged, and the temporarily boarded-up dessert café became a collection point for items of grief expression. At a third site, in proximity but not directly related to the tragedy itself, the blank plywood boards of construction barricades provided a canvas for mourners to memorialize the dead. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231918/original/file-20180814-2921-72gzst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Messages people wrote on plywood are seen on a makeshift memorial remembering the victims of the shooting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span>
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<p>After the van attack uptown from The Danforth, a temporary disaster memorial was in place for 40 days before being completely dismantled. On The Danforth, makeshift memorials <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4380306/taste-of-the-danforth-festival/">were relocated due to the annual Taste of The Danforth festival.</a>
The event is one of Canada’s largest street fairs with an estimated 1.6 million people in attendance.</p>
<p>The long-term fate of the disaster memorials will involve a balancing act between the need to remember and the need to move forward. </p>
<h2>Looking ahead at a new normal</h2>
<p>Following the van attack, I suggested that there was a new normal in place for Toronto and I posed the question: What can we expect in the weeks and months ahead and beyond?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-toronto-is-recovering-from-the-van-attack-95771">How Toronto is recovering from the van attack</a>
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<p>The answer to that question is now becoming clear: The greatest strengths of Canada’s largest city also represent significant weaknesses. </p>
<p>One of the factors that makes Toronto a desirable place to live, work and visit is neighbourhoods like The Danforth. The open, active public life at street level provides for many opportunities ranging from creativity hubs to opportunities for social and cultural diversity and the promotion of active local economies.</p>
<p>But those neighbourhoods also represent “soft targets” to exploit by people driven by antisocial and violent motives. These are places that are by their nature open access, not well-defended — and security posture is not top of mind. </p>
<p>The question now is: How does Toronto maintain its active and bustling neighbourhoods while also defending itself?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack L. Rozdilsky has received funding from York University and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction for disaster-related field research.</span></em></p>Toronto is still grappling with the fallout from two mass casualty events – April’s van attack and a mass shooting in July. A month after the shooting, how is Toronto moving forward?Jack L. Rozdilsky, Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1010512018-08-07T21:57:04Z2018-08-07T21:57:04ZCalls for stronger handgun laws in Canada have deep roots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230796/original/file-20180806-191038-1yj1nql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=622%2C688%2C2688%2C1934&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Far from a knee-jerk reaction to Toronto's recent mass shooting, fresh calls for tougher gun control laws have a long history in Canada. A man places his hand on his handgun in B.C. in 2014 during the International Practical Shooting Confederation Canada national championships.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent mass shooting in Toronto’s Danforth neighbourhood has renewed the debate over Canada’s gun laws. </p>
<p>Toronto Mayor <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mayor-john-tory-voices-support-as-council-votes-for-city-wide-ban-on-handguns-1.4760358">John Tory</a> responded by calling for a handgun ban in the city. Prime Minister <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-federal-government-taking-serious-look-at-handgun-ban-in-wake-of/">Justin Trudeau</a> went further, suggesting that the federal government will consider a nationwide handgun ban. Citizens <a href="http://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2017/12/heres-a-simple-idea-most-canadians-want-a-strict-ban-on-guns-in-our-cities/">express strong support</a> for prohibiting guns in cities. </p>
<p><a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-torontos-push-for-handgun-ban-in-wake-of-shooting-is-a-simplistic-distraction">Critics dismiss the idea</a> as a knee-jerk reaction by people generally lacking technical knowledge of guns and firearm laws. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://utorontopress.com/ca/arming-and-disarming-4">the history of gun control shows that many Canadians have long called for tighter laws related to handguns</a> because of the danger posed by modern pistols that offer a substantial amount of firepower in a small, concealable package.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the 19th century, handguns were generally single-shot, muzzle-loaded weapons. They were inaccurate, slow to reload and often misfired. Over the course of the century, gun-makers produced “revolvers” that held multiple rounds of ammunition and could be fired multiple times quickly. </p>
<p>The price of revolvers dropped with industrial manufacturing. Consumers could purchase a revolver in Winnipeg for $1.50 in 1883, while Eaton’s offered revolvers in 1899 for as little as $1.75</p>
<h2>‘Pistol fever’</h2>
<p>The appearance of cheap weapons and lack of government regulation led to <a href="https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/jcha/2009-v20-n1-jcha3851/039784ar/">worries about the use of revolvers in accidents and crimes</a>. In 1871, the Globe of Toronto called pistols “an unmitigated evil” and said every boy had “pistol fever.” </p>
<p>For every pistol used for defence, 10,000 were “made the instruments of death in the hands of careless or silly people,” according to the Globe. It would be best to outlaw revolvers, or at least appoint a board to determine the “amount of sense necessary to make a person a safe custodian of a loaded pistol.”</p>
<p>Conservative lawyer and politician Robert Harrison also advocated regulation, suggesting in 1872 that pistols were “too common in our country” and were “much too indiscriminately used.” </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230801/original/file-20180806-191025-w38n5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sen. Flint is seen in this 1873 photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Library and Archives Canada</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commentators suggested that many young men carried revolvers to demonstrate their manliness. <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/flint_billa_12E.html">Sen. Billa Flint</a> claimed in 1877 that the “youth of our land are fast training themselves in the use of firearms, and particularly pocket pistols.” “Mere boys” who “could save a little money, used it for the purpose of obtaining pistols.” </p>
<p>Sen. Alexander Campbell blamed the tendency of young men to carry a handgun on the idea that this “shows in some way their manliness.” </p>
<p>Concern about handguns continued into the 20th century. Various newspapers published appeals for strictly regulating, or even banning, pistols. Some commentators, fuelled by anti-immigrant racism, warned that certain ethnic groups tended to carry pistols. Heightened worries about crime during the Depression, and soldiers’ practice of bringing guns home as war souvenirs, also sparked concerns.</p>
<h2>Gun laws toughened</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/pol-leg/hist/con-eng.htm">Conservative and Liberal legislators</a> responded by making owning and/or carrying a handgun more difficult. </p>
<p>The Liberals in 1877 required that a person could only carry a pistol if he had a reasonable fear of assault or injury to himself, his family or his property. In 1892, the Conservatives required individuals to possess a “certificate of exemption” to carry a pistol unless the owner had cause to fear assault or injury. </p>
<p>It also became an offence to sell a pistol to anyone under 16. Businesses selling pistols had to begin keeping records of the purchaser, the date of sale and information on the gun. </p>
<p>In 1913, the Conservatives increased the potential penalty for carrying a handgun outside the home or place of business without a permit to three months. In the early 1930s, the Conservatives provided that handgun permits could only be issued on the grounds that the owner needed to protect life or property, or the pistol would be used at a shooting club. The punishment for carrying a handgun without a permit was also increased to up to five years. </p>
<p>In 1934, the Conservatives created the first handgun registration system. In 1968-1969, the Liberals established the three-part division of guns between “firearms,” “restricted weapon” and “prohibited weapons,” placing handguns in the restricted category. </p>
<h2>Handguns reclassified</h2>
<p>In 1977, the Liberals banned carrying restricted weapons to protect property. Following the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mass-shooting-reshaped-canadian-debate-about-guns-and-political-identity-180962013/">Montreal massacre</a>, the Progressive Conservatives required purchasers provide more background information, and legislated safe storage and transportation guidelines. The Liberals later reclassified some handguns as prohibited weapons.</p>
<p><a href="https://nfa.ca/media-release-handgun-ban-will-cost-liberals/">Critics of gun control</a> note that Canada’s handgun legislation has not stopped shootings. Of course, no law can stop all firearm violence. Collectively, however, this legislation has been a likely element in the evolution of vastly different gun cultures in Canada and the United States. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230800/original/file-20180806-191047-1jngfg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montrealers march in solidarity with the U.S. gun control movement in March 2018. Stricter Canadian gun control laws may have helped shape Canada’s gun culture compared to that in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The majority of American households with firearms have at least one handgun. In comparison, a relatively small minority of firearm owners in Canada possess pistols, despite a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/guns-firearms-restricted-canada-1.4129994">recent increase</a> in the number of restricted weapons in circulation. While the United States has 10 times the population of Canada, it has approximately <a href="https://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2017.3.5.02">100 times more handguns</a>.</p>
<p>Considering this arc of history, the calls to outlaw handguns by former Liberal prime minister <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-vow-to-ban-handguns-1.549800">Paul Martin</a> in 2005, and now by John Tory, once the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, seem less like knee-jerk proposals. They rather appear to be in line with the historic Canadian trend to limit the presence of modern pistols.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>R. Blake Brown received funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada for this research. </span></em></p>Calls to outlaw handguns in Canada are hardly knee-jerk proposals in response to violent incidents. Instead, they’re in line with the historic Canadian trend to limit the presence of modern pistols.R. Blake Brown, Associate Professor, Saint Mary’s UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1004952018-07-26T20:53:49Z2018-07-26T20:53:49ZSocial media can be information poison when we need facts most<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229329/original/file-20180725-194137-xam08v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police at the scene of a shooting in Toronto's Greektown on July 23, 2018. The parents of Faisal Hussain, whose shooting spree left two people dead and 13 injured, say their son had struggled all his life with psychosis and depression, but none of the medications or therapies he tried were able to overcome his mental illness. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the minutes and hours that followed of the recent <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faisal-hussain-canadian-officials-identify-toronto-mass-shooting-suspect-greektown-2018-07-23/">mass shooting in Toronto</a>, an all-too-familiar pattern kicked into high gear on social media platforms. </p>
<p>As the events were still unfolding on the streets of the city’s Danforth neighbourhood, the initial sparse facts about the attack were <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4352159/faisal-hussain-toronto-shooter-fake-news/">immediately drowned out</a> by a torrent of <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/rumors-toronto-shooting-true-false-unverified?utm_term=.uwGdgm508n#.ngqe5pV8vR">unverified rumours, unsubstantiated claims and wild speculation</a> about both the identity and the motive of the attacker. </p>
<p>The response on social media abruptly confirmed two tendencies of the digital age: Speed eclipses accuracy and social media abhors an informational vacuum. These tendencies have become unfortunate truisms, played out in the aftermath of similar acts of mass violence. </p>
<p>The instantaneous nature of social media platforms — combined with the attention economy fuelling Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat — incentivizes attention-grabbing misinformation and inaccurate “scoops.” The <a href="http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/conspiracy-and-speculation-in-the-danforth-shooting/">inaccuracies virally spread</a> by expanding their reach and influence at a dizzying rate. One can easily witness this attention-driven virality by watching a social media post’s “like” and “retweet” counts exponentially increase in real-time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229332/original/file-20180725-194134-1xslaff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A police officer escorts a woman away from the scene of Toronto’s mass shooting on Danforth Avenue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public officials and law enforcement displayed a justified restraint in making definitive pronouncements about the shooting. But this “gap” in information left the proverbial door open for self-styled pseudo-experts, social media influencers and random agitators to fill the vacuum with conjecture, opinions and false claims masquerading as facts. </p>
<h2>Information pollution</h2>
<p>It may be easy to dismiss this social media “noise” as the province of fools and naifs and as a small gullible minority taken in by the usual rogue gallery of conspiracy peddlers and Islamophobic hate merchants. But the noise they make is significant as they spread bad information, making it difficult to determine fact from falsehood causing public confusion.</p>
<p>Even more disconcerting is that professional journalists and columnists, employed by reputable media organizations, participated in this avalanche of misinformation on the shooting. For example, <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_warmington/status/1021347510462263296">one journalist made a quick assumption public</a> when he posted a speculative tweet about the shooter and <a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/fatah-mentally-ill-the-media-or-the-murderer?video_autoplay=tru">one columnist claimed</a> that the Canadian media was covering up the fact that the attack was a “Muslim hate crime.” </p>
<p>Social media corporations continue to wash their hands of the problem, prioritizing user engagement and market share over the accuracy of information on their platforms. </p>
<p>Facebook’s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-made-mistakes-on-fake-news-privacy-1523289089">recent half-hearted and belated acknowledgement</a> of the scourge of fake news has more to do with assuaging government regulators and public relations spin than with genuinely tackling the problem. </p>
<p>What is clear is that we live in a social environment characterized by severe information pollution, in which the well is poisoned for everyone.</p>
<p>In a setting in which — to paraphrase <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greshams-law">Gresham’s monetary law</a> — bad information drives out good, what are we to do? </p>
<h2>Caution is golden</h2>
<p>Our initial and overriding response must be to exercise a healthy dose of skepticism even while witnessing an incident of mass violence unfolding live on our social media feeds. </p>
<p>Caution is golden. More often than not, the first unconfirmed bits of information circulating about an incident like the tragic shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue are usually found to have been erroneous or only partially accurate. </p>
<p>We should not treat on-the-spot, gratuitously formulated conjecture unburdened by the need to respect facts as serious analysis. Rather we should look at these missives as irresponsible fan fiction at best, or bigoted and ideologically driven agitprop at worst. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229374/original/file-20180726-106499-1oqeywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People attend a vigil to honour the victims of the mass shooting in Toronto that killed two and injured 13 others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Without a shred of evidence and fuelled by pre-existing agendas and biased assumptions, many social media insta-pundits and click-starved members of the media are more than willing to jump to conclusions. </p>
<p>They do so by establishing tenuous or non-existent causal links between an attack such as that in Toronto and specific ethno-racial or religious communities, or yet, again, an alarmist narrative about the supposed crisis or decline of Western civilization. </p>
<h2>We can achieve factual advocacy in three ways.</h2>
<p>The stakes are high. This sort of social media content is not only promoting misinformation, but is often designed to foster and incite fear and mistrust of others, further stigmatizing already marginalized and racialized groups. These groups often bear the brunt of the comment and real-world backlash following a violent tragedy.</p>
<p>The kind of caution and skepticism I call for goes beyond digital literacy. I believe we need to go further. </p>
<p>Citizens are not mere passive readers or consumers of social media. We must see ourselves as factual advocates. We can achieve factual advocacy in three ways.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229375/original/file-20180726-106505-rks0f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A young girl writes a message on the sidewalk at a site remembering the victims of a the shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most easily, we can starve those who seek to exploit or game the attention economy by refusing to spread their posts and thereby throttling the number of clicks, hits and views their content registers on metricized platforms. </p>
<p>Secondly, we can hold social media personalities and ordinary users accountable to norms of truthfulness and credible evidence. We must treat their unverified tweets and posts as what they are: information pollution. </p>
<p>Finally, factual advocacy demands that those in positions of authority — whether as professional journalists, academic experts or public officials — intervene in the public sphere to denounce rumours and speculation to discredit groups and rebuff individuals fomenting them. </p>
<p>As citizens, we are called upon to become participants in, and contributors to, public debate on social media platforms. We need to ensure that accuracy tempers speed and that the momentary void created in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Toronto and other incidents of mass violence not be polluted by those playing fast and loose with the facts. </p>
<p>While immersed in social media platforms, we cannot stand on the sidelines of informational struggles. Equipped with our apps and a commitment to truth, we must plunge into the social media trenches.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fuyuki Kurasawa receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Social media abhors informational vacuums and speed eclipses accuracy. That allows pseudo-experts, agitators and even liars to circulate rumours and poisonous information when big news breaks.Fuyuki Kurasawa, York Research Chair in Global Digital Citizenship, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.