Map(s) of the Week: Gun ownership, week 1

RICK EGLINTON/TORONTO STAR

This week's map is the first installment in a two-week series on gun ownership in the GTA. It shows firearm licence holders as a percentage of the complete population (all ages) by postal area.

Next week, we will compare the 2008 data in this map with equivalent data from 2004 to see where in the GTA gun ownership is rising and falling. As well, we will map hunting permit data to look how the relationship between hunting and gun ownership changes between neighbourhoods.

In the 905, gun ownership is highest in the Woodbridge area of Vaughan (L4L), the rural area north of Pickering (L1Y), Newmarket (L3Y), and Oshawa (L1G, L1J, L1H).

Gun ownership rates are generally lower in the 416 area code. Lawrence Park (M4N) leads the city, followed by the area near the former Downsview military base (M3K), the southeastern corner of Etobicoke (M8W) and the Royal York Rd./Bloor St. W. area of Etobicoke (M8X).

Information was obtained under the federal Access to Information Act from the Canadian Firearms Centre. For some low-population FSAs with fewer than 40 licence holders, the RCMP censored out the number. For the 166 FSAs, we have partial data for seven, no data for six, and complete data for the remainder. The total of licences in each case come from adding together the two types of firearms licences: possession and acquisition licence holders registered after 1991 and holders of the grandfathered possession-only licences obtained before then.

Click on the image to see the map.

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Comments

[Don]

This map is nothing more than a farce designed to generate anti gun hysteria. The figure you received from the Canadian Firearms Centre, if accurate, only show the legally registered firearm owners address. Many are kept elsewhere like hunt camps and cottages.

The photo is particularly insulting as it shows the shotgun pointed in a dangerous direction even though the action is clearly open. The orientation of the photo merely adds to the hysteria and sell copy

A quick look at Jane and Finch or any other criminal hot spot shows it isn't worth the bandwidth it uses up

[Phil N]

It looks like the areas with the most legal gun owners have the lowest violent crime rates and the areas with the fewest legal gun owners have the highest violent crime rates. Could it be that gun ownership prevents crime?

[Paul Lanken]

Your data is, cute. That is the only word I can use. I like your motives and your intentions but the experiment seems to have no real result set. You are painting a picture here based on the so called registered weapons in a region. You have no data on the un-registered weapons and I would go out on a limb, not too far, to say that the unregistered weapons are the ones to be concerned about. Also, merely as a qualitative comment, I have no idea why people need a hand gun or rifle in a city. Speaking as someone that has lived on farms and in areas north of Lake Superior I really see very little value in a trap line or hunting trail in Toronto. Somehow my beagles just wouldn't fit in. Why are all those guns in Toronto? Why not make the whole zone simply gun free via legislation and if people want to get all up in arms ( pun intended ) over liberties being trampled then I suggest they exercise their liberal options and move elsewhere lock stock and two smoking barrels.

[Alan]

What an invasion of privacy and a shopping list for criminals. This is why gun owners don't want a registry, this is out of hand, that such private information is made public, the proof of why no registry. Please can you next map be number of violent attacks on people, and racial demographics. As the gun info can be posted, I cannot see what this crime info cannot be posted aswell.

[LeRoy]

I cannot believe that you would put law abiding citizens in such jeopardy with information like this. What next, firearms owners addresses? This just gives the goblins more direction to find firearms. If a owner/collector gets 'hit' in the areas you have provided, I hope that they have the sense to bring charges.
Also, will you be big enough to admit that when you find that the safest areas are the ones with most LEGAL firearms owners?

[Dennis G]

I'm not familiar with the Lawrence Park area but I am with the area surrounding the Downsview Airforce base.....which would be a 2 minute drive from Jane and Finch. Isn't it funny how an area known for it's high violent crime rate has the second lowest legal firearms ownership rate. I wonder what will happen to this city if all firearms are eventually banned. In David Millers eyes, it's better that only the criminals have guns.

[Andrew E]

I wonder how many of your readers will notice that in the photo of the "scary" side-by-side shotgun accompanying this map, the action is open? Or will they even be able to tell the difference. Or will they know that this shottie probably costs more than 15 gang-bangers' guns?

What will the Star do next, print the addresses of legal owners?

[RBS]

Yes its always nice to know where the law abiding gun owners are. Now how about where the illegal guns are kept, that would be more interesting and somewhat harder to research. This data is meaningless for scared Torontonians. Fear not, as I'm sure when you ban handguns, all the gang members will line up to turn in their illegal firearms.

[Laurence]

I cannot through any amount of convoluted reasoning see what possible good publishing a map of licensed gun owners will accomplish. I guess if I was wanting to locate legal guns to steal your map would certainly be helpful.
A map of gang operated housing would be more useful on the very off chance that I should ever want to visit Toronto. At least then I would know which neighbourhoods to avoid.

[OnnO Yeung]

Do you have a map for illegal guns ownership which I think almostly linking to crimes in the areas...

BTW, what the purpose of this map for legal gun ownership? It seems the areas with higher legal gun ownership have less gang/drug/gun activities?

[Sim Yong]

Would it be permissible or acceptable to map out Toronto's Jews, Gays, Lesbians, Muslims, or other identifiable groups?

What journalistic purpose does this map serve?

[T McAuley]

In viewing a map of registered legally owned handguns, overlaid on a map of the murders in Toronto, will show an interesting correlation: there are almost NO legally owned handguns where these murders are occuring. Let that sink in. Where registered handguns are found, are very few if almost no murderers. In other words, registered handguns have no correlation to murders.

If only we could map out where drug dealers are located. Or where illegal and unregistered handguns are found. Or perhaps the location of violent criminals? How about the location of those people who already have a firearms prohibition on them?

Mayor Miller is either blinded by his hatred of guns, or is too cowardly to address the root of the problem. Which is it?

[Hunting for Truth]

You posters are correct! This is a shopping list, and Patrick Cain, congrats on making this list! I hope you can count on the fact that most gangbangers and potential gun thieves will not take the time to read this article/view map. Why dont you collect some data based on the number of gun related homicides vs. the number of gun related homicides with registered handguns/long guns? I'm sure that wont scare anyone enough to give your article a read! And yes, the picture will cause a scare in the uneducated public since the gun is safe and action open! Why didn't your picture focus on the locked guns in the cabinet??? Handguns dont kill people, unregistered handguns stolen or brought up from the US in the hands of violent gang cultured youth kill people! Sleep well Patrick

[S Allen]

You seem to be using the labels “gun ownership” and “license holders” interchangeably throughout your article. You do not have a map of gun ownership, only of people that have licenses. These people may or may not have guns. You’ve also completely ignored illegal gun ownership, which is the source of all the problems.

The map also excludes all the areas just north of the GTA where legal gun ownership is much higher, and crime is much lower.

[Eric]

I'm not sure what this map accomplishes except to show that up to 3 out of 100 people in Toronto have a registered gun. Out of all the legal handguns registered in Ontario, there has been 1 fatality in total. As others point out, the most interesting observation one can take away is that most of the shooting violence comes from areas of low legal gun ownership.

The question comes up often why anyone would NEED a handgun. That's like asking why anyone NEEDS a hockey stick. Well... to play the sport of hockey. Handguns are for shooting sports. And I've noticed that hockey sticks are used as weapons pretty often, so why not ban the violent sport of hockey and the hockey stick? Because for the vast majority both shooting and hockey are enjoyable sports -- but, it's true, no one NEEDS to play hockey or own hockey sticks.

[Chris]

Paul Lanken wonders why anyone in Toronto would need to have a firearm. Well Paul the answers are many and plentiful. Just because YOU don't know why doesn't mean the numerous legal law-abiding owners don't. Perhaps they collect, or target shoot, or compete in shooting competitions, or have you ever thought that living in the city doesn't preclude the posibility that they are hunters?

I bet I can come up with a huge list of things YOU don't NEED that cause far more harm then any legally owned firearm ever has. (Cars, knives, ladders, swimming pools, baseball bats... etc. etc. etc.)

[Mike]

Interesting take, let's see where this is going...

I do not have an issue with legal gun owners. I respect their right to property just as those persons who do not wish to be involved with firearms.

I would be more interested in seeing the correlation to gun related crime. Also can you throw a map of where guns have been stolen from and see where that corelates to?

Would a city wide ban on handguns just force the bad guys to look further from home for their ill gotten tools of destruction, like say the Untied States.

[Jen]

Wow! This is disturbing on so many levels. How is singling out a particular group of people any use? This is no different than mapping where Muslims live. Or Jews. Or Indians. Etc, etc. Not only is it discriminatory, it's dangerous. You've essentially provided a shopping list for criminals. And by the way - just because someone has a firearms licence, it doesn't mean thay own a gun. How many people do you know that have a dirvers licence but don't own a car?

[Hugh Smith]

What kind of fear mongering is this? Don't move to a certain neighbourhood because the person next door might have a registered with the RCMP, legally stored firearm?
The Toronto Star has sunk to an all time low in sensationalist journalism. Why doesn't the Star do stories about how to fix our growing problems in the GTA instead of being one of the problems by generating this kind of drivel and calling it 'news'.

[Phil]

Woodbridge has the highest percentage of gun ownership in the GTA and guess what, it's the safest part of the GTA. West of Woodbridge you have Peel Region and they have a lot of crime. South of Woodbridge you have the Jane & Finch area (need I say more?). Both these areas are in close proximity to Woodbridge yet you never see gang bangers coming north of Steeles. Now we know why!

[Phil]

Two areas with the lowest percentages of legal gun ownership: Jane & Finch and Rexdale. And we all know how safe those areas are. No shootings.

One of the areas with the highest percentage of legal gun ownership: Woodbridge. And we know how dangerous Woodbridge is.

The Toronto Star may have inadvertently disproved their own argument (less guns = less crime). I think this proves the opposite is true.

[Adam]

Such a fuss over a map that is essentially meaningless.

The gun lobby is out in force yelling about how this is a shopping list for criminals. Puh-leeeeeeze! How many gun owning domiciles in a given postal code? Hmmm not a useful list for the thievery you guys are suggesting will result.

All this list does is prove the old programming saw - garbage in/garbage out. Maybe the Star should rethink this mapping gig, each successive map seems increasingly ... forced.

[Alex Yaxmos]

The process to actually get a gun license and then to own a legal gun is so regulated by the government that no criminal would ever be able to legally own a gun. The people who actually take the time and do the safety course to get a gun license usually have a valid reason why they need the guns and would be less likely to commit crimes. Gun license owners are being given a bad name and they probably are the ones that are most against gun violence.

[Steve]

I don't think this really tells us anything to be honest, nearly the whole GTA is the same colour. The areas with dark colours are where there are big gun clubs, looking at the advertised addresses for them. Presumably the firearms licensed to them show up in this data, or perhaps there are more members of the club that live locally, which is unsurprising.

[Joanne]

I agree -- it is shocking that a "reputable" newspaper would print such a map. I am so tired of hunters and sportsmen/sportswomen being illogically blamed for the gun crimes in T.O., and having the media try to whip the general populus into an anti-gun frenzy. Banning guns in the city is NOT going to eliminate gun crime -- this really should not be a difficult notion to grasp. Either David Miller and his ilk are delusional, or they are merely pandering to the urban public, who largely have no idea how ownership of firearms is currently regulated. I am reminded once again why I'm so happy that I don't live in the GTA!