Shoot Photos, Not Guns.

The Toronto Star reported today that Toronto Police exchanged 1,900 guns for digital cameras in a recent gun amnesty program. I realize this is not the perfect solution to Toronto's issues with gun violence, but you have to credit them for doing something, and something creative at that. I imagine that those individuals who so frequently shoot up our city, particularly the Jane & Finch neighbourhood, held on to their firearms, but if the Toronto Police had an impact on even one wayward individual through this, it's been worthwhile.

Just think of the difference you can make in someone by giving them the tools and the power to create instead of destroy. And by making it their choice. We might be able to force guns off the street through legislation, but I think the root of our problems is deeper than that. People need an outlet for their anger, for their poverty, for their disappointment...for whatever turns them toward violence. Everyone needs a way to express themselves. And perhaps it's our fault as a culture that we give more attention to those who act out in destructive ways than to those who channel their feelings, problems, and experiences through creative means.

Encouraging culture and creation might decrease violence and hatred. Now there's a thought.