A STARK REALITY

Six shootings in the last seven days. Four dead. Two
wounded.

In the past two weeks, bullets have been flying on the streets and
mall parking lots of Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Vancouver.

The Lower Mainland has become a war zone - a disorganized orgy of
violence between gangs and their bit-player members, fighting for
control of the drug trade, exacting revenge for earlier hits, and
carrying out retribution for crossed loyalties, broken deals, and
threats and insults, perceived or real.

The fact that innocent citizens have not been directly gunned down, or
struck by stray rounds, is nothing short of a miracle.

The situation is appalling, and utterly unacceptable.

And while the police are doing whatever is within their legally
restricted powers to do, the response of government at the provincial
and federal level has been anemic. For instance, this week the
attorney general trotted out a recent study that found B.C.'s courts
are not the softest in Canada.

On behalf of the vast majority of the public - we don't care. We want
action.

The entire nation needs to be far tougher on these morally vacant
thugs who care nothing for anyone but themselves. And that means
public safety being the primary consideration of bail hearings. It
means severe punishment for gun crimes. It means no plea bargaining
for reduced charges. It means no probation and early parole on sentences.

And it also means a focused examination and debate on ending the
massively expensive and ineffective war on drugs - particularly
marijuana. Prohibition is not working. It merely fuels the insanely
profitable illicit drug trade, and creates the bloody havoc being
wrought on our streets.

It's time politicians came to grips with this stark reality, and
started talking seriously about progressive solutions.

The criminal justice system can be made as tight as possible - and it
should be - but it will not solve crime associated with drugs.

Now let's start dealing with that fact.