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Canadian doctors call for day of action against gun violence

WATCH: Canadian doctors demand more gun restrictions. – Oct 8, 2020

A group of Canadian doctors is calling for a national day of action against gun violence this month.

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The call from the Canadian Doctors for Protection From Guns comes as Metro Vancouver grapples with its own wave of shootings, with at least 13 incidents since mid-September, several of them fatal.

“In the United States, evidence-based dialogue on gun control has been obstructed by the National Rifle Association and its political partners,” said Toronto neurosurgeon Dr. Sunit Das, in a video message.

“This has come at great cost. We cannot allow the same to occur here in Canada.”

The doctors describe gun injuries as a preventable public health issue, and say it is one they are all too familiar with, working on the front lines of the health-care system.

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The group has highlighted recent firearm restrictions implemented by the federal Liberal government as a positive step, but are calling for further changes.

The doctors say they want a complete ban on all semi-automatic weapons, including handguns, changes to the way guns are classified in Canada, and a crackdown on borders to stop illegal guns from being smuggled into the country.

Surrey nurse Darlene Bennett’s husband Paul, himself a nurse, was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity two years ago.

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She says government action is necessary to prevent a repeat of her family’s grief.

“It’s a burden that’s going to be with me for the rest of my life. I don’t want that to be happening to another family; I don’t want them to feel this pain and their children to witness such horrors that young people shouldn’t see,” she said.

“Things have to change, and this is  a start.”

The doctors group has scheduled the day of action for Oct. 20, with events being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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