Surrounding the Wrong Building

David Miller has tabled a plan that, if passed, will make all handguns in Toronto illegal, "shut down gun ranges and make it all but impossible to manufacture, assemble or store firearms within city limits."

“I want a safe city,” the mayor told reporters. “The truth is, guns are too easily available and if you talk to some kids in some neighbourhoods they tell you they want a gun to protect themselves.’’

This state of affairs reminds me of an anecdote of Thomas Sowell's from a not wholly unrelated context:

There is a story, which I hope is apocryphal, that the French police were chasing a criminal who fled into a building in Paris. Their first thought was that they would surround the building. But then they realized that the building was so large, and had so many exits, that they didn’t have enough policemen on the scene to do that. So they surrounded the building next door, which was smaller and had fewer exits.

Make no mistake about it, David Miller is surrounding the wrong building--even as he admits that he is doing so. Perhaps Mr. Miller could be persuaded of the gross irresponsibility of his actions if he actually, himself, personally talked to some of these "kids" in some of these "neighbourhoods".

When exactly is hell set to freeze over?