A Toronto councillor (Paul Ainslie, Ward 43) suggests banning the sale of spray paint to minors in an attempt to fight graffiti. If the proposal succeeds, stores would have to ID their customers before selling them spray paint, and perhaps even be required to keep the cans under lock and key. Some North American cities (including London, Ontario) have already adopted similar restrictions, while Chicago went even further, prohibiting the sale of spray paint to all private citizens.

Since the matter is on the radar, I think this would be a perfect time to introduce some analogous preventive measures. I delight in the opportunity to present a short list of my own suggestions:

- to fight drunk driving: don't sell alcohol to anyone with a driver's licence
- to eliminate dog poop from our parks: ban pet food from the store shelves
- outlaw the sale of squeegees to minors (kids) or anyone who looks like a minor (kid)

As for the spray paint, perhaps we should rather follow Chicago's lead than take half-measures. Maybe that will stop those pesky bike advocates from defacing our roads with that abominable bike lane graffiti.

Images used in collage: "delicious colours" by wacky doodler; "beers i drank tonight" by jim9hopkins