NCJ Number
121782
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1990) Pages: 137-154
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article examines the impact of Canadian gun-control legislation on violent crime, suicides, and accidental deaths.
Abstract
Canada's 1977 Criminal Law Amendment Act mandated a firearms acquisition certificate for the purchase of any firearm; strengthened the registration requirements for handguns and other "restricted" weapons already imposed in 1968; and placed automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns, and rifles in a prohibited category. The legislation also provides stiffer penalties for firearms-related crime and prohibits the acquisition of firearms by those convicted of serious crimes. Compared with the United States, Canadian trends in violent crime, suicide, and accidental death over the past 10 years show no dramatic results and few perceptible effects from the gun control legislation. The decrease in the use of firearms in robberies is apparently the only change that stands out over time or in comparison with parallel trends in the United States. The stock of firearms in general and handguns in particular has grown somewhat since the 1977 legislation. The legislation may have slowed the rise in firearms violence that might otherwise have occurred. 7 figures, 22 references.