Evaluating
Canada’s 1995 Firearm Legislation
By
Gary A. Mauser
Institute for
Canadian Urban Research Studies
Faculty of
Business Administration
Simon Fraser
University
Burnaby, BC,
Canada, V5A 1S6
E-mail:
mauser@sfu.ca
Abstract
In 1995 Canada introduced amended its
firearms law to require owner licences and to create a universal
firearm
registry. Despite costing at least C$ 1 billion so far, the firearms
program
has failed to win the trust of the public or the police. This paper
examines
the organizational problems of the firearms program and evaluates its
effectiveness in improving public safety. Ten years after its
inception, with
virtually unlimited budgets, the firearms registry remains
significantly
incomplete and contains an unacceptably high number of errors. The most
appropriate ways to evaluate public safety are general measures, such
as
homicide, suicide, or violent crime rates, not gun deaths or gun crime.
There
is no discernable impact on public safety by the firearm program. It is
recommended that efforts be focused on more serious threats to public
safety,
such as terrorists or violent criminals, not normal citizens who own
firearms.
Key words: gun control, firearm
registration, cost effectiveness, violent crime, public safety