Canadian: Fraser Institute Says Federal Gun Registry Not Improving Public Safety
Hubris in the North is a new report from The Fraser Institute and according to the findings within, the Canadian Firearms Registry has not improved overall public safety.
Citing the rise in the homicide rate and the recent high number of gang-related murders, Gary Mauser, the author of the report, says, "In 1995, the government promised Canadians that the gun registry would reduce total criminal violence, suicide and domestic abuse, not just gun violence. But the legislation has failed to do that, primarily because it relies upon public-health research to justify a moralistic approach to firearms that exaggerates the danger of citizens owning firearms through pseudoscientific research methods."
Introduced in 1995 by the federal Liberal government, the gun registry and supporting legislation were passed to help reduce gun violence and accidents with firearms. The report by Mauser though contends that public safety has not improved.
The report finds that overall criminal violence and suicide rates have continued their long-term decline with the violent crime rate falling by about four per cent. Yet the homicide rate has actually increased by nine per cent since the registry was implemented. No persuasive link could be found between the firearm registry and these changes.
According to Mauser, the report suggests that the rational used to establish the registry program is based on faulty research. "The government's approach to public safety relied on an analysis of firearms and violence that greatly exaggerated the dangers of firearm ownership," Mauser said.
Gary Mauser is a senior fellow with The Fraser Institute, and a professor at Simon Fraser University.
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