Gun Laws and Sudden Death - Did the Australian Firearms Legislation of 1996 Make a Difference?

British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 455-469, 2007

15 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2012

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

Mass murders in Dunblane, United Kingdom, and Port Arthur, Australia, provoked rapid responses from the governments of both countries. Major changes to Australian laws resulted in a controversial buy-back of longarms and tighter legislation. The Australian situation enables evaluation of the effect of a national buy-back, accompanied by tightened legislation in a country with relatively secure borders. AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) was used to predict future values of the time series for homicide, suicide and accidental death before and after the 1996 National Firearms Agreement (ATA). Men compared with observed values, firearm suicide was the only parameter the ATA may have influenced, although societal factors could also have influenced observed changes. The findings have profound implications for future firearm legislation policy direction.

Keywords: public health, suicide, homicide, firearms

JEL Classification: L18

Suggested Citation

Baker, Jeanine and McPhedran, Samara, Gun Laws and Sudden Death - Did the Australian Firearms Legislation of 1996 Make a Difference? (2007). British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 455-469, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2121108

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