Gender and the impact of gun control on suicide and homicide

An avenue to controlling lethal violence - suicide and homicide - may be to restrict the availability of the method. Guns are a preferred method for violence in many countries. An opportunity to study the effects of gun control laws on the use of firearms for suicide and homicide is provided by Canada's Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1977 (Bill C-51), enforced from 1978 on. Utilizing official mortality data, analysis showed a significant trend after passage of Bill C-51 in the decrease in the use of firearms for suicide and homicide but an increase in the use of an other methods for homicide. However, the bill had a preventive effect only on female suicide and homicide without displacement. There may have been a compensatory use in other methods for males in both types of lethal violence. Implications for prevention are discussed.