Thanks to our new commenter
Alex for
this RCMP link.
- The rate of crime involving firearms is much lower in Canada than in the United States.
- There are more than 30 times more firearms in the United States than in Canada. There
are an estimated 7.4 million firearms in Canada, about 1.2 million of
which are restricted firearms (mostly handguns). In the U.S., there are
approximately 222 million firearms; 76 million of the firearms in
circulation are handguns.
- A much higherproportion of homicides in the United States involve firearms. For 1987-96, on average, 65% of homicides in the U.S. involved firearms, compared to 32% for Canada.
- Firearm homicide rates are 8.1 times higher in the United States than in Canada. For 1987-96, the average firearm homicide rate was 5.7 per 100,000 in the U.S., compared to 0.7 per 100,000 for Canada.
- Handgun homicide rates are 15.3 times higher in the United States than in Canada.
For 1989-95, the average handgun homicide rate was 4.8 per 100,000 in
the U.S., compared to 0.3 per 100,000 for Canada. Handguns were involved
in more than half (52%) of the homicides in the U.S., compared to 14%
in Canada.
- Rates fornon-firearm homicides are nearly 2 times higher in the United States than in Canada.
For 1989-95, the average non-firearm homicide rate was 3.1 per 100,000
people in the U.S., compared to 1.6 per 100,000 for Canada.
