2. What about the 1400 Canadians who are killed each year with guns?
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This article is from the can.talk.guns FAQ, by Skeeter Abell-Smith ab133@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca with numerous contributions by others.
2. What about the 1400 Canadians who are killed each year with guns?
That was only true for a couple of years, and it's only a partial truth.
Deaths with firearms from 1980 to 1990 can be broken down like this:
Suicides 80%
Homicides 15%
Accidents 5%
TOTAL 100%
However, over the last ten years:
gun used no gun used
-------- -----------
murder 33% 67%
suicide 30% 70%
accidents 1% 99%
Two-thirds of all Canadian homicides do not involve firearms[9].
Stabbings, strangulations and beatings account for the majority of
homicides[10].
The percentage of homicides involving firearms has varied from 45% to
29% over the years. Since 1926, firearms have been involved in about
37% of murders.
For example, causes of death in Canada in 1992:
Total Involving Firearms
----- ------------------
Suicides 3,709 1,050 28.31%
Homicides 732 247 33.7%
Accidents 8,801 63 0.72%
Deaths 196,535 1,360 0.69%
and from Selected Canadian Mortality Statistics 1994:
FOR ALL: Total Involving Firearms
----- ------------------
Suicides 3,749 975 26.0%
Homicides 596 196 32.9%
Accidents 38
TOTAL 1209
FOR WOMEN: Total Involving Firearms
----- ------------------
Suicides 780 59 7.6%
Homicides 199 39 20%
Accidents 3
TOTAL 101
FOR MEN: Total Involving Firearms
----- ------------------
Suicides 2,969 916 30.9%
Homicides 396 157 39.6%
Accidents 35
TOTAL 1108
Mortality 1991 - Statistics Canada - Summary List of Causes
Accidents, Suicide; Homicide (from Juristat)
-------------------------------------------------
Causes Number Percent
-------------------------------------------------
ALL CAUSES 195,568 100.00%
ACCIDENTS 8,212 4.20%
SUICIDE 3,593 1.84%
HOMICIDE 753 0.39%
ALL OTHER CAUSES 183,010 93.58%
ACCIDENTS 8,721 100.00%
Transport 3,882 44.51%
Falls 2,053 23.54%
Poisoning 699 8.02%
Drowning 390 4.47%
Inhaling Food 341 3.91%
Fire and Flames 318 3.65%
Medical Misadventures 146 1.67%
Other Firearms 62 0.71%
Electric Current 39 0.45%
Theraputic Drugs 33 0.38%
Explosives 22 0.25%
Lightning 5 0.06%
Handgun 4 0.05%
All other accidents 727 8.34%
SUICIDE 3,593 100.00%
Other Firearms 1,065 29.64%
Hanging, Strangulation 1,034 28.78%
Drugs 502 13.97%
Gas 393 10.94%
Other Solid or Liquid 46 1.28%
Handgun 43 1.20%
All Other Means 510 14.19%
HOMICIDE (Juristat) 753 100.00%
Stabbings 224 29.75%
Beatings 140 18.59%
Other Firearms 135 17.93%
Illegal Handguns 131 17.40%
Legal Handgun (Est.) 5 0.66%
All Other Means 118 15.67%
Note: There are numerous errors in the 1991 Mortality Tables, totals
that don't match the range they are supposed to cover, etc. I took the
figures for homicide from Juristat because they are better. The
mortality tables list about 200 fewer homicides than Juristat, and far
fewer handgun homicides.[Prof, H. Taylor Buckner]
It's also interesting to note that while 33% of homicides involve
firearms, over half of murders involve alcohol or illicit drugs.
Alcohol and drug use was evident in 50% of all homicides in 1991[14].
Historically, alcohol has been estimated as the most important
contributing factor in two of every three homicides in Canada[15].
Roughly half of Canada's murder _victims_ have serious criminal
records.[StatCan] In 1991, two-thirds of all accused murderers had
criminal records, of which 69% were prohibited from acquiring or
possessing firearms due to previous violent offences.[43]
Firearm homicides typically represent less than 2% of all
externally-caused deaths in Canada[11]. Since 1975, the homicide rate
for Canadian men has been twice as high as women's[12]. Lightning
killed more Canadians in 1987 than did legally-owned handguns [13].
Between 1961 and 1990, less than 1% of all homicides involved firearms
legally registered in Canada. [42]
[9] Juristat Service Bulletin Vol. 12 No.18, "Homicide in
Canada 1991" (Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice
Statistics, Oct 1992) p.2.
[10] Ibid, p.8
[11] Health Reports Vol. 1 No.1, "Mortality: Summary List of
Causes 1987", (Statistics Canada, Health Division, Oct. 1989), p.60.
[12] Juristat Service Bulletin Vol.12 No.21, op. cit., p.11.
[13] Health Reports Vol.1 No.1,"Causes of Death 1987", (Statistics
Canada, Health Division, Oct. 1989) pp, 176-178
[14] Juristat Service Bulletin Vol.12 NO.18, op. cit., p.15.
[15] Neil Boyd, "The Last Dance: Murder in Canada", (Prentice-Hall
Canada, 1988) pp. 156-157
[42] Number of Restricted Guns Used in Homicide Offences by Year,
(Statistics Canada, Can. Centre for Justice Statistics, Law
Enforcement Program), pp.1 to 8
[43] Juristat Service Bulletin Vol. 12 No. 18, Homicide in Canada
1991, (Statistics Canada, Can. Centre for Justice Statistics,
Oct. 1992), p. 15
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