Abstract
Mass shootings and other gun-related crimes represent a major threat to peace, security and well-being around the world. This chapter uses a comparative case study analysis of firearms regulations and associated long-term trend data in Australia and the United States to demonstrate the potential for governments to make large reductions in gun-enabled violence. The approach—as an application of southern criminology—highlights the major gains made in Australia in contrast to the extensive and increasing rates of gun-related harms in the United States. Following the infamous Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, Australia relinquished its laissez-faire colonial era gun laws and adopted a comprehensive license-based regulatory system aimed at restricting gun ownership and optimizing safety. The results provide valuable lessons for harm minimization in both the global north and global south under a variety of diverse social and economic conditions.
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Lemieux, F., Prenzler, T., Bricknell, S. (2022). Mass Shootings and Gun Control by Police: Comparing Australia and the United States. In: Wallace, W.C. (eds) Guns, Gun Violence and Gun Homicides. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84518-6_2
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