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Introduction Attorney General Janet Reno illustrates the American violence problem by comparing gun homicides in Chicago and Toronto.l During the past five years of declining homicide, Chicago still had about 3000 gun homicides, while Toronto had about 100. The Attorney General's comparison focuses on Canada's gun control policies. Among Western democracies, the United States is perhaps the most permissive and Canada probably the most restrictive in regulating guns. A result is that the United States is a large producer of guns and violence. We argue that the Canadian-American comparison vividly illustrates the causal role played by guns and the possibility of a less violent America, but that the American policy prescription cannot simply copy Canadian policy without addressing cross-national differences. These differences have produced a large American gun industry, some of whose members' practices have made them accomplices in America's violence problems. This is a strong claim with important implications in terms of normative and institutional solutions. |
