Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Our peer-reviewed study found firearm suicides (about 80 percent of firearm-related deaths in Australia) fell more quickly after the bans and AU$500 million buyback than before. We concluded the gun laws may have influenced firearm suicides, but advised caution because suicides using other methods also fell from the late 1990s.

Suicide prevention programs and other social changes may have had overall effects. Drawing bold conclusions about gun laws and firearm suicide is thus premature. There was no evidence the laws affected firearm homicides -- a result consistent with at least two other independent papers on the topic.

Regarding mass shootings, Australia's close neighbor New Zealand has not had a mass shooting in more than 10 years, either. However, New Zealanders still use, for hunting and target shooting, the types of firearms Australia banned in 1996. Gun prohibitionists' promotion of Australia's dubious firearms legislation model is a reaction, not a solution, to the immensely complex issues underlying violence.

Dr. Samara McPhedran

Chairwoman

International Coalition for Women in Shooting and Hunting (WiSH)

Sydney, Australia