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The scene of the latest – but likely not the last – U.S. school shooting. AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Most school shooters get their guns from home – and during the pandemic, the number of firearms in households with teenagers went up

A 15-year-old sophomore killed four students in a Michigan school attack. The gun he used was purchased by his father just four days earlier.
Handguns are displayed at the Smith & Wesson booth at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas. Handguns account for most of the guns being purchased by first-time gun buyers in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic. AP Photo/John Locher

Why Canadians and Americans are buying guns during the coronavirus pandemic

Amid the angst over a surge in gun sales in both the United States and Canada during the pandemic, few have noted the three key differences between the two countries.
School shooters tend to have a death wish, new research shows. Constantine Pankin from www.shutterstock.com

School shooters usually show these signs of distress long before they open fire, our database shows

School shooters typically show warning signs long before they become killers, but educators are sometimes ill-equipped to act on what they see, two researchers who are analyzing mass shooters say.
Meaghan Hennegan, who was shot twice during the Dawson College shooting in 2006 in Montreal holds up a board showing assault weapons as she joins other gun control advocates at a news conference on Bill C-71 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in December 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Should Canada ban assault-style firearms?

Canada must decide if modern semi-automatic rifles should be widely available to its citizens. Our current classification system for such guns is irrational.
Far from a knee-jerk reaction to Toronto’s recent mass shooting, fresh calls for tougher gun control laws have a long history in Canada. A man places his hand on his handgun in B.C. in 2014 during the International Practical Shooting Confederation Canada national championships. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Calls for stronger handgun laws in Canada have deep roots

Calls to outlaw handguns in Canada are hardly knee-jerk proposals in response to violent incidents. Instead, they’re in line with the historic Canadian trend to limit the presence of modern pistols.
A line of AR-15s are on display at gunmaker Daniel Defense in Georgia. AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane

Why do gun-makers get special economic protection?

The gun industry has been virtually immune from liability for the deaths and injuries caused by its products since 2005. Can this change?
Attendees attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of a shooting at a Florida school. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

The American public has power over the gun business – why doesn’t it use it?

Advocates of gun control may despair in the wake of mass shootings like the one in Parkland, Florida, but the history of government support for the gun industry shows Americans have more sway than they think.
A U.S. soldier fires a Colt M16 in Vietnam in 1967. U.S. Army

How the US government created and coddled the gun industry

While advocates of gun control may feel powerless in the wake of mass shootings like the one in Las Vegas, the history of government support for the industry shows Americans have more sway than they think.
Weapons used in the attack in San Bernardino in 2015. Reuters/San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department/Handout

How dangerous people get their weapons in America

While mass shooting tragedies in Las Vegas and elsewhere make headlines, the reality is gun violence is becoming almost routine in many American neighborhoods. Where do the guns come from?
Eleven states now have some sort of law permitting guns on college campuses. Lucio Eastman (Free State Project)

More states are allowing guns on college campuses

More and more states are passing legislation requiring that students and faculty be permitted to carry concealed weapons on campus. But shouldn’t universities have a choice when it comes to campus safety?
The 1996 National Firearms Agreement dramatically raised standards by imposing minimum requirements drawing on the best elements in the existing laws and on the recommendations of a series of expert inquiries. AAP/Joe Castro

Australia’s gun laws save lives – but are we now going backwards?

After the Port Arthur massacre, Australia had the most comprehensive reform of firearm laws anywhere in the world. But a creeping complacency now jeopardises public safety.

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