Less guns, less crimes? : a local and comparative analysis on the effectiveness of firearms legislation

Abstract

This Dissertation examines the notion of Gun Control by analysing the salient features of Firearms Legislations from around the world. This will be done by looking at two main salient features of gun control legislations, these being: Firearms Licensing Procedures and the Prohibition of Firearms. Such salient features will be comparatively analysed in order to examine their effectiveness in deterring and minimising the illicit use of firearms and ultimately homicides. Moreover, this Dissertation will also focus on the local firearms scenario by looking at the Maltese Arms Act, Chapter 480 of the Laws of Malta (2006) together with the Arms Licensing Regulations and ultimately assess the level of effectiveness of such legislation. Chapter 1 will provide a general overview of Gun Control and Firearms Legislation. Emphasis will be given to the history of Gun Control in order to explore how such form of legislation has been implemented throughout human the ages. From such analyses an important fact will emerge, this being: Gun Control legislation as a Janus faced issue. This is evidential when one explores tragic events of recent human history, during the commission of which systematic gun control legislation was implemented in order to render specific social or ethnic groups defenceless. Chapter 2 will look into Gun Ownership and provide a contrast between the notions of gun rights and gun privileges. Chapter 3 and 4 of this Dissertation will dissect the mentioned salient features of gun control policies by comparatively examining specific legal features of Firearms Legislation from around the world and ultimately observe the effectiveness of such laws by primarily looking at official statistical data. An examination of the local firearms scenario will be provided in Chapter 5.