NCJ Number
228174
Journal
Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 307-336
Date Published
August 2009
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This article examines the impact of the media on concern with gun control legislation in Canada.
Abstract
Results show that gun control legislation appears to have had a positive effect on gun-related crime. The article examines According to Tom Three Persons: Legend of an Indian Cowboy, by Hugh A. Dempsey the process of weaponization or pistolization in small sections of Canadian society and the effects of the Canadian mass media on public perception and acceptance of this trend. Drawing upon the work of media theorist Marshall McLuhan, the author discusses the impact of crime reporting on social policy and gun legislation. Data relating to gun-homicide indicates that the vast majority of violent incidents did not involve weapons at all and that a very small minority actually involved guns. Although media attention to gun related crimes may impact the pistolization of some segments of criminalized youth, there are signs that Canadian culture may be resistant to the worst excesses of the logic of weaponization. Figures, notes, and references