Understanding evidence and behavioral responses: Future directions in evidence‐based policy‐making

Aiming for Success

“…In debates over highly emotional issues, evidence often plays a secondary role in policy makers' decision making and the formation of public opinion (Freiberg and Carson 2010). This is especially true for issues that involve risk-management, given that our perception of risk can be heavily influenced by our culture, values, and emotions (Bédard 2017). When people disapprove of an activity they are more likely to overestimate the danger of that activity, and vice versa (Freiberg and Carson 2010;Kahan and Braman 2003), leading to sometimes disproportionate policy responses.…”

“…These laws were further tightened in 1991 with the creation of Bill C-17, which introduced a requirement for license applicants to undergo a mandatory firearms safety course, provide a sign-off from their spouse or intimate partner on their application. The bill also introduced a 28-day minimum waiting period for license processing, 3 created safe storage requirements for firearms, and limited magazine capacity for semi-automatic rifles to 5-rounds (Brown 2012; Fleming, McLean, and Tatalovich 2018; Mauser and Buckner 1997).…”

“…Firearms in Canada are much more tightly controlled than in the United States. Handguns have been regulated in Canada since the 1890s (Brown 2012). Long‐gun regulation in Canada came about the late 1970s, when Bill C‐51 created a licensing regime, mandated background checks, and prohibited ownership of fully automatic weapons.…”