Policy Gridlock versus Policy Shift in Gun Politics: A Comparative Veto Player Analysis of Gun Control Policies in the United States and Canada

Rifat Darina Kamal and Charles Burton

World Affairs, 2018, vol. 181, issue 4, 317-347

Abstract: Why do major events of gun violence (i.e., mass shootings) lead to incremental change or no federal legislative change at all in the United States while major events of gun violence have resulted in large‐scale legislative changes in Canada? Exploring the complexities involved in this compelling question, this article conducts a comparative analysis of recent gun control policy gridlock and shift in these two countries. We concentrate on two mass shooting cases in each country: the Columbine (1990) and Sandy Hook (2012) massacres in the United States and the École Polytechnique Massacre (1989) and Concordia Shooting (1992) in Canada. We use veto player theory to gain insights into why tightening gun policy is so difficult to implement in the United States while Canada often follows up with policy transformations after a focusing event. This theory informs the central argument that the key factors underpinning the divergent policy outcomes on gun control issues in both countries involve differences in the structure of government/institutional design and the role and power of interest groups in each case. La divergencia entre las respuestas a la política de armas después de un evento de enfoque (por ejemplo, un evento de violencia con armas) en los Estados Unidos y en Canadá se debe a la estructura del gobierno y el papel de las instituciones. Otros factores, como la cultura política, no son tan significativos como estos factores en la manipulación del proceso político. En ambas naciones, la mayoría de los ciudadanos apoyan las restricciones a la posesión de pistolas y rifles de asalto. La teoría de Veto Player explica las razones por las que la política de armas se está volviendo más estricta es tan difícil para implementar en los Estados Unidos, mientras que en Canadá hay transformaciones políticas después de un evento de enfoque. 摘要：焦点事件（例如枪支暴力事件）发生后的枪支政策响应，在美国和加拿大有所差异。这种差异是由于政府结构和制度角色引起的。其他因素，例如政治文化，在操纵政策进程一事中并没有显著的作用。两国中大多数公民支持限制持有手枪和突击步枪。否决者理论详细阐述了为何加强枪支政策在美国十分难以实施，而加拿大在焦点事件发生后却能经常跟上政策转变。

Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:woraff:v:181:y:2018:i:4:p:317-347

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