Challenge Question
What is the public perception of gun ownership? How do we detect trends in public perceptions of gun ownership? What factors impact those trends?
Partner: University Women’s Club – North York
*PIP Partner Intensive Project: This project has goals and parameters that are driven by the designated project partner. It is expected that the student team will work closely with the partner and engage in regular, synchronous collaboration throughout the duration of the course.
Project Summary
After a five-year decline, firearm-related crime in Canada rose 42% between 2013 and 2017, with seven out of ten of Canada’s largest metropolitan areas seeing a significant increase in gun violence. Toronto and the GTA in particular have experienced staggering increases in gun-related injuries and deaths in recent years. Given these troubling statistics, this project aims to explore trends in public perception of gun ownership, identifying what factors impact those trends in order to strategize a proposal to ban handguns and assault weapons. Other considerations include improving scrutiny for the purchase and safe storage of licensed rifles and countering the arguments of the Canadian gun lobby in favour of continued weapon sales. Students interested in this project should have excellent organization, research, and communication skills, and they might have backgrounds in public and legal policy, the social sciences, health and safety, communications, and social justice and advocacy.
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Organizational Profile
Founded in 1951, The University Women’s Club of North York is a thriving club with over 200 members who represent a wide variety of interests, disciplines, and professional achievements. The club advocates for a number of causes, including the improvement of the status of women, solutions to gender-based violence, human rights, the pursuit of knowledge and education, long-term care reform, guaranteed basic income, housing, gun control, early learning, and childcare. UWCNY raises funds for local, national, and international charities, raising over $12,000 for various causes and awarding $17,000 in women’s scholarships in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Partner Website
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Key Words
- Gun Ownership
- Media
- Public Perceptions
Additional Resources