Gun Control

By Beverly L. Norwood

This book is an exploration of the gun control debate. The pros and cons of the gun control controversy are examined. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is reviewed. Gun Violence Statistics are discussed. The Gun Control Policies of other nations are discussed. The crime rate is observed. The validity of the argument for owning guns for self-defense is questioned.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 19, 2003
• ISBN: 9781465330741

Book preview

Copyright © 2003 by Beverly L. Norwood.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

17689

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Notes

References

I hope that reading this book will enlighten the readers about the rights that are guaranteed to each U.S. Citizen.

This book is a collaboration of the laws and history of Gun Ownership in the United States (U.S.).

I myself learned much from doing this close examination of the Gun Control Debate.

Chapter 1

The Debate

The gun control debate has caused great controversy. Some people are in support of stricter gun-control legislation in the United States and some are against it. Gun Control Advocates are arguing against Anti-Gun Control Groups. Regardless of the policies that are established, there will always be guns on the streets of America, just as there will always be crime. The possession of a handgun should not be considered a felony.

The issue is whether or not guns should be regulated for the dangerous consumer products that they are. Should American Consumers have the right to buy and own firearms? Would stiffer laws prohibiting the buying and selling of firearms to citizens deter violent crimes and lower the crime rate? Would the law-abiding citizen become a prey for the criminals? Regardless of the laws that are established, there will always be crime.

The gun control debate is about how much the government should regulate gun ownership, and what kinds of regulations should the government establish. At issue, are proposals that would restrict or prohibit American Law-Abiding Citizens from legally obtaining guns. Should the sale, possession, and use of firearms be regulated (15-16 in The Gun Control Debate: You Decide)?

The gun control debate is about whether or not guns should be banned. There are some people who would like to see guns vanished completely out of society. Advocates of gun control want guns taken out of circulation. It is their wish to lock up anyone who is associated with the manufacturing, selling, buying, and private ownership of guns.

The debate continues to go on and on. Both sides (supporters and opponents of gun control) of the argument are standing firmly for what they believe in. The levels of government (Federal, State, and Local Levels) are fighting over stricter gun control measures. The two major parties (Democratic and Republican) in the United States are arguing. Gun Control Advocates are fighting with Anti-Gun Control Advocates. There is no easy answer. will stricter gun regulations reduce gun violence and the crime rate? Furthermore, it is necessary to prove that stricter gun control measures are needed to protect the public (16 in The Gun Control Debate: You Decide). The gun control debate has caused great controversy.

would stricter gun-control legislations deter gun related crimes, or would stricter legislations endanger the law-abiding citizens? Stricter policies may not effect the crime rate at all. Gun related crimes may not decrease. The question is—would harsher penalties, which would be imposed for firearm possession and use, deter gun related offenses?

In Gun Control: The Continuing Debate,, Donald D. Hook asserts that law and religion are two elements that are behind the gun control issue, which explore the debate of how to best control the use of guns. These two factors have a very strong influence on the public’s view of gun control, and the courts are influenced by the views of American Citizens. However, the protection of human life and human rights under the United States Constitution is more important (1). The rights the Second Amendment guarantees is the element that should play the vital role in the gun control debate. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Gun control is a major issue in the United States because of the high crime rate. Statistics indicate that the United States has higher crime rates than any other industrialized nation. In 1993, although Gun Control Legislations had been reared at keeping guns out of criminals’ hands, the gun related crimes had increased for two decades. Gun control proposals are established to keep weapons out of the hands of children, the mentally unstable, and criminals (5).

Guns do not kill; people do (6). The United States Correctional System should stop penalizing individuals for owning guns, and continue to punish them for the crime they commit with those guns. The violent act is the real issue, not the gun. The gun becomes the issue after it is used to carry out the criminal act.

No matter how hard it is to obtain a gun, criminals will always have the means to do so. Eliminating handgun accessibility will lead to the use of other types of weaponry. The violence will continue, only with different methods of committing those violent acts (6). Guns are not always involved in violent acts. Deviant people will find whatever means necessary to carry out the deed they want to do.

The objective of public law is to reduce the number of gun violence incidents, but present gun control laws have not achieved the set goal. Deaths resulting from firearms have increased the last two decades in the U.S. The increased number of gun owners reflected the increase in the population and in the crime rate in general. Registration, licensing, and education of the handling of firearms were some procedures established as corrective measures under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (8, 37-43). Laws are being passed in an effort to finally achieve the desired result of a decrease in handgun ownership and use (9).

Chapter 2

Early History

The American Frontier, which has a long history of gun ownership as a hobby, established the anti-gun control opposition. This establishment makes gun control a difficult issue (12). America’s history is a strong argument against gun control, because Americans have a history of gun ownership. Americans have been fighting for their right to bear arms since America became an independent nation.

In Guns, Crimes, and Freedom, Wayne LaPierre stated that in 1770, unarmed American Citizens were gunned down in the streets of Boston by the British Military, in what is known as the Boston Massacre, which started the debate over the right of the people to be armed. Under English Common Law, the colonists had the right to be armed for their defense not offense (3-4). Should American Citizens be allowed to arm ourselves against terrorism also?

Hook said that Gun Control Legislations began before the American Revolution (the Revolutionary War—from 1775 to 1783), when the colony of Massachusetts outlawed the carrying of guns. Other states followed in declaring the carrying of firearms as illegal (35). The federal government also followed. In 1927, Congress outlawed the shipping of firearms through the mail (36). In 1976, Congress proposed a bill banning the manufacture and importation of Saturday Night Specials, which are cheap handguns that are very easy to conceal because they are small (39).

Hook asserted that pioneer Americans were all probably pro-gun, because they were hunters. Not to mention the wars America has won with gun power. For instance, in colonial times, the gun enabled Americans to break away from their British rulers. The Civil War and World War I and II also required a lot of gun power. The gun control struggle has divided America. There is now a war of two views on what America is and should be (69).

In Gun Control: an Issue for the Nineties, David E. Newton stressed that early American Settlers, who came to the United States (U.S.) to escape repressive European governments, were convinced that gun control was a powerful tool of authoritarian governments. They felt that one act of repressive rulers was to deprive people of their guns. Citizens needed their own weapons to resist the expanding powers of such rulers (18). The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, just as the English Bill of Rights, guaranteed individuals—the right to bear arms (19).

Donald Hook stressed that the desire to keep and bear arms was discussed in works of social philosophers well before firearms appeared (17). David Newton pointed out that the debate over individual ownership of guns has been going on for hundreds of years. Niccolo Machiavelli (a political theorist) was one of the first and most important contributors in support of individual gun ownership. Machiavelli warned that people could only remain free if they have a right to bear arms. The debate over gun ownership has come up many times since Machiavelli wrote about it, and it still continues to be a huge controversy (88-89).

Gun ownership is instilled in Americans. It seems as if it is in Americans’ blood to own a gun. Americans have to have a weapon. A bumper sticker in Maryland in 1990 read: My wife, yes, my dog, maybe, MY GUN, NEVER (Hook 102)!

The availability of firearms may be independent of the violent crime rate. In other words, it is possible that violent crime rates could fall even though firearm availability increases (Hook 39). Violent acts were committed before guns were created. People still commit violent crimes with other weapons today. Guns are not always involved in serious offenses.

Hook insists that those who own guns possess power in society (18). Should we trust the American Government, with all of its corruption, and allow it to be the only unit in this country that is allowed to possess guns? The authority already has enough power over our lives. We have to follow the rules and cannot break the law; meaning, we cannot take the law into our own hands and threaten, beat, or shoot someone with our gun.

David Newton explained that Americans no longer need guns for their survival. They no longer have to use guns to kill the food they eat. Americans own guns for several reasons: hunting, self-defense, target shooting, gun collectors, a police or security officer, like to have one, for protection, and some do not know why they own a gun (24).

Chapter 3

Assault Weapons

Who should decide which assault weapons should be banned? Why should some guns be legalized for recreational and sporting activities, but other firearms are considered harmful and dangerous. Every one does not always agree about what things should be censored and what things should not be censored. Censorship is a very difficult situation.

Wayne LaPierre argues that the Second Amendment does not mention limits on the type of weaponry one can own. If the government does impose limits on the type of gun(s) Americans own, whose to