Gun Control

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Gun Control
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• "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of
  arms. The strongest reason for the people to
  retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a
  last resort, to protect themselves against
  tyranny in government."-Thomas Jefferson,
  Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776, Jefferson
  Papers 344

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• For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license
  and go to the range. For defense of the home,
  that's why we have police departments.-James
  Brady

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The Issues

• Whether the federal government should provide a
  stronger role in regulating handguns and related
  firearms

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• Methods would include making it harder for
  dangerous persons to buy a gun
• Improving safety of guns
• Regulating sales at gun shows

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• National Rifle Association (NRA) is against more
  federal regulation
• Handgun Control (the Brady Center), Center to
  Prevent Handgun Violence is in favor of more
  federal regulations

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• NRA states that 2nd Amendment of U.S.
  Constitution guarantees individuals the right to
  own and carry guns

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• They are concerned that federal regulations will
  continue to increase until owning a handgun will
  be difficult to achieve, infringing on their
  Constitutional rights

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• NRA states that if law abiding citizens have
  guns, they are safer from criminals, bringing
  crime rates down

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• Brady Center states that 2nd Amendment of
  Constitution does not guarantee individuals the
  right to own and carry guns. They state that
  when more people have guns, deaths and injuries
  from guns increase

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2nd Amendment

• A well regulated militia, being necessary to the
  security of a free state, the right of the people
  to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

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• Both sides agree that the final authority is the
  U.S. Supreme Court

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• NRA said that individuals not in the military
  have the right to bear arms, as long as they do
  so for a military purpose

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Do more guns mean more deaths and injuries?

• Brady Center when civilian population has more
  access to guns, more teens and children die from
  gun wounds

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• Brady Center promotes gun safety- requiring
  childproof locks on gun triggers
• Smith and Wesson is starting to make gun with
  safety features

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• NRA believes that each piece of federal
  regulation will lead to more until finally, gun
  ownership will be very restricted
• NRA feels that gun ownership results in protected
  from crime

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• NRA is strongly against Smith and Wesson adding
  safety features to guns
• If gun manufacturers build guns with safety
  features, then the federal government is going to
  start requiring those safety features

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• Information gathered from federal agencies
  deaths from gun wounds have been declining in
  recent years

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• Is the decline in deaths caused by enforcement of
  the Brady Bill allowing fewer dangerous people
  to have guns?

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• Is it from having more people in prisons?
• We do not know why deaths from guns are declining.

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• 2nd Amendment- it was not written to provide a
  right to have a gun for personal use, but instead
  for national defense (according to U.S. Supreme
  Court)

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• NRA states that restricting access to guns causes
  more crime, because then only criminals will have
  guns. This is not supported by evidence.

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• In countries where guns are greatly restricted,
  such as Great Britain or Japan, deaths from guns
  are very rare, especially compared to the United
  States. USA is world leader in the rate of
  homicides from guns.

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• Gallop Poll majority of Americans have
  favorable opinion of the NRA, but the majoritys
  positions on gun control do not match the NRAs
  positions.

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• Majority of Americans want guns to be made safer,
  such as having child proof trigger locks. We
  want our government to take reasonable steps to
  keep dangerous persons away from guns.

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News in Gun Control

• 4-26-05 Florida passes a Shoot First Law-
  people who are under attack do not have to
  retreat before responding- they have the right to
  meet force with force, including deadly force

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• 7-30-05 Senate votes to shield gun manufacturers
  from lawsuits
• Shields firearms manufacturers, dealers, and
  importers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun
  crimes

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• Democrats new requirement that each handgun be
  sold with a separate child safety or locking
  device, unless purchased by govt officials or
  police officers. Any violation could be punished
  by suspension of dealers license, 10,000 fine,
  or both

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9-13-04 Loss of Weapons Ban

• Bush did not push for the renewal of a 10 year
  ban on private use of assault weapons.
• Covered 19 different types of military assault
  weapons, including AK47, Kalashnikov and Uzi
  rifles, high-capacity ammunition holding more
  than 10 rounds

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• A sweeping federal review of the nations gun
  control laws- including mandatory waiting periods
  and bans on certain weapons- found no proof such
  measures reduce firearms violence.

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Washington D.C.

• Federal Judge Upholds D.C. Gun Control Laws
• By Kamika Dunlap on March 30, 2010 1145 AM
• The gun control laws in Washington D.C. are
  among the nation's most strict and were upheld by
  a federal judge as constitutional.
• The ruling was in line with the landmark U.S.
  Supreme Court's June 2008 decision striking down
  D.C.'s old handgun ban and rejected assertions
  that the city's current gun laws are too
  restrictive, the Washington Post reports.
• Gun control laws in Washington D.C. require gun
  owners to go through a step-by-step process
  including five hours of safety training and
  undergo criminal background checks every six
  years.

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• Also under the law, a pistol not capable of
  holding more than ten rounds may be stored in the
  home, unloaded and either disassembled or with a
  trigger lock.
• Dick Heller challenged the regulations and sued
  to the city for violating his individual right to
  keep a gun in his home.
• U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina however
  ruled that although the gun laws may be
  restrictive they do not go far enough to impinge
  on individual's Second Amendment right to bear
  arms.

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• As previously discussed, because D.C. is not part
  of a state, however, this, like the 2008 ruling,
  is confined to the line between individuals'
  Second Amendment rights and federal law, and does
  not directly address the line between Second
  Amendment rights and state laws.
• In the 30-page opinion, Urbina said the
  registration requirements are designed to promote
  public safety.
• Gun-control groups say the ruling reflects the
  right balance between rights of residents and the
  need to promote public safety.
• Washington D.C.'s handgun registration process
  requires owners to submit fingerprints and allow
  police to perform ballistics tests.

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Chicago

• High Court Hears Challenge to Chicago Handgun Law
• By Kamika Dunlap on March 2, 2010 1245 PM
• Chicago's long-standing handgun ban is under
  review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• The high court will decide whether the Chicago
  handgun ban should be invalidated under the
  Second Amendment in the McDonald v. Chicago case.
• The showdown could be a repeat of when the US
  Supreme Court struck down the District of
  Columbia's handgun ban, according to the
  Christian Science Monitor.
• In the D.C. case, the Supreme Court recognized,
  for the first time, the Second Amendment right to
  bear arms as applying to individuals, rather than
  to militia groups (as some argue the text of
  the Second Amendment suggests).

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• Because D.C. is not part of a state, however,
  that ruling was confined to the protection of
  individual's Second Amendment rights from
  encroachment by federal law. It was left
  undecided whether similar legal logic would apply
  to the power of states and local governments to
  regulate guns.
• In the Chicago case, the justices will look at
  whether the Second Amendment applies to state and
  local governments, or whether it remains one of
  the few areas in the Bill of Rights that binds
  only the national government.

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• A decision by the Supreme Court on whether to
  strike down the Chicago handgun ban may establish
  basic ground rules for future gun control efforts
  in states and cities across the U.S.
• Gun-control groups argue that lifting the gun ban
  will increase gun violence in the Chicago area.
• But gun-rights supporters say they have the
  "right to bear arms" and protect themselves. They
  also point out that the illegal gun trade has
  flourished despite the ban.

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• As previously discussed, state gun laws have
  sparked a renewed debate around the Second
  Amendment.
• If Chicago law is overturned, it will probably
  lead to more litigation around gun regulation as
  was the case in Washington D.C. A law was passed
  requiring gun owners to go through a step-by-step
  process including five hours of safety training
  and undergo criminal background checks every six
  years.
• Whatever the decision from this landmark case,
  many legal experts say Chicago is fighting an
  uphill battle over its gun laws.

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• 2000 firearms injuries lead to 28,663 deaths (
  2nd highest injury deaths)
• 58 of those deaths were suicides
• Gun accidents 775 deaths

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• Gunshot wounds cost Americans 2.3 billion each
  year to treat- taxpayers are footing about half
  the bill

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• 40 of homes with children have a gun in the
  home.

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• One report stated that more than 20,000 children
  and youth under age 20 are killed or injured by
  firearms in the United States- more than 3000
  killed and more than 18,000 injured

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• California data
• 1 of adults in state purchased handgun in year
• More than 92 of purchasers were male

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• Highest per capita gun sales occurred in rural
  areas
• 1 denied because of background checks
• 70 of handguns sold in California were
  semiautomatic pistols carrying 6-10 rounds or
  more
• 5 of gun dealers accounted for more than 57 of
  guns sold

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Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Act)

• Requires Federal Firearms Licensees to request
  background checks on individuals attempting to
  receive a firearm

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Facts (93-94)

• 49 of households have a gun
• 31 of adults own a gun
• Total number 47,600,000 households have a gun
• 59,100,000 minimum adults own a gun

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• Washington D.C. enacted a virtual ban on handguns
  in 1976
• Between 1976 and 1991, D.C.s homicide rate rose
  200, while the U.S. rate rose 12

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• About 6000 children were caught with guns at
  school between 1997 and 1998- out of these- 13
  were prosecuted by the Clinton administration

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• Fatal accidents-
• 43,900 deaths from motor vehicles (95)
• 12,600 from falls
• 4,500 drownings
• 2,800 from choking
• 1,400 from firearms

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• 1988 NRA developed a gun safety program for
  children (pre-K to 6th grade)
• 10 million children
• Stop! Dont Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an
  Adult.