Gun Control
The United States is the leader in per-capita gun deaths among industrial nations. This unenviable distinction
has resulted in various gun-control laws at the federal and state levels that seek to reduce crime and violence by
restricting private gun ownership. Supporters of gun control would like even tighter restrictions on the sale and
circulation of firearms. But they face fierce opposition from citizen groups and arms manufacturers who are
trying to protect what they view as the right to own and bear firearms for self-defense and recreational
activities. These groups aim to prevent new legislation, and if possible, roll back the laws already on the books.
The Constitutional Framework
Discussions about citizens’ rights to bear arms extend back to ancient times. Political theorists from Cicero of
ancient Rome to John Locke (1632–1704) of England and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) of France
viewed the possession of arms as a symbol of personal freedom and an indispensable element of popular
government.
Similar sentiments were echoed in the Federalist Papers, a series of essays written by the supporters of the
Constitution to explain and defend the document. In the Federalist No. 46, James Madison observed that
Americans would never have to fear the power of the federal government because of "the advantage of being
armed, which you possess over the people of almost every other nation." Patrick Henry declared, "The great
principle is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." Samuel Adams argued that the
Constitution should never be interpreted "to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens
from keeping their own arms." Accordingly, when adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, the founders
included the Second Amendment, which reads, "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."
The precise meaning and purpose of the Second Amendment has been an issue of major controversy. Gun
control advocates argue that when the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791, each state maintained a militia,
composed of ordinary citizens who served as part-time soldiers. These militias were "well-regulated"—subject
to state requirements concerning training, firearms, and periodic military exercises. Fearing that the federal
government would use its standing army to force its will on the states, the authors of the Second Amendment
intended to protect the state militias’ right to bear arms. According to gun control supporters, in modern times
the amendment should protect only the states’ right to arm their own military forces, including their National
Guard units.
Opponents of gun control interpret the Second Amendment as the guarantee of a personal right to keep and bear
arms. They claim that the amendment protects the general public, who were viewed as part of the general
militia, as distinguished from the "select militia" controlled by the state. By colonial law, every household was
required to possess arms and every male of military age was required to be ready for military emergencies,
bearing his own arms. The amendment, in guaranteeing the arms of each citizen, simultaneously guaranteed
arms for the militia. Furthermore, gun control opponents feel that the words "right of the people" in the Second
Amendment hold the same meaning as they do in the First Amendment, where they describe an individual right
(such as freedom of assembly).
Standing in fierce opposition to any and all efforts to restrict gun sales and ownership is the National Rifle
Association (NRA). The leading pro-gun group in the United States, the NRA is dedicated to protecting an
individual right to bear arms. The NRA bases its view on the Second Amendment and insists that its stand is
consistent with the intentions of the nation’s founders. The NRA believes that any form of gun control will
eventually lead to a complete ban on the private possession of firearms.
Court Decisions
For many years the U.S. Supreme Court generally restricted the right of individuals "to keep and bear Arms." In
United States v. Miller (1939), the Court upheld a federal law forbidding the interstate transportation of an
unregistered sawed-off shotgun. The Court concluded that the Second Amendment did not apply to this case
because there was no evidence in the record that this type of arm was "any part of ordinary military equipment"
or that its use could "contribute to the common defense." The amendment’s purpose, according to the Court,
was to "assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness" of the state militia. In two other rulings,
the Supreme Court reaffirmed this view in upholding New Jersey’s tough gun control law in 1969 (Burton v.
Sills) and in supporting the federal ban on possession of firearms by felons in 1980 (Lewis v. United States).
The Miller ruling established a foundation for more than thirty subsequent lower court decisions on the meaning
of the Second Amendment. The lower courts reaffirmed the interpretation of the Second Amendment as a
limited states-rights measure, relating only to individuals in active, controlled state guard or militia units. An
exception to this trend occurred in 1999. In United States v. Emerson, U.S. District Judge for Northern Texas
Sam R. Cummings upheld the right of a man under a temporary restraining order to retain his firearms under the
protection of the Second Amendment. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned this
ruling in 2001.
The Supreme Court reversed course in 2008 in the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court
ruled in Heller that the Second Amendment prohibits the federal government from making it illegal for private
individuals to keep loaded handguns in their homes. It was the first Supreme Court decision ever to explicitly
rule that the Second Amendment protects an individual, personal right to keep and bear arms. Heller was a
major development in the law, but it left many questions unanswered. For example, it is not clear whether the
Second Amendment would also prohibit state governments from passing laws like the federal law at issue in
that case.
Gun Control Laws
Gun control laws have several functions. They may be designed to hinder certain people from gaining access to
any firearms. The laws may limit possession of certain types of weapons to the police and the military. A person
who wants to make a gun purchase or obtain a gun license may be subject to a waiting period. Gun-control laws
vary from country to country. In Britain, the national government exercises strict control, requiring all gun
owners to be licensed and to obtain permits in order to buy ammunition. In Australia, states enact their own
laws in accordance with guidelines from the federal government. Some countries, such as Japan and New
Zealand, are working to pass tougher gun-control legislation.
In the United States, the lack of agreement on gun control has led to a wide variety of state and local laws
regarding licensing and registration of handguns. In most states, as long as a person has not been convicted of a
felony, he or she can receive a permit to carry a loaded and concealed handgun. About 50 percent of all homes
in the United States contain at least one firearm. More than half of these are loaded or have ammunition stored
with the gun. The National Institute of Justice estimated that, in the year 2006, 68 percent of murders, 42
percent of robberies, and 22 percent of aggravated assaults that were committed in the United States were
committed with firearms. According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, stricter requirements on
registration and licensing would prevent criminals from buying guns.
The first major federal gun law went into effect in 1934. It restricted the sale and ownership of high-risk
weapons such as machine guns and sawed-off shotguns. Congress passed the 1968 Gun Control Act in the wake
of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In addition to ending mailorder sales of all firearms and ammunition, the law banned the sale of guns to felons, fugitives from justice,
minors, the mentally ill, those dishonorably discharged from the armed forces, those who have left the United
States to live in another country, and illegal aliens.
Although the 1968 law established a foundation for subsequent gun control legislation, it was flawed by its
"honor system" enforcement scheme. It required prospective purchasers to sign a statement of eligibility to buy
a gun, but most states did not follow up to confirm the claims. This weakness was addressed in the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Named in honor of James Brady, the press secretary to President Ronald
Reagan who suffered a near-fatal wound during the attempt on Reagan’s life in 1981, the Brady Law became
effective in 1994. It required a five-day waiting period for all handgun sales, during which a background check
was to be made on all prospective purchasers. This provision expired in 1998 and was replaced by the National
Instant Check System (NICS), an on-the-spot computer scan for any criminal record on the part of the buyer of
any type of gun.
Following passage of the Brady Law, aggravated assaults involving firearms declined 12.4 percent between
1994 and 1999. The Justice Department reported that background checks also prevented more than 500,000
people with criminal records from legally purchasing a gun during that time period. In addition, violent crimes
committed with guns decreased by 35 percent between 1992 and 2000.
Another major landmark in gun control was President George H. W. Bush’s 1989 ban on importing assault
rifles. In 1990 the number of imported assault rifles traced to crime dropped 45 percent. In 1994 a federal ban
on assault weapons outlawed the manufacture and sale of the nineteen most lethal assault weapons and various
duplicates. The following year, the number of assault weapons traced to crime declined 18 percent.
Although legislation has had some effect on gun violence in the United States, a series of loopholes enables
many people who do not meet the legal requirements to obtain guns. For example, the law does not require
adults to store guns out of the reach of children. Private collectors can get around the Brady Law’s backgroundcheck requirement by selling their wares at private gun shows, and individuals can buy some guns on the
Internet without a background check. Federal law and most state laws still allow juveniles to purchase "long
guns," which include hunting rifles, shotguns, semiautomatic AK-47s, AR-15s, and other assault rifles
manufactured before 1994. Finally, the database for the national "instant-check" system lacks data in many
categories, especially in non-felony areas such as domestic violence and mental health.
Some of the most dramatic and tragic effects of loopholes have been evident in gun-related school violence. In
1999 two high school students in Littleton, Colorado, obtained shotguns and other weapons and killed thirteen
people before turning the guns on themselves. The weapons were bought from private sellers at gun shows. In
2007 a college student shot and killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University before turning his weapon on
himself. His history of mental illness had not prevented him from purchasing the semi-automatic pistols used in
the shooting. This incident was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and sparked further debate on the
issue of gun control.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2013 Gale, Cengage Learning.
Source Citation
"Gun Control." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In
Context. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.