The Gun Controversy in America

Stephen Panaro, Adam Rodriguez, and MJ Schanne

Background on Gun Legislation

•  National Firearms Act of 1934

• Gun Control Act of 1968• Firearms’ Owners’

Protection Act (FOTA 1986)

• Child Access Prevention Laws

• Concealed Weapons Laws

• Regulations of Private Sales to Minors

• Regulating All Secondary Market Sales (“Gun-show Loophole”)

• Ban on “Assault” Weapons

• “One Handgun Per Month”

• “Junk Guns”• Preemption Laws• Waiting Periods

Gun Controversy in the Courts1800-1900

1800 1850 1900

Free white men can bear arms for self defense. This is a political right. Also, concealed weapons are allowed. Justified by state’s right to maintain a militia.

Although Dred Scott lost, African-American slaves gained the right to bear arms.

Bliss v. Commonwealth of KY State of Arkansas v. Buzzard Dred Scott v. Sandford

The court holds that there is a right bear arms in defense of self and country.

New Terms:

Political right- a right that the state has the power to control

Individual right- a right given to a person or people

Gun Controversy in the Courts2000-Present

2000 2005 Today

Declared that an individual has the right to have a firearm in a private residences or federal enclave. Did not specify if this applied to states.

Resolved the ambiguity left by D.C. v. Heller and said it is an individual’s right in states as well.

United States v. Emerson District of Columbia v. Heller McDonald v. Chicago

The first federal case that claimed the Second Amendment was meant to be an individual right.

New Term:

Federal enclave- A location in that is not part of a particular state.

e.g. Washington D.C.

Pro-Regulation

• Decreases violent crimes

• Decreases risk of suicide

• Decreases risk of accidental injury/fatality

• Constitutional right to bear arms

• Regulation is ineffective• Right to protect

themselves

Anti-Regulation

Interest Groups

Pro-Gun Control• Mayors against illegal

guns• Million Mom March• Center to prevent

handgun violence• Coalition to stop gun

violence• Americans for gun safety• Brady campaign to

prevent gun violence

Pro-Guns• NRA• Gun owners of America• Keep and Bear arms• Law Enforcement

Alliance of America• National Association of

Arms Shows• The Second Amendment

Foundation

Political Parties

• Republican—no gun control

• Libertarian—no gun control

• Constitution—no gun control

• Democratic—partial gun control

• Green—yes, desire gun control

Gallup Public Opinion Poll

October 2009

Pew Research Public Opinion Poll

March 2010

StatisticsPro-Gun-Regulation (“Anti-Guns”)

• U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other populous high-income countries combined, despite similar non-lethal crime and violence rates.  The firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is 19.5 times higher

• Gun violence impacts are estimated to cost U.S. citizens $100 billion annually

• 22 times more likely to be used in a completed or attempted suicide, criminal assault or homicide, or unintentional shooting death or injury than to be used in a self-defense shooting.

• An estimated forty percent of gun acquisitions occur in the secondary market

Statistics Anti-Gun-Regulation (“Pro-Guns”)

• August 2000, JAMA reported that states implementing waiting periods and background checks did "not [experience] reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates.“

• 1990s, the number of guns in this country increased by roughly 40 million—even while the murder rate decreased by almost 40% percent. Accidental gun deaths in the home decreased by almost 40 percent as well

• as many as 1.5 million cases of self-defense with a firearm every year

• According to the BBC News, handgun crime in the United Kingdom rose by 40% in the two years after it passed its draconian gun ban in. 2000 report shows that the crime rate in England is higher than the crime rates of 16 other industrialized nations, including the United States

• Guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense

Recent Developments

• Lax State Gun Laws Tied to Crimes in Other States• Lax and Lethal• More States Allowing Guns in Bars• Pennsylvania Senate approved State Senator Richard

Alloway’s (R-33) “Castle Doctrine” amendment to House Bill 1926.  Senator Alloway’s proposed amendment to HB1926 would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be.  If enacted, this law would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is used. 

Bibliography• Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.

<http://www.cphv.org/>.• "Chapters." Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.

<http://www.bradycampaign.org/chapters/>.• "Descriptions of the Supreme Court Gun Cases." Constitution Society

Home Page. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.constitution.org/2ll/bardwell/supreme_cases.html>.

• Gay, Malcom. "More States Allowing Guns in Bars." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/us/04guns.html?_r=1&hp>.

• "Gun Control." Just Facts.com. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp#crime>.

Bibliography• Gun Owners of America - Gun Owners Of America. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.

<http://gunowners.org/>.• Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page - 2nd Amendment

Supporters. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.keepandbeararms.com/>.• "Lax and Lethal." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News &

Multimedia. 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/opinion/04mon3.html?_r=1>.

• Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/home/home.shtml>.

• "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/opinion/04mon3.html?_r=1>.

Bibliography• NRA. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://home.nra.org/#/home>.• "NRA-ILA :: Anti-Gun Lobbying Organizations." NRA-ILA ::. Web. 15

Oct. 2010. <http://www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=14>.• "NRA-ILA :: “Castle Doctrine†Bill Scheduled for Final Passage

Today in Pennsylvania!" NRA-ILA ::. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=6057>.

• Police?, By The. "Taking On Gun Control." Hematite.com. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://hematite.com/dragon/gunintro.html#gcmenu>.

• "US Gun Statistics." Jeff Rense Program. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.rense.com/general62/gns.htm>.

• Worden, By Amy. "Pa. Senate Votes to Expand Gun Owners' Rights | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/14/2010." Philly.com: Philadelphia Local News, Sports, Jobs, Cars, Homes. 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20101014_Pa__Senate_votes_to_expand_gun_owners__rights.html>.

Courts Bibliography• "Amendment II: Bliss v. Commonwealth." The Founders' Constitution.

1987. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/print_documents/amendIIs8.html>.

• "The State v. Buzzard." Gun Control. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.guncite.com/court/state/4ar18.html>.

• Volokh, Eugene. "Sources on the Second Amendment and Rights to Keep and Bear Arms in State Constitutions." UCLA School of Law. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/2amteach/sources.htm#TOC12>.

• "United States vs. Timothey Joe Emerson." UMKC School of Law. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/emerson.html>.

• "District Of Columbia v. Heller." Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html>.

• "McDonald Et Al. v. City of Chicago, Illinois, Et Al." Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-1521.ZS.html>.

Public Opinion Bibliography

• Jones, Jeffrey M. "In U.S., Record-Low Support for Stricter Gun Laws." Gallup.com. 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/123596/In-U.S.-Record-Low-Support-Stricter-Gun-Laws.aspx>.

• "Gun Control Splits America." Pew Research Center. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1535/poll-state-local-governments-laws-banning-sale-possession-handguns>.