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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
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
The Issues • Whether the federal government should provide a stronger role in regulating handguns and related firearms
Methods would include making it harder for dangerous persons to buy a gun • Improving safety of guns • Regulating sales at gun shows
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
NRA states that 2nd Amendment of U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals the right to own and carry guns
They are concerned that federal regulations will continue to increase until owning a handgun will be difficult to achieve, infringing on their Constitutional rights
NRA states that if law abiding citizens have guns, they are safer from criminals, bringing crime rates down
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
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.”
Both sides agree that the final authority is the U.S. Supreme Court
NRA said that individuals not in the military have the right to bear arms, as long as they do so for a military purpose
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
Brady Center promotes gun safety- requiring childproof locks on gun triggers • Smith and Wesson is starting to make gun with safety features
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
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
Information gathered from federal agencies: deaths from gun wounds have been declining in recent years
Is the decline in deaths caused by enforcement of the “Brady Bill” allowing fewer dangerous people to have guns?
Is it from having more people in prisons? • We do not know why deaths from guns are declining.
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)
NRA states that restricting access to guns causes more crime, because then only criminals will have guns. This is not supported by evidence.
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.
Gallop Poll: majority of Americans have favorable opinion of the NRA, but the majority’s positions on gun control do not match the NRA’s positions.
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.
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
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
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 dealer’s license, $10,000 fine, or both
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
“A sweeping federal review of the nation’s gun control laws- including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons- found no proof such measures reduce firearms violence.”
Washington D.C. • Federal Judge Upholds D.C. Gun Control Laws • By Kamika Dunlap on March 30, 2010 11:45 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.
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.
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.
Chicago • High Court Hears Challenge to Chicago Handgun Law • By Kamika Dunlap on March 2, 2010 12:45 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).
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.
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.
