Gun Control

3 Key excerpts on "Gun Control"

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  eBook - ePub

  Gun Control Policies in Latin America

  • Diego Sanjurjo(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Gun Control measures, which entail regulations on gun commerce and possession.

  Regulation and Control

  Since 2013, when Bolivia enacted the first gun control policy of its history, all Latin American states regulate gun possession and use in some way or another (Table 3.3 ). Policies and regulations vary greatly from one country to the next, as each legislative process responds to a combination of cultural, historical, and constitutional factors, themselves largely dependent on a number of local circumstances. Among others, the local gun culture , private interests, the existence of a local weapons industry , political mobilization, and public sensitivity towards the issue (Sanjurjo 2019 ).

  Table 3.3

  Regulations for defensive gun use in selected countriesa

  	Right to possess firearms?	Firearms banned for civilian self-defense?b,c	Is owner license/firearm license/firearm registration required? Is carrying allowed?b	Relevant requirements for owner or firearm licenses?b	Must demonstrate need to own?
  United States	Yes	Post-1986 machine guns need special approval, sawed-off long guns	Licenses and registration are not required, except in a few states; concealed carrying is allowed in most states	Minimum age and background check required for sales by dealers and by private sellers in some states	No
  Argentina	No	Automatic guns , certain high power semi-automatic guns ; may not own more than ten guns without special security measures	Owner license (five-year validity), firearm license and registration required; carrying requires a special permit and compelling need	21 years of age, proof of residence, lack of criminal records, pass medical and psychological evaluation, pass training course, source of legal income	No
  Bolivia	No	Automatic guns , certain high power semi-automatic guns ; may not own more than three guns for self-defense	Owner license (three-year validity), firearm license, purchase authorization and registration required; carrying one gun for self-defense is allowed	21 years of age, proof of residence, lack of criminal records, pass medical and psychological evaluation, pass training course, gun’s proof of ownership, provide gun and ammunition for ballistic registry	Yes; self-defense is valid reason
  Brazil	No	Automatic guns, certain high power semi-automatic guns ; may not own more than two guns for self-defense

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  Courts, Law, and Justice

  • William J. Chambliss(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  117 9 Gun Control Laws M. Dyan McGuire Saint Louis University G un control laws seek to limit the extent to which citizens can keep and own firearms, and often place limits on who can own firearms. For example, Gun Control laws frequently require that a background check be performed, and those with criminal or mental health records be denied access to guns. In addition, certain types of guns are prohibited. Fully automatic machine guns and other types of guns that are deemed to be espe-cially lethal are often illegal to own under any circumstances. Proponents of these laws argue that Gun Control laws are necessary to reduce gun-related crime and protect the police and the public from the dangers inherent in the proliferation of guns. Opponents argue that Gun Control laws impermis-sibly infringe upon citizens’ rights; endanger the existence of democracy by disabling civilian defense capabilities; prevent honest citizens from defend-ing themselves, their families, and their property; and unreasonably restrict gun-related recreational activities like target shooting and hunting. History of Gun Control and Gun Rights The battle between government regulation of gun ownership to promote order, public safety, and the consolidation of power, versus the right of the people to keep weapons for purposes of recreation, self-preservation, and as a final bulwark against tyranny has a long and checkered past in Ameri- 118 Courts, Law, and Justice can legal history. Although the English crown had previously taken action to limit weapon ownership, the first major attempt to prevent the major-ity of Englishmen from owning weapons came from an act of the English Parliament in 1671. The Game Act of 1671 imposed such a high property qualification on the right to hunt that it effectively limited hunting to the aristocracy. In addition, it prohibited those not economically qualified to hunt from owning any type of gun or other lethal weapon.

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  Public Opinion, Crime, And Criminal Justice

  • Julian Roberts, Loretta Stalans(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  14Gun Control

  Regulating the acquisition of lethal weapons is a topic that is never far from the headlines. One of the causes of this constant interest is media coverage of mass murders involving firearms. The killing of fourteen young women in Montreal in 1989, and the murders of sixteen schoolchildren in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996 are examples of two such tragedies.1 In the aftermath of these terrible crimes, there have been many calls for more restrictive legislation which, it was argued, would have prevented the offenders from acquiring their guns. And the most well-known piece of Gun Control legislation in America—the Brady Bill—was a direct result of the assassination attempt on President Reagan which left several people seriously wounded. Whether governments should regulate the possession of guns by private citizens is an issue that has generated endless political debates. The debate about Gun Control is especially heated in the United States for two reasons. First, because the prevalence of firearms is higher in America than any other western nation.2 Second, because regulating the acquisition of firearms has obvious constitutional implications. The second amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that citizens have the right to bear arms and form state militia.

  Proponents and opponents of Gun Control interpret the second amendment in different ways. Supporters of regulating possession of guns by private citizens see the second amendment as not granting an absolute right to bear arms, and as having an obsolete historical purpose of preventing the federal government from suppressing a state militia. Opponents of Gun Control perceive the second amendment as guaranteeing them an absolute right to bear arms for individual protection and state militia. In fact, groups in several states have formed militia to reinforce their second amendment right to bear arms such as semi-automatic weapons. The federal government has had several confrontations with these militia over violations of gun law regulations and other criminal laws. Confrontations such as those that occurred at Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge have led to the deaths of private citizens as well as law enforcement officers. These conflicts have further intensified and divided the public on this issue.

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