Gun politics in the United States

The political issues surrounding guns in the United States is an especially contentious political topic in the United States. The degree to which firearms can or should be regulated has long been debated, and disagreements range from the practical —does gun ownership cause or prevent crime? —to the constitutional —how should one interpret the Second Amendment? —and the philosophical —which weapons, if any, does the government have the authority to control?

Practical Questions

Gun control advocates and opponents disagree on more practical questions as well. There is an ongoing debate over the role that guns play in crime. Gun-rights groups claim that a well-armed citizenry prevents crime and that making civilian ownership of firearms illegal would increase the crime rate in a way similar to Prohibition, while gun control organizations claim that increased gun ownership leads to higher levels of crime, suicide, and other negative outcomes. Questions of regulatory policy include:

Related Topics:
Crime - Crime rate - Prohibition - Suicide

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• Types of firearm –Should some types of firearms be regulated differently than others?
• Criteria of eligibility – Are there criteria that disqualify a person from owning firearms? (Possible criteria include age, mental competence, firearm training, and felony conviction)
• Background checks – Should there be background checks made to verify eligibility to own a firearm? Who should make them, and should there be a waiting period before a firearm can be sold?
• Registration – Should all firearms and firearm owners be registered? If so, how may the registration information be used, and who should have access to it?
• Concealed weapons – Should carrying concealed weapons be regulated? If so, should concealed carry be regulated separately from ownership, and if so, how?
• Enforcement –Can gun-control laws be feasibly enforced? Should executive policy be to strictly enforce gun laws?
• Storing – Should there be any regulations on how guns are kept? Should the state mandate the dismantling, unloading or locking of guns in storage?

Advocates on both sides generally agree that the gun rights lobby is among the most effective and organized single-issue political groups in the United States. Yet the gun control/gun ban lobby has still managed to bring about the enaction of many gun control laws.

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Self-defense

Both sides actively debate the relevance of self-defense in modern society. Some scholars, such as John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, claim to have discovered a positive correlation between gun control legislation and crimes in which criminals victimize law-abiding citizens. Lott asserts that criminals ignore gun control laws, and are effectively deterred by armed intended victims. The National Rifle Association regularly reprints locally published stories of ordinary citizens whose lives were saved by their guns. A sample can be seen here:http://www.kressworks.com/Politics/Gun_Control/dgu/defensive_gun_uses.html.

Related Topics:
Self-defense - John Lott - More Guns, Less Crime

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Advocates of gun control, however, assert that because criminals obtain guns by stealing them from law-abiding gun owners, restricting their availability would decrease supply to criminals. They also argue that higher rates of gun ownership increase the number of crimes of passion.

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Non-defensive uses of guns, such as hunting, vermin control and recreational target shooting, often receive little attention despite arguably being the most common reasons for private gun ownership. This is perhaps because focusing on defense allows for the broadest coverage of firearms, and some say the most in tune with the intent of the Second Amendment.

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The numbers of lives saved or lost by gun ownership are hotly debated. Problems include the difficulty of accounting accurately for confrontations in which no shots are fired, and jurisdictional differences in the definition of "crime". For example, some have argued that American statistics tend to over-count violent crimes, while British statistics tend to under-count them.

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Proponents of gun control frequently argue that carrying a concealed pistol would be of no practical use for personal self-defense, while gun right advocates argue that individuals with proper firearm training are better able to defend themselves if carrying a handgun. Proponents of gun rights claim that in the US, there are up to 2.5 million incidents per year in which a lawfully-armed citizen averts being victimized by defending him or herself from a would-be attacker. Those who advance these statistics say that the deterrent effect would disproportionately benefit women, who are often targets of violent crime.

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Non-crime related use

Gun control advocates argue that high levels of gun ownership lead to higher levels of suicide and accidental deaths. Gun ownership advocates dispute these claims, saying that so few accidental deaths and suicides are gun-related that banning guns would have little impact on the overall statistics. They also argue that suicidal people would simply find other ways to end their lives.

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Security against tyranny and invasion

Another position taken by gun rights advocates is that an armed citizenry is the population's last line of defense against tyranny by their own government, as many believe was one of the main intents of the Second Amendment. A popular saying is that the amendment is "the government's reset button". They note that many soldiers in the American Revolution were ordinary citizens using their privately owned firearms. Gun control advocates answer that it is unrealistic to suppose that private citizens could oppose a government which controls the full power of the US Armed Forces, were it to become tyrannical. Some gun control advocates also claim that the people's power to replace elected officials by voting is sufficient to keep the government in check.

Related Topics:
Tyranny - American Revolution - US Armed Forces

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As well, using the Second Amendment to legally defend what is, in essence, fighting against the government seems strange in light of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. This Article, besides establishing the very legal force of the Constitution and its Amendments to begin with, also empowers Congress to act through the State Militias to smash domestic insurrections.

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Invasion by hostile outside forces is another reason gun rights advocates oppose registration. If captured, the associated records would provide invaders with a means of locating and eliminating law-abiding resistance fighters. Location and capture of such records is a standard doctrine taught to military intelligence officers. The risk of the capture of such records is recognized as legitimate; firearms dealers are asked to destroy their records if an invasion is underway. Registration aside, gun rights advocates claim that an armed citizenry is a strong deterrent against a foreign invasion. They frequently cite tyrants who claimed to fear invading countries where the citizenry was heavily armed, or that they needed to disarm their own populace to be effective. Gun control advocates dispute these ideas, arguing that the US's two neighbors, Mexico and Canada are unlikely to ever invade, and that conquering tyrants have often required firearms ownership among their civilian populations (and, needless to say, their militaries).

Related Topics:
Mexico - Canada

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In the 2003 documentary Innocents Betrayed, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership advanced the claim that gun control laws have been a critical part of all genocides in the twentieth century. The documentary referred to laws restricting gun ownership to government officials passed in Nazi Germany, the USSR, and elsewhere.

Related Topics:
Innocents Betrayed - Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership - Gun control - Genocide - Nazi Germany - USSR

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Political battle

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the largest and best-known gun rights and gun sports advocacy group. Originally formed in 1871, after the American Civil War, to promote marksmanship skills among the general population, the NRA was mainly a shooting-sports association that rose to prominence from its nationwide promotion of firearms safety, training courses and certifications it offered local shooting clubs and their members. It became a powerful lobbying force after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which made gun control a national issue. Virtually all pro-gun-control groups see the NRA's positions as extremist, especially since Harlon Carter became the de facto policy maker at the NRA, bringing with him a more hard-line stance towards gun rights than the NRA held in the past.

Related Topics:
National Rifle Association - American Civil War - Gun Control Act of 1968 - Harlon Carter

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In contrast, the other national gun rights groups generally take a much harder line than the NRA. These groups criticize the NRA's history of support for various gun control legislation such as the Gun Control Act of 1968, the ban on armor-piercing projectiles and the point-of-purchase background checks (NICS). The Second Amendment Sisters, Second Amendment Foundation, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, The Pink Pistols and Gun Owners of America are among the groups in this category.

Related Topics:
Second Amendment Sisters - Second Amendment Foundation - Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership - The Pink Pistols - Gun Owners of America

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While gun control is not strictly a partisan issue, there is more support for gun control in the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. The only political party which completely supports gun rights is the United States Libertarian Party. Traditionally, regional differences are greater than partisan ones on this issue. Southern and Western states are predominantly pro-gun while coastal states like California, Massachusetts, and New York favor gun control. Other areas, including the Midwest, are mixed, and two, Vermont and Alaska, have absolutely no CCW (Carrying a Concealed Weapon) licensing requirements, gun registrations, or bans, and disallow local government pre-emption.

Related Topics:
Democratic Party - Republican Party - United States Libertarian Party - California - Massachusetts - New York - Midwest - Vermont - Alaska

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Prominent individuals

The field of political research regarding firearms suffers from the same contention as the issue of firearms itself. Almost every prominent researcher has seen their works attacked by those uncomfortable with their conclusions, and some have had their work investigated as academic fraud. Nonetheless, some influential individuals include:

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:Gary Kleck

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:Arthur Kellermann

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:John Lott

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:David Mustard

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:Michael Bellesiles

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:Clayton Cramer

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