NCJ Number
127641
Date Published
1990
Length
7 pages
Annotation
One of the major arguments against the theory that gun control would save life is that although two-thirds of all homicides are committed with firearms, firearms controls could have no effect on homicide rates because, "human nature being what it is," homicide would continue unabated.
Abstract
The most forcible statements of the opposing viewpoint may be found in the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence Task Force Report on Firearms and Violence and two Chicago studies of fatal and nonfatal assaults. It is pointed out that although other weapons are involved in homicide, firearms are not only the most deadly instrument of attack but also the most versatile. Firearms make some attacks possible that simply would not occur without firearms. They permit attacks at greater range and from positions of better concealment than other weapons. They also permit attacks by persons physically or psychologically unable to overpower their victim through violent physical contact. It is because of their capacity to kill instantly and from a distance that firearms are virtually the only weapon used in killing police officers. 4 references