Handgun Controls and Weapons Choice: The Substitution Issue (From Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms, P 209-223, 1986, James D Wright and Peter H Rossi, -- See NCJ-118888)

• NCJ Number: 118897
• Author(s): J D Wright; P H Rossi
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Aldine de Gruyter Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

A self-administered questionnaire completed by a sample of 1,982 inmates imprisoned in 10 States was used to determine respondents' weapons substitutions should a hypothetical handgun ban be effectively instituted.

Abstract

Regarding current opportunities for obtaining handguns, most of the respondents, particularly the more predatory types, believed they could acquire a handgun after their release from prison in a matter of a few hours or, at most, a few days, at a cost of approximately $100. When queried about substitutions in the event of a hypothetical effective handgun ban, the fractions who said they would "move down" to less lethal weaponry was more than offset by those who would move up to bigger and more expensive handguns in some cases and to sawed-off shoulder weapons in others. None of the options hypothesized produced a net shift toward the use of less lethal weapons. 3 tables.