Reducing Firearms Availability - Constitutional Impediments to Effective Legislation and Agenda for Research (From Firearms and Violence, P 9-22, 1984, Don B Kates, Jr, ed. - See NCJ-96052)

• NCJ Number: 96053
• Author(s): L D Clark
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Pacific Institute for Public Policy Research
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Effective reduction of firearms availability depends on resolving problems of enforcement; legal barriers to effective enforcement, including the second, fifth, and fourth amendments; and other nonlegal enforcement problems, such as differentiating appropriate firearms used for sport or recreation.

Abstract

The raw data of the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics cannot be used to make refined conclusions about the relationship between the extent of firearm ownership and the incidence of homicides, accidental deaths, and aggravated assaults. However, the research does suggest some possibility of reducing firearm deaths and injuries through less firearm availability. Because of the present high level of gun ownership, an active resale market, and the ease of carrying guns across State lines, it may be helpful to examine European countries with gun control legislation to identify cultural and 'marketplace' factors affecting gun ownership and use. While the second and fifth amendments pose little obstacle to gun control legislation, the fourth amendment, restricting searches and seizures, could be a serious barrier to enforcing a registration or confiscation program. Additional research is needed in buy-back programs; the substitution argument; public education; and psychological issues, such as fear and cultural influences. A total of 30 footnotes is provided.