Gun Control

The arguments for gun control are pervasive. The group Handgun Control, Inc. ties the drop in handgun murders in 1994 to stiffer gun control laws. Coalition to Stop Gun Violence offers statistics on all aspects of gun violence in The Facts of Gun Violence. The Violence Policy Center argues that The Second Amendment [Grants] No Right to Keep and Bear Arms. An interview in Mother Jones magazine with former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders provides a Surgeon General's Warning about the high cost that guns, particularly handguns, have for Americans. In the article Why Johnny can shoot? Mother Jones magazine chastizes the federal government for providing tax dollars to promote gun use among children. 

There are also many places on the Internet that are against gun control. The National Rifle Association and National Concealed Carry, Inc. are prime examples. The article Guns and the Constitution argues for a constitutional right to bear arms. Jeffrey Snyder's article A Nation of Cowards makes a strong ethical argument for gun ownership and the use of firearms. You might also want to check out the article on The False Promise of Gun Control for additional anti-gun control views. 

For a balanced, open view of gun control issues, check out these two papers on Guns and Violence: A Summary of the Field and Gun Control: A Realistic Assessment. A U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report answers the question, how often are Guns Used in Crime? See also the BJS report Guns and Crime: Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and Firearm Theft. A must read is FIREARMS FACT-SHEET .(1999) 
 

Should We Sue the Lawyers?  John R. Lott Jr. lambastes the greedy and cynical logic behind the lawsuits against gun manufacturers.  Intellectual Capital  How gun show  was shut down -  FBI turns off insta-check  system, halts business   "In what seemed like an arbitrary and capricious attack on U.S. commerce, the FBI, without warning, closed gun shows and the firearms business in general," said http://www.gunlaws.com Alan Korwin, noted gun law expert and an opponent of the FBI's background check system, who attended the Phoenix event. Korwin is the author of "Gun Laws of America," a reference almanac that lists every state and federal law pertaining to firearms in the country.  WorldNetDaily

 
COMMENTARY 
 

Worry about the freedom to own a gun -- even if you don't  This is a constitutional matter, not a matter of hardware or crime-fighting. All Americans, including those who don't own guns, should be concerned with guarding a right that has been recognized in America for more than two centuries. Some of us might not choose to exercise a right, such as speech or assembly, but nevertheless we should not want that right taken away.  Charlie Reese

 
The Second Amendment — Whose Right Is It Anyway? 
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." - The Second Amendment 

The gun-control debate begins and ends in this single sentence, with the ultimate question being: What does it mean? Because there is no single court case on which to base a definitive interpretation, the two sides of the issue must argue among themselves, and the general public, as to what it means. Where they begin to diverge is at the word "militia." 
Part One of Three by Erica D. Rowell 

House Loosens Gun-Sale Restrictions 
"Do it for the children," the President and other Democrats cried, but around midnight, the Republican-controlled House did it for law-abiding individuals -- narrowly voting to loosen restrictions on gun-show weapons sales. 
CNS 

A MINORITY VIEW 
An armed citizenry and liberty 
Walter E. Williams 

COMMENTARY 
Simple Solutions for Simple Minds 
Tom Walls criticizes those who would curtail liberty to try to  
prevent future killings. 
SpinTech 
 

Gun-Control Madness  It never seems to fail: A group of misguided children commit one of the most irrational and heinous acts of violence imaginable and then millions of people attempt to rationalize these acts. Blame is laid upon parents, gun owners, gun manufacturers, Hollywood, and even "dangerously violent computer games." Gun-control proponents believe that 5-day waiting periods and a couple thousand more gun laws will reduce crime (as if the more than 20,000 unenforced laws already on the books aren't enough). Better yet if every gun were removed from society, melted down, and used to construct Bill Clinton’s "American King Monument."   Lyman Bradford

THE SHAMING OF AMERICAN GUN 
OWNERS 

Claremont Institute's Director of Doctors For Responsible Gun Ownership, Timothy Wheeler, MD, explains that an unreasoning, lynch mob mentality is driving the recent rash of gun control laws. Be sure also to read the transcript from Dr. Wheeler's Live Chat on Town Hall.  Claremont Institute

A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR GUN CONTROL 

Claremont Institute's Senior Fellow Edward Erler, argues that as Americans we should direct our gun laws, not against armed, law-abiding citizens, but against those criminal elements who use guns as the instrument of their terror and violence.  Claremont Institute

WorldNetDaily 980608 semi_auto_assault 

Gun Control Bookmarks 

Women Against Gun Control 

ACLU Policy #47: Gun Control 

National Center for Policy Analysis - Myths about Gun Control