GunControl

DerikReinke
Advisor:MindiHarman
17April2015

Guncontrolisdefinedasgovernmentregulationsonthesaleandownershipof
firearms.Meaninglawshavebeensettobringfirearmcrimeratedown.Guncontrol
canrangeanywherefromminimaltoextremerulesdefiningownershipandusageof
firearms.Guncontrolhasdifferentlawsandregulationsineverystate.Therearetwo
sidestoguncontrol:forandagainst.The(NationalRifleAssociation)NRAarefor
againstguncontrol.Guncontrolactivistsarepeoplewhomostlikelywerevictimsor
somehowrelatedtogunviolence

.
TheSecondAmendmentwasadoptedonDecember15,1791,aspartofthefirst
tenamendments.TheSecondAmendmentprotectstherighttokeepandbeararms.
Lookingatthehistoryofguncontrolandthesecondamendment,itseemssincethe
20thcenturytherehasbeenalotofdebateoverwhethertheSecondAmendment
protectedanindividualrightoracollectiveright.Thedebatecenteredonwhetherthe
prefatoryclause(Awellregulatedmilitiabeingnecessarytothesecurityofafree
State)declaredtheamendmentsonlypurposeorjustannouncedapurposeto
introducetheoperativeclause(therightofthePeopletokeepandbeararmsshallnot
beinfringed).

TheNationalRifleAssociationwasfoundedin1871byamanwhovowedto
promoteriflepracticeandimprovemarksmanship.IntheCivilWargeneralAmbrose
BurnsiderealizedtoomanyUnionsoldierscouldntshootstraightandneededtraining,
thereforecreatedtheNRA.TheNationalRifleAssociationofAmericaisanAmerican
nonprofitorganizationwhosejobisprotectinganddefendingtheConstitutionofthe

UnitedStates,especiallytherighttokeepandbeararms.TheNRAformeditsDivision
toupdatememberswithfactsandanalysisofupcomingbillsaftertheNationalFirearms
Actof1934(NFA)becamethefirstfederalguncontrollawpassedintheUnitedStates.
TheNRAsupportedtheNFAalongwiththeGunControlActof1968(GCA),which
togethercreatedasystemtolicensegundealersandestablishedrestrictionson
particularcategoriesandclassesoffirearms.Untilthemiddle1970s,theNRAfocused
onsportsmen,huntersandtargetshooters,anddownplayedguncontrolissues.The
passingofGCAshowedagrowingnumberofNRAgunrightsactivists.In1975,it
begantofocusmoreonpolitics.
Weaponpermitsareeasilyobtainedifyouhaveacleanrecord.Togeta
concealedweaponspermityouhavetotakeaclassonfirearmsafetyandpaya
processingfee(about$50dependingonthestate)andmayberenewalfees.Licensees
don'trequireyoutobeproficientwithahandgun,alltheyexpectfromyouistobeready
toprotectyourself.Ifapersonwithahandgunpermitfromanotherstatedecidesto
becomearesidentofColorado,thatpersonhastogetaColoradohandgunpermit
withinsixmonthsofmovingtoColorado.Allfiftystateshavepassedlawsallowing
qualifiedpeopletocarrycertainconcealedfirearms.
Instatesthatdistributemedicalmarijuana,youcannotpurchaseafirearmifyou
haveamedicalmarijuanalicense.Ifyouhavepurchasedaweaponbeforeyouwere
prescribedalicenseyouareabletokeepthisweapon,butarenotabletogeta
concealedweaponspermitandmustonlyusethisweaponsober.


ByColoradoStateStatute,theuseofillegaldrugsisadisqualifierfor
issuanceofaconcealedhandgunpermit.Whilethelimitedpossessionand
conditionaluseofmarijuanaisnolongeraviolationofColoradoStatute,it
isstillaviolationofUnitedStatesCode.Ifyouuse,possess,cultivateor
distributemarijuana,wecannotissueyouaconcealedhandgunpermit.If
youprovidefalseinformationonyourpermitapplicationregardingillegal
druguseoranyotherrequestedinformation,youcanbechargedwith
perjurypursuanttoCRS188503.
(
http://www.larimersheriff.org/resource/concealedhandgunpermit
).
An
Unrestricted
jurisdictioniswhereapermitisnotrequiredtocarryaconcealed
handgun(alsocalled

Constitutionalcarry).A
NoIssue
jurisdictionisonethatdoesnot
allowanyprivatecitizentocarryaconcealedhandguninpublic.A
MayIssue
jurisdiction
isonethatrequiresapermittocarryaconcealedhandgun.AShallIssuejurisdictionis
onethatrequiresalicensetocarryaconcealedhandgun.Unlessthestatehasa
compellingreason(likeafelonyrecord).Most
MayIssue
jurisdictions,andsome
ShallIssue
jurisdictionsallowauthoritiestoimposelimitationson(carryingconcealed
weapons)CCWpermits,suchasthetypeandcaliberofhandgunsthatmaybecarried
(Massachusetts,NewMexico),restrictionsonplaceswherethepermitisvalid(New
york,

Rhodeisland,

Illinois),limitationsonmagazinesize(Colorado,

Connecticut,
Massachusetts,NewYork),orlimitationsonthenumberoffirearmsthatmaybecarried
concealedbyapermitholderatanygiventime.

Injustthefirstfivemonthsof2013,16statespassed33lawsrelaxing
concealedcarryrestrictionsmakinggunspermissibleinmorepublicplacesandsealing
offpermitrecords.InWestVirginiaconcealedcarrypermitholdersdonotneedfederal
backgroundcheckswhenpurchasingfirearms,whichisriskyanddangerous.Utah
lawmakers'wanttoeliminatetherequirementforapermitentirely(Constitutionalcarry).
(Residentsinconstitutionalcarryjurisdictionsmayneedtogetapermitiftheywantto
crossstatelineswithaweapon,butthat'susuallyaformality.)Iwasclueless,hung
over,andtotallyworthlesswithafirearm.Fourhourslater,Iwasofficiallyqualifiedto
packheatsaidbyamannamedTimMurphyafterreceivinghisweaponconcealation
permitinUtahOctober,2013.CarrickCook,aspokesmanfortheArizonaDepart
ment
ofPublicSafety,wasaskedwhatittooktocarryaconcealedweaponinArizonaandhis
responsewas"Prettymuchnothing."
Thefollowingstatesprohibitpublicaccesstogunpermitrecords,andapplication
data:Alaska,Arizona,Connecticut,Delaware,DistrictofColumbia,Florida,Georgia,
Hawaii,Idaho,Illinois,Indiana,Kentucky,Louisiana,Maryland,Massachusetts,
Minnesota,Missouri,Nebraska,NewJersey,NewMexico,NorthDakota,Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania,SouthCarolina,SouthDakota,Utah,Washington,andWisconsin.
VermontandWyomingdonotrequirepeopletobelicensedtoeitherownahandgunor
tocarryoneconcealed,andhavenoneedtomaintaingunpermitrecords.Anyother
statenotlistedgivespublicaccesstogunpermitrecords.
Gunrightsactivistssayissuingmoreconcealedcarrypermitsdrivesdowncrime
andprotectsevennongunowners.Butclaimaboutmillionsofannual"defensivegun

uses"arenotbackedupbyreliabledata.Whatdatathereisindicatethatenforcementis
marredbyracialdisparity(crimecausedbyracerelatedreason).Awhitepersonwho
shootsablackpersonis11timesmorelikelytohavethehomicideclassifiedas
justifiablethaninthereversesituation,accordingtoananalysisbytheUrbanInstitute.
(
MotherJones
ongoinginvestigationofpublicmassshootingsshowsthat5ofthe23
shootingsthatoccurredsince2010werecarriedoutbykillersusinglegallyconcealed
handguns).
Datafromthefederalgovernment'sNationalCrimeSurveywhichshowthatifa
robberyvictimdoesnotdefendhimself/herself,therobberywillsucceed88percentof
thetime,andthevictimwillbeinjured25percentofthetime.Ifthevictimresistswitha
gun,therobbery"success"ratefallsto30percent,andthevictiminjuryratefallsto17
percent.Nootherresponsetoarobberyproducessuchalowrateofvictiminjuryand
robberysuccess.Thecensorshipstudiesignoretherestoftheevidenceaboutthe
defensivevalueofguns.UniversityofChicagoProfessorJohnLott'sresearchfindsthat
enactmentofconcealedhandgunlawsresultsinviolentcrimeratedropsofsixtoeight
percent.Theyignoredatafromthe31stateswithconcealedcarrylawswhichshowthat
concealedcarrypermitholdersvirtuallynevermisusetheirguns.Thedatareinforcethe
factthatlawfulgunownersarenotthecauseofillegalgunviolence.
TheCentertoPreventHandgunViolence(CPHV)iseducationalandisfor
HandgunControl.SarahBradyistheleaderofthegroup.TheCPHVisoneofthe
groupswhichbelongtothe"HELP"networkHandgunEpidemicLoweringPlan.The
goaloftheHELPnetworkisto"worktowardchangingsociety'sattitudetowardgunsso

thatitbecomessociallyunacceptableforprivatecitizenstohaveguns."Mrs.Brady's
organizationisdeeplyopposedtotheuseofgunsforselfdefense.SowhenBeretta
releasedanadthatshowsahandgunonanightstandnexttoapictureofamothera
twochildrenwiththeheadlinetiptheoddsinyourfavor,thisupsettheCPHV.The
antigungroupswanttomandatebylawthatifyouhavechildreninthehome,thenyou
cannoteverhavethegunreadyforuseinanemergency.
Whileonly9stateshadshallissuelawsin1980,today41dowhichisgreatfor
the$12billiongunmanufacturingbusiness.Gunmakershavetakentoadvertising
directlytopermitholders.KahrArmsbragsthat"Nothingfitsbetterundercover"thanits
PM9handgun.AnadforNorthAmericanArms'minirevolverboaststhat"NOgunis
easiertocarryorconceal."
About50%ofsuicidesintheU.S.arecommittedwithagun.Sixoutofeveryten
deathsin2010werecommittedwithagunandjustoverhalfofallsuicides,accordingto
the
CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention
(CDC).SincetheCDCbegan
publishingdata,gunsuicideshaveoutnumberedgunhomicides.Gunhomicideshave
gonedownrecentyears,suicideshavebecomeagreatershareofallfirearmdeaths:
the61%sharein2010wasthehighestonrecord.Therewere19,392suicidesby
firearmthatyearcomparedto11,078homicidesbygun(35%ofallfirearmdeaths).

FirearmsuicidesintheUSfrom2000to2009.
2000 16,566 2001 16,869

2002 17,108 2003 16,907 2004 16,750

2005 17,002 2006 16,883

2007 17,352 2008 18,223 2009 18,735

Asyoucanseethenumbersarerising,whetherapopulationgrownorarising
depressionthesenumbersarenotokay.
Statelawrequireseverymanandwomanseekingtopurchaseaguntopassa
backgroundcheck.UndertheNationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem
(NICS),adealercansellafirearmtoabuyerassoonasheorshepassesa
backgroundcheck.IftheFBIisntabletocompleteabackgroundcheckwithinthree
businessdays,thedealermaycompletethetransfer.Meaningthedealercanlegally
sellthegunwithoutabackgroundcheck(after72hoursofpurchasedemand).Each
year,over3,000peoplegetfirearmsthroughthisprovision.Theaveragetimeittakes
fortheFBItodeterminethatthesepeopleareineligibletoreceivefirearmsis25days.
TheFBIhasrecommendedextendingthemaximumtimetoallowmoreresearchtimeto
completebackgroundchecksandtoreducethenumberofprohibitedpurchaserswho
areabletopurchasefirearms.Federallawdoesnotrequireprivatesellerstoperform
backgroundchecksongunpurchasers.Peoplepurchasingfirearmsfromprivatesellers
maytakeimmediatepossessionoftheirweapons.
Concealedweaponpermits,aftersomeresearch,isworrisome.Weaponshave
beenapartofAmericasincetheinnovation.Notonlycanfirearmsbeusedtohuntfor
thesportorfood,butcanalsobeusedjustforpracticeandisabighobbyformost
people.Selfdefenseiswhereguncontrol,permits,licenses,etccangetabit

dangerous.Weaponsandthepermitstoconcealthemseemtobegettingmore
accessibleeveryday.
Disapprovalisallthatwillbegivenfrommyselfinstateswhichrequireno
backgroundchecks.Enoughexplanationcannotbeexpressedenoughhere.Further
researchshouldbedoneonthesebackgroundcheckstheyshouldhavealonger
defaultwaitingperiod.Iproposethesebackgroundcheckstakeaminimumof14days
beforethedealercanselltheweapontoabuyer.Thusloweringtheamountofdefault
salesandhopefullycrime.Lawsneedtobesetthatyoumaynotpurchaseafirearmif
theyhaveahistoryofdepression,orhaveamentalillness,prescriptionof
antidepressantsandorotherstrongmedications,historyofalcoholism,someonethatis
deemedcrazy,orwithaconditionsuchasschizophrenia.Thereasonbeingtheyarenot
medicallyfitwiththeresponsibilityofsuchcaliber.
Badthingscannotbeavoidedbypeople,especiallyhomicide.Inotherwords,
peoplearesohottemperedthattheycannotbeexpectedtorefrainfromtryingtokill
somebody.Theonlywaytomakethingssafeistokeepthemfromhavinganykindof
gunaround,evenalockedone.Thisisnottheexamplethatpeoplelikemyselfwantto
send.Thisexampleisexactlywhyweneedsomerestrictiononpurchasesoffirearms.
Tobuyahandgun,youmustbe21oroverforobviousreasons.Attheageof18you
arelegallyanadultandthereforeareabletobuyandownarifleorshotgunandhave
thechoiceofjoiningthemilitarywhereyouaresurroundedbyfirearms.Regardlessyou
arestillateenagerandinmostopinionsyouarenotyetanadultuntiltheageof21.A
painfulbutsimplesolutionthatmayhelplowercasesofshootingsaretomakeitillegal

foranyoneundertheageof21topurchaseafirearmincludingshotgunsandrifles.
Anyoneundertheageof21mayuseafirearmsaslongastheyareinthesupervision
ofsomeoneovertheageof21atafiringrange.Huntinginthiscaseisoptional,butnot
recommended.Meaningifyouknowwhatyouredoingthereshouldbesomekindof
testthatgradeswhetherornotyouareproficientusingafirearminsuchcondition.If
havingtroubleonthistestaretesteveryseasonwouldbefair.Archeryandcrossbow
inthiscasewouldnotneedsuchatestforobviousreasons.
Militarywouldbeagreatdebatewithasubjectlikethis.Asweallknowyoucan
jointhemilitaryattheageof18andwouldbeusingafirearmonalmostadailybasis.
Anothertestthatwouldbesimilartothefirearmtestforhuntingwouldbeissuedthat
wouldbemuchhardertocomplete.Anotonlymentalbutphysicaltestwouldbe
imminentforeithertests.
Ifyouhaveafamilywithchildrenundertheageof17youmusthaveagunsafe
orlockatalltimesthefirearmisnotinuse.Alawthatstatesasmuchshouldbeset.
Mostdebateoverthislawwouldbeintrusion,burglary,murder,etcinaperson'sown
home.Agunlockwhichiseasierandmoreaccessiblegunusewisethanasafeis
whatwouldhopefullytakedownmostofthisdebate.Thereasontheage17wouldbe
acceptableistheyareorshouldbetheagetoknowthepowerofafirearmandwhy
youshouldntbeplayingwithone.
Onelastlawthatcouldusesomemoretensionisthehighcompacitymagazine
laws.Hereincoloradoyouareonlyabletocarry10bulletsinasinglemagazine.Ten
bulletsismorethananyoneneedsinasingleclipandtheyeveryoneknowsit.The

averagepersoncankillgameoranelkforinstancewithasinglebullet.Anaverageelk
weighs700pounds.Ifonebulletcantakedowna700poundanimalthenonebulletcan
seriouslyharmandorkillyoueasily.Withconcealedcarrypermitsthereshouldbea
maximumamountofammoyoucanbuyeachweekormonthandshouldvary
dependingonyourrecord.Forinstanceifyouhavemanslaughteronyourecordyou
couldonlybuy50bulletsinamonthcomparedtosomeonewithacleanrecordthathas
accessto130bulletsinamonth.
Researchingthistopicwasgoodforme.Theamountoffactsoveropinionswas
neverending.Thestancewasagainstguncontrolbutastimeandresearchwentbyso
didsomeofthebeliefsforgunrights.Disappointmentwillalwaysbeafaintemotion
whenthinkingaboutfirearmsandhowapersonisusingonerightnowasyouread.Are
theyprovidingfortheirfamily?Protectingtheirland?Aretheywritingtheirlastnotewith
sweatypalms?Thereisonlyonemessagefromthispassage.Firearmsshouldnever
beusedasaweaponbutasatoolforsafetyandsurvival.Thatisall.

WorksCited

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/gunsanddollars/backgroundcheckwhatit
reallytakesbuygun
http://smartgunlaws.org/waitingperiodspolicysummary/

http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/cjis/nics/generalinformation/factsheet
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment
http://smartgunlaws.org/concealedweaponspermittingpolicysummary/
Iwasclueless,hungover,andtotallyworthlesswithafirearm.Fourhourslater,Iwas
officiallyqualifiedtopackheat
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/concealedcarrypermitgunsutah
https://www.nrahq.org/history.asp
https://home.nra.org/history/list/historyfeature
https://gunowners.org/protect.htm
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/unitedstates
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118286/factsaboutguncontrolanduniversalbackg
roundchecks
http://www.larimersheriff.org/resource/concealedhandgunpermi
t
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00046149.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6018a1.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6408a1.htm
http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry_permit_information.html
http://dnr.wi.gov/emergency/concealedcarry.html
http://jurist.org/feature/featured/concealedandopencarryunderthesecondamendme
nt/detail.php
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/gunsandsuicide/