NCJ Number
100242
Date Published
1983
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This essay compares the effectiveness and enforceability of gun control laws with drug laws and considers possible Federal gun control laws as well as other means of reducing the number of injuries and deaths caused by guns.
Abstract
The difficulty of enforcing drug and gun laws is attributed to the large number of people apparently undeterred by the law who continue to commit the proscribed behavior out of personal belief or need. Such large-scale violations of the law escalate law enforcement costs or force police to a policy of selective enforcement. The likely effects of gun control laws on gun-related deaths and injuries is compared to the cost of attempting to enforce the laws. Options for Federal gun control laws are reviewed, including a law whose proscriptions vary according to a jurisdiction's characteristics and one that prevents gun trafficking in one jurisdiction from undermining more stringent gun regulations in another jurisdiction. 96 footnotes.