NCJ Number
89777
Date Published
1982
Length
267 pages
Annotation
This report provides a general review of gun regulation as a Federal issue and covers existing Federal and State gun control laws, a comparative analysis of major bills now pending before the Congress, recent research on the crime-gun relationship, and public opinion on gun regulation.
Abstract
A digest is presented of the major provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968 and major congressional action on gun control since 1968 is reviewed. National commission and committee recommendations relating to firearm regulation are presented for the period 1967-81. The Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime's recommendations are also discussed, followed by a comparative analysis of major provisions of the Kennedy-Rodino bill and the McClure-Volkmer bill of the 97th Congress. The studies on gun control and crime reviewed cover (1) conceptual, constitutional, enforcement, and experiential problems involved in mandatory sentencing for the unlicensed carrying/possession of handguns; (2) the effect of gun availability on violent crime patterns; (3) the assumptions of gun control; (4) the Bartley-Fox gun law's short-term impact on crime in Boston; and (5) excerpts from the study, 'Weapons, Crime, and Violence in America.' Select State firearm control laws are then surveyed. The concluding chapter reviews the results of a number of public opinion surveys on gun control. Chapter footnotes are provided.