NCJ Number
70196
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Police administrators from 89 police departments in Missouri responded to 26 questions regarding the Volkmer-McClure bills to dilute Federal control over firearms and the Kennedy-Rodino bills to strengthen firearms controls.
Abstract
The questions related to 11 of the Volkmer-McClure proposals and 15 aspects of the Kennedy-Rodino proposals. Considering the total number of 'yes' responses as to whether the police would support a specific policy regarding the regulation of firearms, 77 percent of the issues advocated by the Kennedy-Rodino bills were favorably supported by the police. Only 48 percent of the Volkmer-McClure proposals received police support. These percentages were calculated by totaling the number of 'yes' responses to the questions and dividing this figure by the total number of possible 'yes' responses to those questions. Overall, it appeared that police supported more control and regulations on firearms rather than any effort toward deregulation. Specific aspects of the bills treated in the questions are discussed together with an indication of the number of police departments supporting each aspect. Professinal advisory board members for the Missouri Committee for Firearms Safety are identified.