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Olukemi Fayemi

Senior Seminar

Does gun control reduce violent crime?

Gun control is one of the most controversial topics that exists in American politics today.

Citizens, lawmakers and gun lobbyists have been debating this issue throughout history, and

there has yet to be a conclusive answer. While some people believe that enforcing gun

regulations will help reduce violence rates, efforts by the National Rifle Association have

influenced members of Congress. Many people believe that if there is a strict ban on gun laws, it

will correlate with less gun violence. Some research studies have proven that this is not always

the case. Results from Douglas R. Murray’s research showed that stricter gun laws do not reduce

violent crime. Don B. Kates and Gary Mauser’s research garnered the same results indicated by

Murray’s research study. One research study has also proven that certain levels of gun control

may be effective in reducing violent crime. For example, research done by John R. Lott, Jr. and

David B. Mustard show that allowing citizens to carry concealed guns reduces violent crime.

It is evident that the Second Amendment is interpreted differently by each individual.

Gun advocates, such as members of the NRA believe that “the Second Amendment is the

foundation of freedom: if gun rights are lost, all other individual rights and freedoms will soon

follow.” (Melzer, 2009, p. 20) Members of the NRA say that regard the Second Amendment as

an individual right to own a firearm. This differs from gun control advocates who believe “the

Second Amendment guarantees a collective rather than an individual right.” (Kruschke, 1995, p.

4) Despite what each side says in the gun control debate, it is obvious that violent crime is an

issue in the United States with guns often involved.

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According to Durham (1996), handguns were a prominent weapon of choice in the 1990s.

As the rise of violent crime reached widespread proportions in the early 1990s, laws specifically

aimed at gun violence. The Gun control Act of 1968 included the primary federal gun

regulations, which included efforts to ban convicted criminals from buying guns, inhibit gun

traffic between states, and to prohibit the import of guns used for purposes other than hunting

and sport until 1993. Washington D.C. and New York are two states that have adopted stricter

laws regarding gun ownership. However, there still appears to be an expansive growth of

membership in the National Rifle & Pistol Association in New York City. Within a year

membership almost doubled – from 22,000 to 41,000. (Wood, 2014) The National Rifle

Association believes the increase was due to the “Safe Act” (Safe Ammunition and Firearms

Enforcement Act), which happens to be one of the strictest gun control laws in the country. The

law was passed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature in 2013 following the

Newtown, Conn., school shootings.

Some advocates of gun ownership argue that moderate or extreme regulations on gun

sales will be ineffective in reducing violent crime. Their argument consists of two statements:

“When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns” and “Guns don’t kill people- people kill

people.” (Cook, 1981, p. 65) Other advocates suggests that the “outlaws” will continue to do

whatever is necessary for them to obtain guns, regardless of the strict punishment that follows.

D’Alessio and Stolzenburg (2000) conducted a research study in which they analyzed four years

of county-level data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for South

Carolina. Their results showed that there is a strong positive relationship between illegal gun

availability and violent crime, gun crime, and juvenile gun crime. When the rate of stolen guns

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increased, the violent crime rate also raised. This result relates to a gun advocate’s argument that

an individual will take risks in achieving a gun at any means necessary.

According to the National Institute of Justice (2013), about 467,321 persons were victims

of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011. During that same year, data collected by the FBI

showed that firearms were used in 68 percent of murders, 41 percent of robbery offenses and 21

percent of aggravated assaults nationwide. In the United States, most homicides are committed

with firearms, particularly handguns. In 2012, a total of 8,855 murder victims were killed by

firearms. About 6,371 victims were killed by handguns while 322 of them were murdered by

rifles. The use of a shotgun accounted for 322 murders of victims.

In 2004, among state prison inmates who possessed a gun at the time of offense, less than

2% bought their firearm at a flea market or gun show and 40% obtained their firearm from an

illegal source. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014) This data shows us that despite various

different states passing of gun control laws, people are still obtaining firearms illegally. Some

individuals go to the extent of stealing firearms. According to Cook and Ludwig “while there are

250 million guns in private hands in the US, many of which are stored unlocked in order to be

readily available for use against criminal intruders, it is not surprising that a large number of

guns (over 500,000) are stolen each year.” (Cook, Ludwig, Venkatesh, & Braga, 2007, p. 591)

According to National Gun Victims Action Council “approximately 12,000 annual gun

murders and 66,000 non-fatal shootings are committed by people who have no legal right to a

gun.” (National Gun Victims Action Council, 2014) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms

and Explosives (ATFE) indicates three common ways guns move from legal distribution routes

to the criminal market: corrupt federally licensed gun dealers, straw purchasing, gun shows and

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private gun sales. Federally licensed gun dealers send more guns to the criminal market than any

other single source. Nearly 60% of the guns used in crime are traced back about 1.2% of corrupt

gun dealers. Crooked dealers commonly have high numbers of missing guns, in frequent cases

because they are selling guns “off the books” to private sellers and criminals.

The most popular way criminals get guns is straw purchasing. Straw purchasing accounts

for almost 50% of trafficking investigations (National Gun Victims Action Council, 2014). A

straw purchaser is an individual with a clean record who buys guns on behalf of someone legally

prohibited from possessing guns. Often times straw purchasers tend to be the friends, relatives,

spouses or girlfriends of prohibited purchasers. Criminal justice theory suggests that individuals

similar to straw buyers who have little criminal history, are more easily restrained by risks of

arrest and prosecution than are those with criminal histories. (National Institute of Justice, 2013)

The threat of punishment would work with people who have little criminal history due to

the fact that they fear the risk of punishment. As a result, they are more inclined to resist the

temptation to break the law. This concept is similar to social bond theory, coined by Travis

Hirschi. The theory states that “the bonds that people form to prosocial values, prosocial people,

and prosocial institutions.” (Pratt, Gau, & Franklin, 2011, p. 58) These bonds are what restrains

us when we are allured to participate in criminal or deviant acts. One of the bonds under this

theory is known as belief. Belief refers to “the degree to which one adheres to the values

associated with behaviors that conform to the law”. (Pratt, Gau, & Franklin, 2011, p. 59) This

means whatever beliefs or values a person holds strongly will make them less likely to engage in

criminal or deviant behavior. A person with a weaker conscience is more susceptible to engage

in criminal acts. This could be the reason why individuals with little criminal histories are easily

restrained by risks arrest and prosecution.

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Gun shows and private gun sales allow licensed or “private” sellers to lawfully sell or

transfer guns without conducting a criminal background check. It is known as the "gun show

loophole” due to the fact that some states do not require background checks for firearms

purchased at gun shows from private sellers. Federal law only requires licensed dealers to

administer checks. Online gun marketplace is another option individuals use to avoid

background checks (Rucker, 2013). A study by Third Way found that a large number of guns are

for sale online, and that many potential buyers were shopping online precisely to avoid

background checks. Armslist.com is a popular classified site similar to Craigslist.org that

expedites private sales of guns and ammunition based on location. In terms of crime guns

exports, Virginia had the seventh highest rate in 2009 with nearly 32.4 guns exported per

100,000 inhabitants. (Trace The Guns, 2010). Virginia is a net exporter of crime guns with about

2557 guns exported in 2009. An estimate of 14.1 national average of guns were exported per

100,000 inhabitants during that same year.

Between the years of 1993 to 2011, data has shown that males, blacks, and persons ages

18 to 24 had the highest rates of firearm homicide. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014) This

statistic shows that it is not uncommon for black males to be the victims or perpetrators of gun

violence. Cook et al., (2007) conducted a research study in which they provided economic

analysis of underground gun markets. They interviewed gang members, gun dealers, professional

thieves, prostitutes, police, public school security guards and teenagers in the city of Chicago.

They found that many respondents of the interviews on the South Side of Chicago reported that

they joined or stay in the gang to preserve access to guns.

Differential association theory could explain the reason these gang members feel they

need to be in a gang to continue having access to a firearm. Edwin Sutherland who introduced

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the theory in 1939, explained that differential association theory refers to the idea that people

learn the necessary techniques, and motives of deviant behavior from people with whom they

associate with (Law Teacher, 2014). In a gang environment, current gang members re-socialize

new members to norms that disagree with those of the society. The gang teaches new members

that stealing, and carrying a gun are behaviors deemed acceptable whereas they were not prior to

joining the gang. As a result, younger members of a gang learn to become criminals and achieve

social status from their fellow members. This is evident in the statement made by Cook et al.,

that “'Shorties', young rank-and-file members who often want guns for social status, are typically

authorized to access guns during gang wars (though even then many shorties are only allowed to

carry knives).” (2007, p. 601)

Felson and Pare’s research on regional and race differences in weapon carrying show

some interesting results in terms of which groups are more likely to possess a firearm. Using the

National Violence against Women (and Men) Survey, data showed that “Southern and Western

whites are much more likely than Northern whites to carry guns for self-protection, controlling

for their risk of victimization.” (Felson & Pare, 2010, p. 1357) The difference between the

Northern and Southern homicide rates is often associated with a Southern subculture of violence

or honor culture. In addition to this fact, blacks have higher rates of homicide and other violent

crime than whites regardless of the region. These high rates of violence in the black community

have been ascribed to a self-help culture that developed due to lack of access to the legal system.

Some research actually shows that gun control laws have no substantial effect on rates of

violence. In Murray’s research analysis he found that gun regulation laws have no significant

impact on rates of violent crime beyond what can be attributed to background social conditions.

(Murray, 1975) He concluded that this lack of influence may be due to the laws not effectively

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controlling access to guns. Different states have varying penalties for firearm violations. Since

the mass shooting of Sandy Hook Elementary about eight states have strengthened their firearm

laws (Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2014). California, Washington, New York,

Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Connecticut are some states that have

made significant changes to firearm regulations. However, four states enacted laws that have

significantly weakened gun regulation. Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Alabama are states that

have weakened state gun laws.

International comparisons show differences in the amount gun homicides compared to

the United States. About 0.03 percent of gun homicides per 100,000 people each year occur in

Japan. Approximately 0.10 percent of gun related homicide occur in England and Wales. France

has an estimated 0.28 percent of gun homicides. For example, Japan generally has a lower crime

rate than the United States. The reason for this is stated by sociologists Schaeffer and Lamm.

They explained that “No one may keep a handgun at home, not even police officers. While

shotguns and hunting rifles are allowed, there are strict restrictions on their ownership and use. A

person caught with a loaded gun faces a 15-year prison term, so many street criminals do not

carry guns.” (Tonso, 2004, p. 70)

In Japan, gun ownership is treated as a privilege rather than an individual right

(Talmadge, 2013). If a person wants to purchase a gun they must give a reason why they should

be allowed to do so. In order to be eligible for gun ownership, applicants are required to go to

their local police station and disclose their reason for wanting a firearm. The individual must go

through a lecture and a written test. After these requirements are fulfilled, the applicant must go

to range training before undergoing a background check. A doctor must sign a form saying the

applicant has not been institutionalized for any mental illnesses, as well as drug or alcohol

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addictions. It is mandatory for gun owners to reveal to the police where in their home the firearm

will be stored. It is legal to transport a gun in the trunk of a car to get to one of the shooting

ranges, but if the driver abandons the vehicle and gets caught, it is a violation.

In 2012, the United States had the 26th-highest rate of homicide using firearms in the

world. The United States has 88 guns per 100 people and 10 gun-related deaths per 100,000

people. (Lupkin, 2013) Yemen, has the second highest gun ownership country in the world at

54.8 (Chalabi, 2013). Switzerland, has the third largest gun ownership at 45.7 and Finland

comes fourth at a rate of 45.3. Honduras has approximately 68.43 homicides by firearm per

100,000 people, even though it only has 6.2 firearms per 100 people. (Khazan, 2012) Despite this

high rate of homicide, America experiences more gun violence than countries in Europe, and

Canada, India and Australia. Japan has only .6 guns per 100 people and .06 gun-related deaths

per 100,000 people.

Australia legislated more stringent gun laws and saw a drop in school shootings to 0.1

gun murders per 100,000 people. (McConville & Lawless, 2012) The rate was less than half the

rate of a decade earlier. The 1996 reforms made all gun sales subject to screening (universal

background checks), which means individuals cannot buy a gun over the internet or any private

locations. (Peters, 2013) In the four years from 1998 when handguns were banned, gun crime

continued to increase in Britain. Eventually gun crime in Britain began to decrease in 2002 since

its previous rise in the 1990s. English and Welsh police documented 5,911 firearms offences in

2011/12, which was a decrease of 42 percent compared with nine years earlier, according to the

Office for National Statistics. (The Commentator, 2013)

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Louisiana reported

18.8 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 residents, which is the most of any state. The state had

an estimate of 9.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2011 (Frohlich, 2014). Louisiana happens

to be politically conservative. One of the reasons this state has a high rate of firearm-related

death is due to the fact that residents tend to be comfortable with carrying and owning guns.

Louisiana recognizes an open carry law since at least the mid-19th century (Louisiana Open

Carry Awareness League, 2014). Certain locations and people are restricted by law to carry a

firearm openly under this law. For example, individuals may not openly carry a gun in school

zones (exceptions include personal vehicles, or being on private property), government (state and

local) buildings, any place that sells alcohol for consumption on the premises, and any private

property. In Louisiana the legal age to openly carry a firearm is 17, but federal law restricts the

age to 18.

The state of Texas happens to have some of the nation's most tolerant gun laws. It is one

of the states that also contains an open carry law. The state authorizes concealed handguns to be

legally carried with a CHL issued by Texas or by a state which Texas recognizes. (Texas Law

Shield, 2014). If an individual has a permit and is in possession of a concealed handgun, they

must present their concealed weapons license along with a valid proof of identification upon the

demand of a police officer. People have a right to keep a gun in their locked motor vehicle while

on their employers’ parking areas. In 2011, the state had a total of 1,089 murders. (Federal

Bureau of Investigation, 2011) About 699 of those murders are firearm related. Handguns were

used in 497 of the murders, causing it to be the most common firearm used.

Illinois was the last state in the union to legislate a concealed carry law in July of 2013.

Since January 2014, the state began accepting applications for permits. After this law was

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enacted, the city’s first quarter murder rate was the lowest since 1958 (Miller, 2014). The first

three months of the year saw six fewer murders than in 2013. In addition there was a nine

percent drop and 55 fewer murders than 2012. There were 90 fewer shootings and 119 fewer

shooting victims, which translates to a 26 and 29 percent drop in total. There were approximately

222 fewer shootings and 292 fewer shooting victims. Taken as a whole, crime was down 25

percent from last year. Chicago police recovered 1,300 illegal firearms in the first three months

of 2014.

A study by the Crime Prevention Research Center found that 11.1 million Americans

have permits to carry concealed weapons (Riddell, 2014). As a result there was a 147 percent

increase from 4.5 million seven years ago. At the same time, homicide and other violent crime

rates have dropped by 22 percent. Gun crime experts John Lott, Jr. and David Mustard used

cross-sectional time-series data for U.S. counties from 1977 to 1992. They found that allowing

citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes. Their statement “If the rest of country

had adopted right-to-carry concealed handgun provisions in 1992, at least 1,570 murders and

over 4,177 rapes would have been avoided” meant that allowing people to carry concealed guns

would cause less crime. (Lott & Mustard, 1996, p. 31) There is a possibility that this may be true

however, the rate of gun homicide is exceedingly high every year in a nation of over 300 million.

(Miller, 2014)

The state of New York is known to have strict firearm laws. In different states except

New York City, no permit is required for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun (National Rifle

Association- Institute for Legislative Action, 2014). A license is required to carry or possess a

pistol or revolver in order to purchase a handgun. An individual applying for a license to carry

outside the home must be required to show, in addition to the requirement for possession that

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“proper cause” exists before they may receive a carry license. Regardless of the fact that New

York has such strict laws regarding firearms, the rate of gun-related homicide still rises.

According to NYPD statistics, 410 people have been shot across the city between January 1 and

May 18 in the year 2014, an increase of 7% from the 382 shot during the same period last year.

(Musumeci & Parascandola, 2014)

Don B. Kates and Gary Mauser (2007) published their research paper entitled “Would

Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?” in Harvard’s Journal of Public Law and Policy.

The study looked at the correlation between gun laws and death rates. Kates and Mauser

examined and compared data from the U.S. and portions of Europe to reveal that stricter laws

does not necessarily mean there will be less crime. For example, the international data they

collected showed that neighboring countries of Belarus, Luxemburg, and Russia all experienced

a drop in murder rates when they were permitted gun ownership (Kates & Mauser, 2007, p. 664).

In the late 1990s, when Belarus had a banned handgun policy they had a murder rate 10.40 per

100,000 persons. When its neighboring country Poland allowed handgun ownership they had

1.98 murder rate per 100,000 persons.

While the research conducted by Kates and Mauser may show a relationship between

lower firearm-related incidents and less rigid laws, Boston has experienced a gun crisis in 2013.

Following the Boston Marathon bombings, there was an increase in gun-related homicides.

There were approximately over 115 shootings nearly five months after the marathon (Bidgood,

2013). The total number of shootings increased to 185 in 2013. More stringent rules on guns in

Massachusetts has ostensibly led to fewer deaths (Annear, 2013). In 2012, the gun death rate in

Massachusetts was the second lowest in the nation (Nolan, 2012).

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In 2013, a Boston University study examined the correlation of gun ownership to the rate

of gun-related deaths. The study looked at 50 states over the past 30 years and the results

concluded that, as the number of guns increase the higher the homicide rates are. (Burbank,

2013) The research study showed that New Hampshire had the lowest firearm-homicide rate at .9

percent. Louisiana was listed as the highest, with a rate of almost 11 percent. Massachusetts

came in around 1.6 percent. The Gun Owners’ Action League spokesman Mike Sweeney

responded to the Boston University study saying “the study did not determine causation.’ We

understand the problem of violence to be a “people problem” and attempts to deflect blame to

firearms a costly distraction from addressing those actual causal influences to violence.”

(Burbank, 2013)

In 2013, The Washington Times did a review of recent state laws of which the results

showed no distinct connection between stricter laws and lower gun-crime rates in the states

(Sherfinski, 2013). The states that ranked high in terms of making records available to the

National Instant Criminal Background Check System tended to have tighter gun laws. Their gun-

crime rates varied extensively. It was the same for states that ranked insufficiently on publication

of records and were presumed to have much less strict gun-possession laws. New York was

ranked fourth among the states in favor of gun laws by the Brady Campaign to End Gun

Violence. It was also in the top 10 in firearm homicide rates 2011. The state was ranked as the 4th

state with the highest firearm-related murders at about 445 deaths (Politics365, 2012).

The research done by various individuals seem to show mixed results. Some research

prove that stringent gun laws do not always reduce gun violence, while others show opposite

results. The reason why it is difficult to come to a definite conclusion may be attributed to the

fact that the United States has a strong gun culture. Guns have shaped American culture due to

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the fact that they were widespread on the frontier. The U.S. gun law begins with the second

amendment's confirmation of the "right of the people to keep and bear arms". (Fisher, 2012) This

differs from Japan, whose law starts with the 1958 act stating that "No person shall possess a

firearm or firearms or a sword or swords." Compared to other countries, the United States is

heavily shaped by a gun culture rather than a gun control culture.

Lott and Mustard’s research appears the only one which produced positive results. Their

conclusion was similar to the results found by the Crime Prevention Research Center, that

allowing citizens to carry concealed guns deters violent crime. There is a possibility that this

suggestion may be plausible. Some states such as Illinois have shown that permitting a concealed

carry law has reduced the rate of firearm-related crime. Texas allows concealed carry permits to

citizens, and they are 14 times less likely to commit a crime (Gun Facts, 2014). According to the

Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, citizens with concealed carry

permits are also five times less likely to commit a violent crime.

Other research studies done by Murray, Kates and Mauser have shown that enforcing

stricter gun laws does not correlate to less crime. In states with strict gun laws such as New

York, crime rates do not seem to be decreasing. Recently, Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray

gave a speech about the urgency for more gun control (Anderson, 2014). Washington DC

happens to be one of the few states with strict gun laws. By suggesting that there should be more

gun control, he has made it evident that tough gun laws does not reduce violent crime. His

statement, “Why is it that these tragic occurrences never seem to move us any closer to ensure

that guns don’t get in the hands of criminals or people who are mentally unstable?” indicate that

gun laws do not keep firearms out of the possession of criminals.

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Deciding on the level of gun control the United States should implement is not an easy

task. Preventing gun violence is challenging and is not something that can be resolved

instantaneously. In order to decrease gun violence, we must take into serious account how guns

get into a criminal’s hands. The common ways most criminals acquire their firearms is by buying

it at a gun show or online, buying it from a private seller, or stealing it. One way to stop this is by

establishing universal background checks. Statistics have shown that when background checks

are required, they are extremely effective at keeping guns out of the hands of prohibited

individuals. (Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2013) After the federal background check

requirement was approved in 1994, over two million restricted persons have been denied a

firearm transfer or permit. In 2010, approximately 117,000 gun transfers were denied using the

federal background check system.

Another option could be a stricter assault weapons ban (Klein, 2012). In addition to this,

there should be a law banning powerful bullets meant to destroy one’s body. By enacting these

options as a law, it may be able to reduce violent street crime. Susan Ginsberg, coordinator for

firearms during the Clinton administration suggests an addition of military-grade weapons to the

foundation placed by the National Firearms Act of 1934. The act has been exceptionally

successful in removing machine guns off the streets.

Requiring mandatory training and licensing as well a safe-and secure-gun storage would

be beneficial to increase gun control. This approach is similar to Japan’s gun policy, which

seems to have been proven to be effective in reducing gun violence. According to the Prevention

Institute, mandatory training should not be a one-time occurrence (Prevention Institute, 2014).

Gun owners should be required to routinely freshen their training and renew their permits, with

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strict requirements similar to laws governing renewal of a driver's license. Implementing this

policy into law may be advantageous in reducing violent crime.

Gun control continues to be a complex and commonly disputed topic in American

politics. Although various research has been executed, there still has been no conclusive answer

on how to effectively decrease the rate of violent crime. Some people believe that gun control is

not the answer to lowering the rate of gun-related crime. Others think that carrying out a certain

degree of gun control can be conducive in the reduction of violent crime. More research needs to

be done regarding this issue, with more suggestions for improvement of gun control laws. By

discussing new proposals for gun control, the government may be able to see what policies

would be useful in terms of diminishing violent crime in the United States.