Last month, the Supreme Court ruled the District of Columbia law prohibiting handgun ownership unconstitutional. More importantly, the ruling takes the position that the Second Amendment applies to rights of individuals to own guns as opposed to only the rights of militia members. The majority opinion was written by the very conservative Antonin Scalia. If you think that this ruling may change things for a good long time, you are probably correct. Before jumping to a quick conclusion however, realize that this ruling took into account the need for regulation and licensing restrictions on the weapons. The opinion also stated that "… the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose." This stance leaves a great deal of room for debate though I applaud Justice Scalia for including the language.
The NRA Response and Public Housing
Not two days after the landmark judgment, the NRA filed suit in several other jurisdictions including San Francisco and Chicago challenging their laws banning handguns. In San Francisco, at issue is a ban on handguns in public housing. Here, the NRA challenges the constitutionality of the Housing Authority’s lease agreements which ban guns in public housing units. These agreements are said to be based on a 2007 law prohibiting guns on city property. The very mention of public housing will surely fuel the controversy. A quick search on ‘public housing and guns’ reveals that those who receive money for housing are more than twice as likely to be victims of gun violence.
One major question that is on everybody’s mind is what effect these laws actually have on gun related crime. It has been seen by all that banning guns does not solve the problems of gun violence. What are the other factors and how much influence to they have?
Drugs, Guns and Gangs
Use of drugs correlates strongly with gun violence as many studies point out. Here is a quote from an article in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery:
“Toxicology screening disclosed that substance use is associated strongly with gunshot wounds. Substance use, along with poverty, inadequate family support, and peer pressure are factors that influence injury risk.”
I would like to see a study that correlates, as neatly as possible,
gun related violence, the use of drugs, gang related activity, and the
legality of the guns used for said violence
Take for example 100 incidents of gun related violence, how many of these incidents are
a) drug related
b) gang related
c) use guns that have been obtained illegally
I’m not sure what this would prove but I think that it may steer the conversation in a slightly different and relevant direction. Some may find it silly but I’d also like to know how many perpetrators have played certain video games.
The Brady Bill and Gun Shows
This post would be incomplete if it did not at least mention the Brady Bill. According to statistics that I’ve seen, the largest drop off of gun related fatalities occurred directly after its passage. That said, there are many who dispute its effectiveness at reducing crime. The argument is that California, who’d had a waiting period on gun purchases since the 1960s, had a larger falloff in gun related crime than did the rest of the country when the Brady Bill took effect in 1994. Even so, a waiting period when purchasing of guns is an extremely effective tool. It cannot be disputed that hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of gun purchases were denied across the United States due to felony indictment or past felony convictions during the time when the bill was in affect.
And So…
I can only conclude that the recent decision of the Supreme Court was correct. I’m not sure I’d feel this way if Antonin Scalia had not so expertly phrased the opinion to include added elements of reason. Even as the door is now open to further legislation, it is comforting to see true integrity coming from the high courts. My feeling is that a fair portion of this further legislation should and will be related to an increase in the waiting period for gun purchases. Another topic that I haven't discussed here it the advent of online gun auctions. One site involved in doing just that is EBang but there are many others. The debate here is also likely to heat up.
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“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
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Related Links
Gallup Poll: Americans in Agreement With Supreme Court on Gun Rights
EBang: Your Portal to the World of Online Guns
NBC11: SF City Attorney Says NRA Lawsuit Has 'Glaring Legal Errors
Journal of Pediatric Surgery
GunCite: Gun Control – The Brady Bill
On The Issues - Every Political Leader on Every Issue
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