This paper presents a historical analysis of gun-control legislation and its effectiveness or ineffectiveness on crime prevention.
The following research describes a variety of arguments used by opponents of gun control, with the underlying rationale that restrictive firearms legislation fails to stop crime. Citing the ineffectiveness of both state and federal laws–through statistical means mainly–this paper seeks to demonstrate the lack of success gun control has had in reducing crime. A short overview of present federal and state gun laws will be followed by a series of critiques of those laws. Such legislation, from the 1911 New York Sullivan Law to the Gun Control Act of 1968, usually attempts to 1) prohibit the transportation of dangerous weapons across state lines, 2) license gun owners and/or register their firearms, 3) limit the sale and manufacture of firearms, or 4) prevent certain kinds of guns from being owned. Details of studies by both private and public bodies on the effectiveness of …