gun control project

[bellx1]

I have a project at school about the issue of gun control.

Does any one know what some historical events that might have contributed to gun control are? all i could think of is growing gang violence

[jerry]

Here is a start. Sure many more will follow.

FIREARMS AND FEDERAL LAW: THE GUN CONTROL ACT OF 1968

[nathangdad]

The race riots of the 1960's such as the Watts riot played into the hands of fearful politicians using civil unrest as a need to control guns owned by decent, law abiding citizens.

[CrazyIvan]

Wyatt Earp...he transcended the above situations, though they are historical, by nature.

He became a lawman in the late 1800's. When he ran a town, he made everyone check their weapons at the gate.

Wyatt Earp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, check out the movie with Kevin Costner. Pretty good.

Amazon.com: Wyatt Earp (Two-Disc Special...


The problem is that during that time, everyone knew most everyone. We don't have that luxury now, and we very rarely find ourselves in a room full of friends to come to our defense. In today's world, personal defense is a very necessary thing..

[Big Dog]

The assasinations of both Kennedys and Martin Luther King were major contributors to the horrors of Gun Control.

Just as the Organised Crime spree during the Prohibition Years spawned the NFA of 1934.

[LarryO1970]

... as far as current gun control events, I'd say the attempt on President Reagan's life.

Reagan assassination attempt - Google Search

James Brady was hit in the head and that lead to the Brady Bill, the efforts of Sarah Brady and the "Million Mom's March".

Heck, you might as well include the current Presidential candidates and their attempts at gun control, especially since both are anti-gun despite their campaign lies.

[TXplt]

Actually, you might research the Dred Scott decision prior to the civil war. I believe part of the rationale behind the supreme court decision of not acknowledging slaves have rights was the fear they would exercise these rights by arming themselves under the 2A -- presenting a significant threat to their captors. Additionally, post civil war concealed carry gun control legislation ( a "may issue" permit system designed as a sham like a poll tax or grandfather clause -- to keep former slaves from procuring firearms) had, I believe, its roots in racism. Similar logic was used on the west coast to prevent minorities (primarily asian) from acquiring firearms (and thus equal rights). Gun control was also favored by the "robber barons" corporations to prevent workers from arming themselves against the security forces during the worker strikes for better conditions early in the 20th century.

Gun control, to a large extent in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, was used as a tool by "elitists" to repress those (who they beleived were) in lower classes. It still hasn't changed from this perspective.

This might be worth investigating from an historical perspective.

I've also read that the term "Saturday Night Special" (for cheap handgun) actually was derived from a racial slur, but am unable to verify the accuracy of this claim.

Originally Posted by nathangdad

The race riots of the 1960's such as the Watts riot played into the hands of fearful politicians using civil unrest as a need to control guns owned by decent, law abiding citizens.

Sorry, meant for this at the beginning -- this is very true, but the concept goes back further.

+1 nathangdad.

[DWFan]

I'd say the University of Texas "Tower Shootings" had something to do with prompting legislation too. (Aug 1, 1966)

[TXplt]

Originally Posted by DWFan

I'd say the University of Texas "Tower Shootings" had something to do with prompting legislation too. (Aug 1, 1966)

Yes.....unfortunately events can provide the vehicle for people with hidden or not so hidden agendas to ram their bad policy home. Frequently, after these events, no one takes a rational look at "do we really want to do this" or "will this really work" or "will this have unintended consequences." Swept up in the hysteria to "do something" we "do something" which is counterproductive and wrong.

Here are also 2 links you might find useful.

NRA-ILA :: Issues

NRA-ILA :: Fact Sheets

On the second one, there are several topics on the bottom and you can actively search the site as well.

Here's a link to a video on the fallacy of ballistic fingerprinting/microstamping

YouTube - NRA: The Truth About "Ballistic Fingerprinting"

[Seabeescotty]

It looks like everyone gave you plenty of information for your project. Have fun putting it together. Remember, bottom line, a disarmed populace is a controlled populace. We have some politicians using the other info to push civilian disarmament, in order to control the rest of us, but that's simply my personal opinion. Look at what happened in Germany, prior to WW2.

[Windwalker]

Also, Columbine and other school shootings as well as mall shootings always add calls for more gun control which does not protect anyone.

[Cyrano]

bellx1, the roots of gun control go back to the Reconstruction Era, when the white property owners attempted to keep firearms out of the hand of the ex-slaves. You'll have to do some digging to prove that, but the evidence is available.

You will want to take a look at the Sullivan Law of New York City. It's one of the earliest urban gun bans and paved the way for many laws that followed. The point about Wyatt Earp banning guns from downtown Dodge City is not really on, because guns were only banned in the downtown area, not in the entire township. A cowboy who checked his gun at the border would pick it up on his way back out of town. It wasn't an outright ban on ownership.

The next real asssault on firearms ownership came about as a result of Prohibition, with the Gun Control Act of 1934, sometimes known as the Machine Gun Control Act of 1934. The rationale of the federal government was to restrict the availability of Thompsons and BARs and sawed-off shotguns to criminals - but the way Roosevelt (no friend of gun owners, if you examine his record as the governor of New York) chose to do it was to pass a law aimed at the general population.

Then came the National Firearms Act of 1938, that was a more specific law aimed at defining what citizens could and could not own, and under what conditions. I believe that also is when the various classes of federal firearms licenses were established.

That was where things stood until 1968. Talk about an expansion of the NFA of 1938 had been going around Washington beginning with the assassination of John F. Kennedy; but what gave it serious impetus was the assassination within months of each other of Robert F. Kennedey and Martin Luther King. That year, the evil Gun Control Act of 1968 passed. (As an interesting piece of history, see if you can get your hands on a copy of the Nazi Gun Control Act of 1935. Compare and contrast it with GCA 68. You will be astonished and appalled at the similarities. It is known that the people who wrote GCA 68 had copies of the Nazi law in their possession while they were "researching" and writing the bill.)

In 1976, the District of Columbia passed one of the most restrictive antigun laws in the country. FOr practical purposes, it disarmed the citizens of Washington, DC. That is the law presently being ruled on by the Supreme Court in DC vs Heller.

The attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981 led to more restrictive antigun laws, culminating in the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, aka the Slick Willy Gun Ban. Some states emulated the Slick Willy Gun Ban and passed similar laws at the state level. In those states, when the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 sunset of the books in 2004, the ban still exists today.

Now, the trend is away from trying to ban the firearms themselves, because of the inability of the Slick Willy Gun Ban to adequately (and correctly) define them. This made the antis look like complete idiots to the general population. Instead, the anti-gunners now are targeting ammunition of various types and demanding that all firearms be capable of "microstamping" earh round that is fired - a technology proven not to work and so stated as unworkable by the FBI, but simple facts have never stopped the gun-banners. Since they can't stop the guns themselves, they intend to stop them by depriving shooters of ammunition. You might want to bring this "back door" gun control up in your paper.

I hope this sort-of timeline will be of some use to you. Good luck!

[DWFan]

Gun Control Act of 1968: Information and Much More from Answers.com

[toolman]

I believe a better question would be, when did the American public decide that the Government was there to take care of them?

[bellx1]

Originally Posted by Seabeescotty

It looks like everyone gave you plenty of information for your project. Have fun putting it together. Remember, bottom line, a disarmed populace is a controlled populace. We have some politicians using the other info to push civilian disarmament, in order to control the rest of us, but that's simply my personal opinion. Look at what happened in Germany, prior to WW2.

yeah I'll have loads of fun teaching the facts of gun control to a class full of bleeding heart liberals.

[Lng Rng]

I did a 15 page paper on gun control last semester, there is an unlimited supply of information when it comes to the subject. The NRA-ILA is a great source, but your teacher will want to see more sources on the bibliography than the NRA. Go to the Brady website, but put on your rubber boots first, you will hit some serious B.S, but will get some points to study off of and prove wrong.

There is a number of web sites that list RTC states with states that don't allow citizens to carry, and they put up some staggering numbers. Vermont is a great example. Gov't web pages can be trusted more than most others, because they provide you with only information, nothing else.

[GlockMeister]

Originally Posted by toolman

I believe a better question would be, when did the American public decide that the Government was there to take care of them?

Toolman, I like the way you think. And I'd like to add to that thinking. lol

When did the Government decide we the American people aren't capable of taking care of ourselves?

When did we as Americans, say that we couldn't take care of ourselves?

Why doesn't our Government trust us, as Americans to have guns?

Why does our Government want to remove parts of the constitution that were put there to ensure the American people and prevent that the Government couldn't/wouldn't run a muck and do whatever they wanted?

Some examples, Posse Comatatus (spelling?) Enemy of the state and or combatant labels to American citizens if they get a little to over zealous with or about certain issues? Don't think that one has passed the Senate yet, but there was a post about it passing the House though.

Asking another countries military (Canada) to come in and provide assistance militarily in the case of civil unrest?

Here, this isn't something that caused gun control, but it's numbers of people killed and or that have died because of gun control. That oughta open some educational eyeballs if they take the time to read it and then believe it? lol

This was written by a columnist. Maybe you can print it, as it has factual time lines and figures of the results of gun control and those it's killed as a result of gun control. Might make for a nice topic of discussion in class?

Townhall.com::Bitter, Clingy Gun Owners of America::By Doug Giles

[TXplt]

Also there's the book "More Guns, Less Crime" and some other statistics by John Lott of the University of Chicago.

[AKHunter]

Another example would be the event in Stockton California where the nut job with an SKS went to a school yard and murdered children playing during recess. That event prompted the state of Ca to ban SKS (assault style) rifles. If I remember correctly.

[mym1a]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Wyatt Earp...he transcended the above situations, though they are historical, by nature.

He became a lawman in the late 1800's. When he ran a town, he made everyone check their weapons at the gate.

Wyatt Earp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, check out the movie with Kevin Costner. Pretty good.

Amazon.com: Wyatt Earp (Two-Disc Special Edition): David Andrews,Linden Ashby,Adam Baldwin,Kevin Costner,Jeff Fahey,James Gammon,Joanna Going,Gene Hackman,Mark Harmon,Rex Linn,Michael Madsen,Randle Mell,Catherine O'Hara,Bill Pullman,Dennis Quaid,Isab



The problem is that during that time, everyone knew most everyone. We don't have that luxury now, and we very rarely find ourselves in a room full of friends to come to our defense. In today's world, personal defense is a very necessary thing..

and that ordance is still in effect in Tombstone