CRM/LAW C106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: National Youth Administration, Intratec, Demography Of The United States
6 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jessica Mangold
C106 Crime & Public Policy
Professor Currie
Week 10
6/5/18
Guns in America: What to do?
Review from Week 8
- guns -> enormously complicated, heated, + controversial question for public policy in
US but remains urgent
- looking at gun homicide rates of US + 22 other “high income” countries that come from
medical data
- overall gun homicide death rate in US is 25x higher than other 22 countries
- gun homicide death rate for males aged 15-24 is 49x higher in US
- young men have highest risk of dying from gun violence
- not just a big difference -> enormous difference in US than other developed countries
- average figures of US for a whole does not point out fact that gun homicide is not
evenly distributed
- worse for some people than others
- some states (most in Midwest) where gun homicide death rate for African
American men (15-24) is higher than gun death rates of rest of the world
- issue of gun violence is also issue of social justice
- no consensus among Americans about what should be done
- aggravated by recent rash of mass shootings
- public response to gun violence interesting
- many support looser regulations on guns -> some states make access to guns +
use of guns even easier
- others are outraged at level of gun violence + want to tighten regulations
Five Strategies
- background checks w/waiting periods (Brady Bill)
- background check
- basic idea that people trying to buy guns need to be screened -> keep
wrong people from getting them
- waiting period
- make buyers wait for a few days (weeks) after buying gun to receive the
product
- allows someone rushing to buy gun in fit of anger to cool off
- can also give seller more time to perform background check
- for some time lots of state shad waiting periods
- CA has 10 day waiting period -> one of the first states to mandate
waiting period
- Brady Bill 1994
- named after Jim Brady -> Reagan press secretary who was shot in
attempt to assassinate Reagan in 80’s
- mandated national 5 day waiting period
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- background check done during waiting period performed by local law
enforcement
- mentally ill, history of domestic violence, prior criminal offenses, etc. ->
cannot get gun
- today -> national background check database that streamlines background
checks
- all kinds of people able to buy guns because are not in federal data base
- meant to be roughly instant background check
- national waiting period -> gone due to technology
- Brady Bill waiting period was in place for 5 years until instant background
check was perfected -> Brady Bill clause about waiting period phased out
*no longer federal statute about waiting period
- some states continue to have waiting period
- national background check remains in place -> does it work? Has it made a
difference?
- we don’t actually know…
- clear that Brady Bill did stop a lot of people from buying guns legally in
gun stores
- Background Check Stats
- over 230 million background checks done from start of program to 2015
- resulting in 1.3 million denials
- usually result of buyer having felony record
- over 23 million checks done in 2015 (setting a record)
- criminals who really want to have a gun can get one some other way
- buy guns illegally on the street
- “straw purchase” -> get someone else to buy gun for you who is not
blocked by the background check
- can buy gun privately rather than at licensed gun dealers
- in many states you can buy gun in private transaction
- including at gun shows
- not regulated the same way stores are in many states
- “gun show loophole”
- many people think that closing loophole is an important thing to do to
prevent gun violence
- wide loophole for those with serious problems to get guns
- 1990s: series of shootings committed by young man in Illinois + Indiana
- white supremacist who did not like those who were different from him at
all (race, religion, etc.)
- started out shooting African American coach at North Western
University
- then shot group of orthodox Jews in Chicago
- traveled across border to Indiana -> shot Korean American grad student
at University of Indiana
- where did he get his gun?
- could not legally buy gun in a store due to background check ->
had record of domestic violence
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- picked up newspaper + found someone advertising selling gun
privately + then went on shooting rampage
- can get around background check in Brady Bill -> not particularly difficult for
some criminals
- many people who wind up committing serious crimes had passed background
checks + got guns legally
- Las Vegas hotel shooting -> guy who liked to buy guns + did not have a
record
- one of worst massacres ever seen
- high school shooters -> some bought guns themselves or took their
parents guns’
- parents had gotten the guns legally
- Newtown, CT -> kid took guns from mother who was gun
enthusiast + proceeded to kill his mother + many kids
- when it comes to evaluating whether this kind of measure has reduced gun
violence -> no one knows for sure
- answer somewhere in middle
- some effect on some people + no effect on others
- committed criminals are not going to have much trouble getting hold of
gun
- weakly motivated offenders are likely somewhat deterred by background
check because do not have easy access to gun market
- limiting the number of guns you can buy
- peculiar idea to people not from US
- state of Virginia is first state to pass one gun a month law
- before could buy as many guns you wanted per month, week, day
- people previously had come to get guns from Virginia + then return back
to NYC to sell guns illegally
- also happened in Georgia
- practically no restrictions on getting guns
- law enforcement studies that trace guns used in crimes
- guns often do not come from NYC or DC -> come from places like
Virginia, Georgia, + Florida
- places that did not limit # of guns that could be purchased from a store
per day
- CA has 1 gun a month la
- people are able to get around the law
- can go to Texas +/or Arizona + get as many guns as you want
- able to add to collection or sell guns on the streets
- Virginia repealed one gun a month law -> now can buy as many guns as want
- where does resistance to one gun a month law come from?
- Charles Hesston -> used to be president of NRA
- said that problem was before you know it, it becomes no guns
*starting to restrict right to by gun -> nothing stopping even harsher
restrictions in the future
- the laws “smell of tyranny”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Overall gun homicide death rate in us is 25x higher than other 22 countries. Gun homicide death rate for males aged 15-24 is 49x higher in us. Young men have highest risk of dying from gun violence. Guns -> enormously complicated, heated, + controversial question for public policy in. Looking at gun homicide rates of us + 22 other high income countries that come from medical data. Not just a big difference -> enormous difference in us than other developed countries. Average figures of us for a whole does not point out fact that gun homicide is not evenly distributed. Issue of gun violence is also issue of social justice. No consensus among americans about what should be done. Many support looser regulations on guns -> some states make access to guns + use of guns even easier. Others are outraged at level of gun violence + want to tighten regulations.
