Gun Control: Right to Handgun Ownership - Annotated Bibliography Example

Greenhouse, L. (2008). Justices, ruling 5-4, endorse personal right to own gun. The New York Times, June 27, 2008. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller confirmed that the Second Amendment protects individual rights to own a firearm for personal use. By a 5 to 4 ruling, the Court found a constitutional right exists for an individual to have a loaded firearm in the home for the purpose of self-defense. However, this decision only applied to federal laws, not state or local laws regulating gun ownership.

Therefore, the ruling was the beginning of litigation throughout the country regarding whether the Second Amendment protected the right of gun ownership from state and local law and regulations. Barnes, R., Eggen, D. (2010). Supreme Court affirms fundamental right to bear arms. Washington Post, June 29, 2010. In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that state and local governments cannot interfere with Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms. This decision is basically an extension of the 2008 Heller decision which mentioned, for the first time, that gun ownership is a fundamental right for reasons other than military service, including self-defense of an individual in the home.

The Court clarified that the decision would not affect existing laws prohibiting felons and the mentally-ill from owning firearms. The majority opinion stated that the Second Amendment’s fundamental right to bear arms was guaranteed through the 14th Amendment which prohibits states from depriving individuals of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Kwon, I.G., Scott, B., Safranski, S.R., Bae, M. (1997). The effectiveness of gun control laws: multivariate statistical analysis.

The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, January, 1997. This article describes a study on the effectiveness of gun control laws considering that gun related deaths are increasing despite the nearly 20,000 United States laws and regulations regarding the use and ownership of firearms. Using a multivariate statistical analysis, the study examined state laws and regulations and the number of gun deaths by state in order to determine if any relationship existed between them. Results revealed that gun control laws and regulations had an unimpressive effect on gun violence.

The study also found that a number of other factors, mostly socioeconomic factors, contributed to gun related deaths, including unemployment, alcohol and/or drug use, and a transient lifestyle. Cramer, C.E., Olson, J.E. (2008). Pistols, crime, and public safety in early America. Williamette Law Review, vol. 44. Due to the ongoing debate over the rights granted by the Second Amendment, this paper attempts to determine what the original framers of the Constitution intended. In order to accomplish this, the researchers examined the history of firearms, specifically pistols, and the technological advancements leading to the pistols of today.

The study found that the pistols of today in fact did differ from those in the 1600 and 1700s, but not as significantly as previously believed. Therefore, technological advances in firearms, specifically pistols, do not negate the right to own a firearm as protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Nagourney, A., Steinhauer, J. (2011). A clamor for gun limits, but few expect real changes. The New York Times, January 13, 2011. This article addresses the likelihood that the recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona, would lead to new legislation regarding guns or to a change in the national culture that supports and accepts guns and gun ownership.

In fact, lawmakers and gun advocates believe that lawmakers are les than ever willing to support new restrictions on guns. One reason for Congress’ reluctance to impose new restrictions on firearms may be the fact that many members of Congress now carry guns themselves. Furthermore, the current political climate in Congress does not lend itself to the imposition of new gun laws or restrictions. Therefore, the Tucson shootings will probably not lead to the imposition of restrictions on gun ownership or change other existing laws or regulations.