...Analysis of Assault Weapon and Large-Capacity Magazine Bans Lawrence A. Cifarelli III University of New Haven Abstract The Assault Weapon and Large-Capacity Magazine Ban of 1994 is a policy that was implemented in order to reduce the homicide rate involving assault weapons and keep this type of weapon out of the hands of criminals. Also, large-capacity magazines were also banned, thus intending on reducing the homicide rate since criminals would not be able to have magazines that could carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Using various sources of data, the ban will be decided to have succeeded in its intended purpose or if it had failed given the data that will be scrutinized. The main thing that people wanted out of this ban is that less people will be killed, and there are many people who will take both sides of the fence in this argument. The homicide rates are posted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Report and both clearly come to the same conclusion that from the time that the ban was put into effect, firearm homicide has decreased. As far as exactly how much of this decrease is accredited to the ban has been widely discussed but the policy cannot be both a failure and a success. Therefore the data will lead us to one evidence-based decision as to whether or not the ban was able to complete its intended purpose. Large-capacity magazines, listed as having the capability to carry more than 10...
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...In 2018 alone, the United States has suffered 17 school shootings (Ahmed & Walker). Gun violence is greater in the US than in any other first world nation. In fact, when compared to other nations, the number of gun-related murders in the United States are at an all-time high (bbc.com). This goes to show that more government involvement has been shown to be necessary for the current political climate. In the past, when Congress became more involved and banned assault rifles, there was a fewer number of gun-related crimes (Ingraham). Stronger background checks and a ban on assault rifles must be implemented by Congress in order to lessen the current rise of gun-related crimes, as it has been proven to work in various other states and nations....
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...gun ban would result. Would a gun ban make the world safer to live in? Would it make the world more dangerous? Prompted by horrific elementary school shooting, President Barack Obama tasked his administration with creating concrete proposals to reduce gun violence that has plagued the country. The President includes both legislative proposals that would need to be acted on by Congress and executive actions he can perform on his own. Many of the executive actions involve the president directing agencies to do a better job of sharing information. Proposed congressional actions include, but are not limited to: (1) Requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales, including those by private sellers that currently are exempt; (2) Reinstating and strengthening the ban on assault weapons that was in place from 1994 to 2004; (3) Limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds; (4) Financing programs to train more police officers, first responders and school officials on how to respond to active armed attacks; and (5) Providing financing to expand mental health programs for young people. A national survey of police officers show overwhelming support for the Second Amendment and the country’s strong tradition of gun ownership, while opposing many federal gun control proposals they say would do little, if anything to stop crime. Greg Sowinski reports that the gun control legislation proposed at the federal level, 71 % of officers said a ban on “assault weapons” would not reduce...
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...Gun Control Gun control and Gun right in America Throughout American history, gun control has been an issue in United States. In recent years, proponents of gun control legislation have often held that of only federal laws can be effected in United States. Although, it’s believed that in the absence of guns criminal violence would be much reduced. In reality, it’s a wrong concept. Meanwhile, most people in United States carry guns for the matter of protection. However, some argue the danger of widespread gun ownership. Many aspect of the gun control issue are best measured and sometimes can be measured through surveys. However, the accuracy of such surveys depends upon respondent providing truthful answers to questions that are sometimes controversial and potentially incriminating. In 2012, it was announced the plan on changing gun control in united states. Among the announcement, it was initiated background checks for gun sales the reinstatement and strengthening of the assault weapons, limitation ammunitions magazines to a low-round capacity, and offering more comprehensive insurance coverage for mental and health. In America the political system, gun control has been a debate for many years. However recent shootings have forced into a large spotlight. The problem that exposes gun control proponents from their opposition is the un-argued from their opposition is the language of the second amendment of the constitution. Personal Safety Top...
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...and restrictive regulations. Universal evidence and correlations have long been offered as proof of the mantra that more guns mean more violence and fewer guns, therefore, mean less violence (Godwin 281). While the hearts and souls of the regulatory author are well placed, all too often the resulting debate is rooted in erroneous statistics and unrepresentative comparisons. To illustrate Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced Assault Weapons Ban legislation that would ban any weapon with a grip on the premise they are too easy to get and used too often for bad (Feinstein). The NRA states “the average annual number of background checks for the last five years, 2007-2011, is 25 percent higher than for NICS’ first five complete years, 1999-2003” (NRA). The NRA also states “In 2009 alone some 1,868,268 pistols were imported or exported by U.S. manufacturers, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) data (NRA). If the old mantra holds true overall crime should be on the rise; however, a 2011 FBI Uniform Crime Report shows violent crime is continuing a decade long downward trend and is down 3.8% from 2010. The recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary has overwhelmingly drowned any positive statistics. While this event is truly an unspeakable, horrible, tragedy eventually a reasonable person must put aside emotions, and really think about how to...
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...conversation, which has been blowing up media sites recently, is the discussion of gun control. Gun control laws attempt to regulate the sale, acquisition, or ownership of firearms through registration and identification. Now if the right to bear arms is a freedom granted to us, then why is this a topic of discussion and debate, and should it be regulated or not? Many sources state that guns lead to violence and crime, and we would be much better off without them, while the opposition to this argument states that taking away the right to carry a gun is unconstitutional, and it’s the individuals behind the firearms committing the crimes and not the guns themselves. Either way, this topic has been in debate for a duration now, and it is one to be addressed to understand whether the regulation of firearms has an impact on our society through absolving crime. Crime appears to be the obvious reason that guns are regulated by law in most countries, including the United States. The question that pertains to this situation is whether or not heavy regulation of arms actually deters crime, and if it does, should the United States follow in the footsteps of that of other countries who disallow even any ownership of firearms, or if this freedom that is granted to us should be actually free? Currently, the United States regulation of arms has an impact on who can actually own and operate a firearm, and obtaining a firearm legally has become a legal process that attempts to prevent those who have...
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...ISSUE NO. 267 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice National Institute of Justice JOURNAL Police Use of Force: The Impact of Less-Lethal Weapons and Tactics n Toward a Better Way to Interview Child Victims of Sexual Abuse Solving the Problem of Untested Evidence in Sexual Assaults Extending the Time to Collect DNA in Sexual Assault Cases Also in this issue In Brief: Block by Block: Zeroing in on Crime Trends Minimizing the Risks of Hazardous Materials: The CBRN Standard Improving Forensic Death Investigation In Brief: Expanding Research by Sharing Data n n i Building Knowledge to Meet the Challenge of CriMe and JustiCe National Institute of Justice John H. Laub Director, National Institute of Justice The NIJ Journal is published by the National Institute of Justice to announce the Institute’s policy-relevant research results and initiatives. The Attorney General has determined that publication of this periodical is necessary in transacting the public business of the U.S. Department of Justice as required by law. Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. All products, manufacturers and organizations cited in this publication are presented for informational purposes only, and their discussion does not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice. Subscription...
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...Senior Research Project: Is the right to bear arms ethical? Lucas Van Duyn Senior Seminar: Business Ethics Dr. Jewe July 31, 2012 Introduction to the Project: In the United States, research into firearms and violent crime is fraught with difficulties, associated with limited data on gun ownership and use, firearms markets, and aggregation of crime data. Research studies into gun violence have primarily taken one of two approaches: case-control studies and social ecology. Gun ownership is usually determined through surveys, proxy variables, and sometimes with production and import figures. In statistical analysis of homicides and other types of crime, which are rare events, these data tend to have poison distributions, which also presents methodological challenges to researchers. (Just Facts, 2010) Americans own an estimated 270 million firearms, approximately 90 guns for every 100 people. In 2009, guns took the lives of 31,347 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more than 85 deaths each day and more than three deaths each hour. 66,769 Americans were treated in hospital emergency departments for non-fatal gunshot wounds in 2009. Firearms were the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths nationwide in 2009, following poisoning and motor vehicle accidents. Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American soldiers – less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average...
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...become lethal if used improperly or if circumstances are extremely unlucky; weapons that are considered to be of Non-Lethal force only decrease the odds of deadly injury. The court addresses the use of less lethal force in the “objective reasonableness standard,” where questions regarding excessive use of force are to be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer coping with a tense, fast-evolving situation. (Graham, Conner, 2009) This revised standard alleviates some of the “Monday morning quarterbacking” that would otherwise result and respects that officers possess sound judgment skills. (Graham, Conner, 2009) In some arrest situations and other law enforcement activities, the use of force may be required to protect the safety of the officer or the public. Occasionally, the threat to an officer or the public justifies the use of deadly force an amount of force that is likely to cause either serious bodily injury or death to another person. (Graham, Conner, 2009) When use of force is required, but deadly force may not be appropriate, law enforcement officers may employ less-lethal weapons to gain control of a subject. Less-lethal weapons are designed to induce a subject to submit or to comply with directions. These weapons give law enforcement officers the ability to protect the safety of officers, subjects, and the public by temporarily incapacitating subjects. While less-lethal weapons are intended to avoid causing any serious harm or injury to a subject, significant...
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...order to be effective. There have been several laws set in place to assist with regulating firearms. The two most prominent federal laws are the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. The National Firearms Act put in place a registration system for firearms which included identifying the firearm, date of registration, and the address and identification of the person entitled to possess the firearm. The Gun Control Act “prohibits mail-order sales and the interstate sales of firearms, prohibits transfers to minors, limits access to new assault weapons, and sets forth penalties and licensing requirements for manufacturers, importers, and dealers. This act was inspired by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy because he was killed by a mail order gun. Despite these regulations there is still a widespread need to increase gun regulations. There are numerous groups and lobbyists that would like to see a slack in firearm regulations. However, the most prevalent group is the National Rifle Association or NRA. Their objective is to promote firearm ownership, self defense, hunting protection, along with firearm safety. Even though they do promote firearm safety, their main goal is provide civilians with firearms. The National Rifle Association is one of the most influential lobbyist groups because they do have the monetary funds to back their beliefs and efforts. The NRA is...
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...Samuel Sheppard Blood Analysis Name Institution Samuel Sheppard Blood Analysis Dr. Sam Sheppard was a well-known physician in the early 1950s in Cleveland. He was from a very wealthy family that was well known because of their acclaim as being physicians. He was liked very much by the Cleveland community, which put his life under great public scrutiny. The Sheppard case is a very good example of the trial happening in the public arena with the outrageous behavior of the media and the press[1]. The influence that the media and the press had on the Sheppard’s case contributed greatly to the inability of Dr. Sheppard having to receive a trial that was unbiased in terms of the jury. Marilyn Sheppard who was the wife to Dr. Sheppard was found bashed to death on July 4th, 1954, and at the arrival of the police at the scene, the house was in shambles and the bedroom was a gruesome scene that made Sheppard the primary suspect because he was present in the house. Despite the position of the body and the partial removal of clothes, the autopsy of the body, however, showed that there was no sexual assault since there was no evidence of anal or vaginal trauma as well as no evidence of seminal fluid or any indication that the victim had been sexually abused[2]. Marilyn was reported to have suffered a series of wounds and several blows to the head while Dr. Gerber stated that she had died from hemorrhaging caused by the blows she had got on her head. According to the...
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...sentence of 25 years to life for violent offenders who have been convicted of three or more offenses. It is also a law that is systemized in 26 states throughout the country and the federal government. Violent offenses include murder, robbery of a residence in which a dangerous or deadly weapon is used, rape and other sex offenses. Serious offenses include the same offenses that are considered as violent offenses, but also include other crimes like burglary of a residence and assault with intent to commit a robbery or rape. The concept of this law is just like it is in baseball, the batter has two strikes before striking out on the third strike and then they are out. The purpose for this law is to not have repeated criminal offenders. This law keeps the criminals off the streets so that they won’t commit any more crimes. This law is also one of the most popular controversial laws because it imposes a mandatory life sentence without parole on offenders convicted of three or more crimes. It is the obligation of a life sentence for any felony conviction, no matter how minor the felony may be. Every crime is different and therefore, every punishment should be made according to the crime in which was committed. I believe that the “three strikes” sentencing should be abolished because it was a law created as an emotional response to the murder of Polly Klass and is not an effective deterrent for criminals. The three strikes law was created in the early 1990’s in response...
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...Control Laws and Their Impact on Crime XXXX-XXXX 12/11/2014 2 Introduction Firearms have been around for hundreds of years. Their purpose is simple: to provide a person a quick and easy means of killing a living being, whether it is an animal or human. During the formation of the United States, the founding fathers attempted to create a list of rights they deemed, “inalienable.” Among these rights was the, “Right to bear arms”. Never has a Constitutional amendment generated so much publicity and heated debate. Many people feel that the founding fathers never could have predicted that firearms would evolve into weapons capable of a rate-of-fire greater than one round per minute. As such, they call for a new interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. They’re rationale being that allowing people to have access to firearms with “high” rates of fire actually increases violent and non-violent crime rates. Over the decades, there have been some changes in the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, and laws have even been instated that follow the same rationale. Coincidentally, there has also been a drop in crime rates. In fact all crime rates, violent and non-violent, have been steadily decreasing since 1993. Statement of Problem The major problem for my research study is based on further understanding the connection between firearm control laws and crime rates in the United States. Looking at the use of firearms in crimes is difficult as there are many different...
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...RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIME AND JUSTICE CHAPTER 1 – THE RESEARCH PRACTICE Chapter Review Questions Respond to each of the following questions using the information from this chapter. 1. During a recent meeting of the command staff at a mid-sized police department, the chief asks the patrol captain for his recommendation for new flashlights. The captain responds, “I did a little research and I recommend that we purchase the DryLight, Model X flashlight”. The patrol captain’s research consisted of “asking a few of the officers” what they thought would be a good flashlight. Did the patrol captain actually conduct research? Why or why not? ANSWER: Technically, the patrol captain did some research. He conducted interviews which is a form of data collection. One could argue, however, that the patrol captain’s research was limited (pp. 7-8). 2. Respond to the following statement in 3-5 sentences: Conducting research in the social sciences and in criminal justice in particular is easier than in other sciences because the things we measure are so vague that nobody really cares if we get it right or not. ANSWER: Generally speaking, social science research is more challenging than some of the ‘hard sciences’ because the things social scientists study are difficult to measure objectively. As a result social scientists spend a great deal of time justifying how they measure concepts to their peers (pp. 4-5). 3. Read the following scenarios and identify which of the following...
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...response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed. The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments. Not all insurgents use terror as a tactic, and some choose not to use it because other tactics work better for them in a particular context. Individuals, such as Timothy McVeigh, may also engage in terrorist acts such as the Oklahoma City bombing. If the terrorism is part of a broader insurgency, counter-terrorism may also form a part of a counter-insurgency doctrine, but political, economic, and other measures may focus more on the insurgency than the specific acts of terror. Foreign internal defense (FID) is a term used by several countries[citation needed] for programs either to suppress insurgency, or reduce the conditions under which insurgency could develop. Counter-terrorism includes both the detection of potential acts and the response to related events. Anti-terrorism versus counter-terrorism Further information: Detentions following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack The concept of anti-terrorism emerges from a thorough examining of the concept of terrorism as well as an attempt to understand and articulate what constitutes terrorism in Western terms. In military contexts, terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology. Terrorism may be a tactic in a war between nation-states, in a civil war, or in an insurgency. Counter-terrorism refers to offensive strategies intended to prevent a belligerent, in a broader conflict, from successfully...
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