Newsgroups: fidonet.guns
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From: Ken Grubb <[Ken Grubb] at [f120.n109.z1.fidonet.org]>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 96 23:00:00 -0700
Subject: 96 Firearm Fact Card 1/3
NRA FIREARMS FACT CARD -- 1996
SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed."
Like all rights protected by the Bill of Rights, the right
to keep and bear arms is possessed by each American individually.
Gun prohibitionists' 20th- century "collective right" Second
Amendment interpretation is a fraud. The Framers understood that
all people are individually "endowed by their Creator" with
rights and that states only possess such "powers" as the people
allow.
The Supreme Court has ruled in few cases addressing Second
Amendment-related issues. The Court recognized that the right to
arms is an individual right in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876), Presser
v. Illinois (1886), Miller v. Texas (1894), U.S. v. Miller
(1939) and U.S. v. Verdugo -Urquidez (1990). Lower federal court
decisions have been divided on the rights question, though those
finding against the individual right are contrary to the Verdugo-
Urquidez decision, in which the Court observed that the term "the
people" has the same meaning in the Second Amendment as it does
in the First, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth. "The people," the Court
said, refers to all persons in our national community. These
decisions support the generations-old understanding of the right
to bear arms as one of our most important individual liberties.
Second Amendment revisionists claim the National Guard,
rather than the general citizenry, is the Militia referred to in
the Constitution. For more than 400 years, however, the term
"well regulated militia" has meant the people, with privately
owned weapons, led by officers chosen by themselves. The Militia
of the U.S. is defined under federal law to include all
able-bodied males of age and some other males and females (10
U.S.C., 311; 32 U.S.C., 313), with the Guard established as only
its "organized" element. The Guard, however, is subject to
absolute federal control (Supreme Court, Perpich v. Dept. of
Defense, 1990) and thus is not the militia envisioned by the
Framers.
RIGHT-TO-CARRY
States with right-to-carry laws have lower overall violent
crime rates than other states. The homicide rate is 28% lower and
the firearm homicide rate is 33% lower and the handgun homicide
rate is 38% lower. Since 1987, when Florida enacted
right-to-carry, its homicide rate has dropped 27%, its firearm
homicide rate has dropped 34% and its handgun homicide rate has
dropped 38% while the U.S. rates rose 8%, 28% and 43%,
respectively. (FBI) Only .017% of Florida carry licenses have
been revoked because of firearm crimes after licensure. (Florida
Dept. of State)
Survey research by criminologist Gary Kleck indicates at
least 2.5 million protective uses of firearms each year in the
U.S., more than four times the reported number of violent crimes
committed with firearms. Most protective uses do not involve
discharge of a firearm. In only 0.1% of protective gun uses are
criminals killed, and in only 1% are criminals wounded. A survey
for the Dept. of Justice found that 40% of felons had chosen not
to commit at least some crimes for fear their victims were armed,
and 34% admitted being scared off or shot at by armed victims.
(J. Wright, P. Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous, 1987)
U.S. Dept. of Justice victimization surveys show that the
protective use of a firearm lessens the chance that a rape,
robbery or assault attempt will be successfully completed and
also reduces the chance of injury to the intended victim.
CLINTON GUN BAN
More than 85% of the firearms banned as "assault weapons" by
the Clinton crime bill are rifles. However, rifles are the type
of firearm least often used in crime. Rifle use in homicide has
dropped 36% since 1980. In 1994 rifles of any type were used in
only 3% of homicides, far less than knives (13%), bare hands (5%)
and clubs (4%).
Since the first days of the "assault weapon" issue, reports
from state and local law enforcement agencies have consistently
shown that military-looking semi-automatic rifles and
similarly-styled handguns and shotguns have been used in only a
small percentage of violent crimes, a fact begrudgingly admitted
by the Senate author of the "assault weapons" law, Dianne
Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the anti-gun Washington Post.
Gun-ban supporters ignore police reports, basing their claim
that "assault weapons" are used in crime on BATF firearms tracing
data. BATF reports, however, that it "does not always know if a
firearm being traced has been used in a crime." The Congressional
Research Service reports that the BATF tracing system "was not
designed to collect statistics. . . . Firearms selected for
tracing do not constitute a random sample. . . . data from the
tracing system may not be appropriate for drawing inferences such
as which makes or models of firearms are used for illicit
purposes. . . . A law enforcement officer may initiate a trace
request for any reason. No crime need be involved. No screening
policy ensures or requires that only guns known or suspected to
have been used in crimes are traced. . . . It is possible that
traces may be requested for a variety of reasons not necessarily
related to criminal instances."
"Gun control" lobbyists deliberately blur the differences
between semi- automatic and fully-automatic firearms, one
boasting that "anything that looks like a machinegun is presumed
to be a machinegun" by a misinformed public. The fact is,
so-called "assault weapons" function precisely like all other
semi-automatic firearms, firing only one shot at a time. Because
"assault weapons" use commonplace calibers of ammunition, they
are well- suited for target shooting, hunting and/or defensive
use. Semi-automatic firearms were invented more than 100 years
ago, and constitute 15% of privately owned firearms in America.
Contrary to President Clinton's claims, the greatest threat
to police officers comes not from "assault weapons," but from
criminals and the justice system that fails to punish them _ 73%
of law enforcement officers' killers have prior arrests, 56% have
prior convictions, and 23% are on probation or parole when they
take officers' lives. According to the FBI's "Law Enforcement
Officers Killed and Assaulted" reports, of firearms used to
murder police officers during the past decade only 2-3% were
"assault weapons."
CLINTON AMMO BAN
President Clinton claims new kinds of ammunition are being
used to defeat bullet resistant vests and kill law enforcement
officers, requiring an expansion of the federal "armor piercing
ammunition" statute. No new armor piercing ammunition exists,
however, and legislation introduced in Congress at the
president's urging would outlaw most calibers of rifle
ammunition, and many calibers of handgun ammunition, none of
which is designed to defeat protective vests. According to the
FBI, of officers fatally shot during the last decade, 70% were
not wearing vests. Of those who wore vests, 95% were shot in
unprotected areas. No law enforcement officer has ever been
killed because an armor piercing bullet defeated a protective
vest.
BRADY ACT FAILURES
"Gun control" supporters claim the federal 5-day waiting
period prevents thousands of felons from buying handguns. In
fact, most of these supposed "felons" are honest citizens whose
applications are temporarily non- approved because background
checks initially reveal incomplete or erroneous information.
Most of these people are later approved. Brady should not be
praised because it delays honest citizens' handgun purchases.
Instead, Brady should be judged for its failure to impact on
crime. Waiting periods do not stop felons from obtaining guns
illegally. Since 1968 it has been illegal under federal law for
felons to possess firearms (and violent crime has more than
doubled). Furthermore, 93% of career armed criminals get their
guns from sources other than gun stores (where waiting periods
apply), mostly by theft or black market deals. (J. Wright, P.
Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous, 1987) BATF, "Protecting
America," 1992)
Gun control" advocates speciously claim that violent crime
has decreased in America because of the Brady Act. In fact,
crime has decreased more in Brady-free states, such as those
having an instant check system.
FIREARM SAFETY
Many television and newspaper reporters would have the
public believe that fatal firearms accidents are an "epidemic,"
though such accidents are at an all-time low.
Education, rather than restrictions on gun owners, has
helped reduce the fatal firearms accident rate to 0.6 per 100,000
citizens, down 82% since the all-time high recorded in 1904. The
fatal firearms accident rate pales in comparison to rates for
motor vehicle accidents (16.5), home accidents (10.2), other
public accidents (7.6), and work-related accidents (1.9). (Natl.
Safety Council)
Annual fatal firearms accident numbers are down 56% since
the all-time high in 1930. This decline occurred as the
population doubled, and the number of firearms owned quadrupled,
proving that responsible gun ownership poses no inherent threat
to safety. (Natl. Center for Health Statistics, Natl. Safety
Council, Census Bureau, BATF)
To promote more restrictive gun laws, some claim that car
registration and driver licensing laws caused fatal motor vehicle
accidents to decline 1968- 1991, and assume that similar laws
against guns and gun owners would reduce gun accidents. However,
those car laws were imposed (most before WWII) for reasons other
than safety, and the fatal motor vehicle accident rate did not
begin to decrease until 30 years later. Moreover, the fatal
firearm accident rate dropped 50% 1968-1991, the greatest decline
among major accident types. By comparison, the motor vehicle
rate dropped the least, 37%. (Natl. Safety Council)
GUN LAW FAILURES
In 1976, Washington, D.C., enacted a virtual ban on
handguns. By 1991, D.C.'s homicide rate had tripled, while the
U.S. rate rose 12%. New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and D.C.
_ with very restrictive gun laws _ make up only 5% of the U.S.
population, yet account for 16% of U.S. murders.
California imposed a 15-day waiting period on handgun sales
in 1975, and banned "assault weapons" in 1989 _ yet its homicide
rate today is 38% higher than the rest of the country's. In
1975, South Carolina limited handgun sales to individuals to one
per month. Since then, South Carolina's violent crime rate has
risen more than 100%.
Some have claimed D.C.'s homicide rate declined due to
Virginia's 1993 law limiting handgun purchases to one per month.
That belief is based on the illogical notion that D.C. murderers
would obey a Virginia state law while violating a multitude of
much harsher federal and D.C. gun laws.
THE REAL CAUSES OF CRIME -- AND REAL SOLUTIONS
From 1960-1980, the number of prison inmates per 1,000
violent crimes dropped from 738 to 227, and the crime rate
tripled. Each year more than 60,000 felons convicted are not
sent to prison. Only 29% of convicts are in prison: 71% are on
parole or probation, free on the streets.
Imprisoned criminals serve only one third of their
sentences, on average: for murder, 7.7 years; rape, 4.6 years;
robbery 3.3 years; and aggravated assault, 1.9 years. Every day
in America there are 14 murders, 48 rapes and 578 robberies by
convicted criminals on parole or early release from prison. The
average career criminal commits more than 180 crimes a year
(Rand Corp.), contributing significantly to the 14 million
violent and property crimes last year. (FBI) The answer to this
problem is expanded prison capacity and truth-in-sentencing laws
which require prisoners to serve at least 85% of their sentences.
Juvenile arrests for violent crime increased more than 30%
from 1990 to 1993. Arrests for murder alone increased 28.5%.
Gang related homicide, just 0.8% of all homicides in 1980,
accounted for 3.6% of all such crimes by 1992. The addition of
more than 500,000 men in the crime-active age 14-17 male
population by the year 2000 will send juvenile crime
skyrocketing, according to experts. Violent juvenile criminals
who do "adult crime" should serve "adult time."
Crime victims or their survivors are often unfairly barred
from participating in the criminal justice process in any way, a
problem that can be corrected by victims' rights legislation.
For more information, contact CrimeStrike at 1-800-TOUGH-11.
FIREARMS FACTS
Guns in the U.S.: 230 million,
incl. 75-80 million handguns (BATF)
Gun owners in U.S.: 60-65 million,
30-35 million own handguns
Owners who have used 11% of firearms owners
guns for defense: 13% of handgun owners
Annual criminal gun use: Less than 0.2% of firearms,
Less than 0.4% of handguns
About 99.8% of firearms and more than 99.4% of handguns will
not be used to commit violent crimes in any given year.
NRA Institute for Legislative Action
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
NL00890 Rev. 1/96 25M
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Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the
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