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The issue of guns divides the nation. The recent Parkland shooting inspired the "March for our Lives". Ignoring the appeal to emotion, does gun control actually work? Many gun control advocates talk about mass shootings but these events don't kill very many people. In 2015, 475 Americans died in a mass shooting (4 or more people are killed or injured) according to the mass shooting tracker. That may seem like a lot but when compared with the total number of 15,399, it's really not.
Mass Shootings - 2015 | Gun Violence Archive
Many gun control advocates look at gun death rates. However, gun deaths include fatal gun accidents and suicides. Furthermore, even if all guns were to go away, there are other means of killing a person such as with a knife. We will be looking at homicide rate instead.
In the links provided below are states ranked by murder rates:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_homicide_rate
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/homicide_mortality/homicide.htm
Here are the gun laws by US state:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_by_state
As one can see, some states are more dangerous than others.However, when looking at the data as a whole, there seems to be very little correlation.
When told of a particularly violent region with lots of gun control such as Chicago, gun control advocates will point out that guns are trafficked from states with more lenient gun laws. Because of this, we will now look at federal gun laws to see if uniform gun legislation reduces the murder rate.
This page has the homicide rate for different countries by past years. In the early ones, it only has a few countries (the US being one of them): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate_by_decade
First, we will look at the national firearms act of 1934. The act placed a $200 excise tax (not adjusted for inflation) on machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, suppressors, and military grade weapons. Although the murder rate went down after the act was passed, the downward trend actually started on the very year on which the act was passed, meaning that the trend was probably caused by what came before 1934, most likely the end of prohibition in 1933. The federal firearms act of 1938 required gun dealers to have a license and prohibited transfer to felons; the downward trend was ongoing before the act and it continued after the act.
In 1968, two major acts of gun legislation were passed: the Omnibus crime bill and the gun control act. The former contained a section prohibition the interstate trade of handguns and prohibited handguns from being sold to anyone under 21. The latter highly regulated interstate trade of all firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers. These two acts puncture holes in gun control, not only because the murder rate didn't go down but it actually went up.
In 1986, the Firearm Owner Protection Act made reforms to the gun control act of 1968. It also contained a provision prohibiting the sale of machine guns to unlicensed civilians (civilians who wanted them had to jump through many hoops) which were made after the date in which the act took effect. The murder rate in the US remained consistent until the 1990s. Furthermore, handguns were always the most dominant form of murder in the US. In the 1980s, knives were actually responsible for more murders than non handguns.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg
The undetectable firearms act of 1988 prohibited firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal content from being possessed, sold, made, or transferred with few exceptions. The homicide rate actually went up for a few years from 8.4 per 100,000 in 1988 until 1991 with 9.8 before going down.
In 1990, the school gun free zones act prohibited unauthorized individuals from being allowed to carry firearms on school zones. Although the murder rate went up the next year before falling, most murders don't occur on school zones. The shootings in Columbine (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), Sandy Hook (2012), and Parkland (2018) all happened after this act was passed.
In 1993, the Brady handgun violence prevention act prohibited certain people from owning firearms. The homicide rate was going down since 1992 and it continued to go down after the act.
Next is the well known assault weapons ban which was already flawed because many more murders were being committed with handguns than with any other gun combined. After 2004, the murder rate went up for two years before it kept falling.
It seems that gun control does not reduce the murder rate. If I missed anything, feel free to comment below.
Mass Shootings - 2015 | Gun Violence Archive
Many gun control advocates look at gun death rates. However, gun deaths include fatal gun accidents and suicides. Furthermore, even if all guns were to go away, there are other means of killing a person such as with a knife. We will be looking at homicide rate instead.
In the links provided below are states ranked by murder rates:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_homicide_rate
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/homicide_mortality/homicide.htm
Here are the gun laws by US state:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_by_state
As one can see, some states are more dangerous than others.However, when looking at the data as a whole, there seems to be very little correlation.
When told of a particularly violent region with lots of gun control such as Chicago, gun control advocates will point out that guns are trafficked from states with more lenient gun laws. Because of this, we will now look at federal gun laws to see if uniform gun legislation reduces the murder rate.
This page has the homicide rate for different countries by past years. In the early ones, it only has a few countries (the US being one of them): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate_by_decade
First, we will look at the national firearms act of 1934. The act placed a $200 excise tax (not adjusted for inflation) on machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, suppressors, and military grade weapons. Although the murder rate went down after the act was passed, the downward trend actually started on the very year on which the act was passed, meaning that the trend was probably caused by what came before 1934, most likely the end of prohibition in 1933. The federal firearms act of 1938 required gun dealers to have a license and prohibited transfer to felons; the downward trend was ongoing before the act and it continued after the act.
In 1968, two major acts of gun legislation were passed: the Omnibus crime bill and the gun control act. The former contained a section prohibition the interstate trade of handguns and prohibited handguns from being sold to anyone under 21. The latter highly regulated interstate trade of all firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers. These two acts puncture holes in gun control, not only because the murder rate didn't go down but it actually went up.
In 1986, the Firearm Owner Protection Act made reforms to the gun control act of 1968. It also contained a provision prohibiting the sale of machine guns to unlicensed civilians (civilians who wanted them had to jump through many hoops) which were made after the date in which the act took effect. The murder rate in the US remained consistent until the 1990s. Furthermore, handguns were always the most dominant form of murder in the US. In the 1980s, knives were actually responsible for more murders than non handguns.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg
The undetectable firearms act of 1988 prohibited firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal content from being possessed, sold, made, or transferred with few exceptions. The homicide rate actually went up for a few years from 8.4 per 100,000 in 1988 until 1991 with 9.8 before going down.
In 1990, the school gun free zones act prohibited unauthorized individuals from being allowed to carry firearms on school zones. Although the murder rate went up the next year before falling, most murders don't occur on school zones. The shootings in Columbine (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), Sandy Hook (2012), and Parkland (2018) all happened after this act was passed.
In 1993, the Brady handgun violence prevention act prohibited certain people from owning firearms. The homicide rate was going down since 1992 and it continued to go down after the act.
Next is the well known assault weapons ban which was already flawed because many more murders were being committed with handguns than with any other gun combined. After 2004, the murder rate went up for two years before it kept falling.
It seems that gun control does not reduce the murder rate. If I missed anything, feel free to comment below.
