Second Amendment Showdown
Josh Harding
March 17, 2008
This week, the Supreme Court takes up a long-debated issue: whether the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. The issue at hands involves the 1976 Washington DC law that, among other things, bans handguns.
If the Court decision is based on the intent of the Founding Fathers, then there should be no doubt who wins. George Mason, referred to by many as the father of the Bill of Rights, stated, "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." For Samuel Adams, the Constitution should never be interpreted "to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." Thomas Jefferson also weighed in on the subject, saying "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes."
Washington DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier disagrees. In her opinion, "The weakening of the District´s gun law will inevitably lead to an increase in injury, and worse, death." But isn´t that what we already get from DC´s gun control law? While DC´s most recently-reported homicide rate of 29.1 per 100,000 people (1) is the lowest they´ve had in some time, it is still higher than the 1976 rate of 26.8 per 100,000, and still one of the worst in the country. Plus, that rate is considerably higher than DC´s neighbor, Arlington, VA, which has much more lenient gun laws.
Despite these statistics, it wouldn´t be a surprise that certain justices cite the recent school shootings as a reason to side with the city. It should be noted, though, that schools are "gun-free" zones, prohibiting the possession of firearms on campus. So we already have gun control at school. Is there a better way to prevent these school shootings from escalating?
Statistic show, on the contrary to what gun controllers say, allowing law-abiding citizens to have guns may be the best deterrent to violent crime. The famous study by John Lott showed that states with right-to-carry laws have lower rates of homicide, rape, and aggravated assault than states without such laws (2). A rather famous gun law in the Georgia town of Kennesaw requires heads of households to own at least one firearm. As a result, their crime rate dropped 89 percent (3).
If the Supreme Court sides with fighting crime and adhering to the Constitution, they will strike down this unfortunate law, and get DC back on the path toward respecting the rights and lives of their citizens.
1. http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm
2. http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=18
3. http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm
If the Court decision is based on the intent of the Founding Fathers, then there should be no doubt who wins. George Mason, referred to by many as the father of the Bill of Rights, stated, "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." For Samuel Adams, the Constitution should never be interpreted "to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." Thomas Jefferson also weighed in on the subject, saying "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes."
Washington DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier disagrees. In her opinion, "The weakening of the District´s gun law will inevitably lead to an increase in injury, and worse, death." But isn´t that what we already get from DC´s gun control law? While DC´s most recently-reported homicide rate of 29.1 per 100,000 people (1) is the lowest they´ve had in some time, it is still higher than the 1976 rate of 26.8 per 100,000, and still one of the worst in the country. Plus, that rate is considerably higher than DC´s neighbor, Arlington, VA, which has much more lenient gun laws.
Despite these statistics, it wouldn´t be a surprise that certain justices cite the recent school shootings as a reason to side with the city. It should be noted, though, that schools are "gun-free" zones, prohibiting the possession of firearms on campus. So we already have gun control at school. Is there a better way to prevent these school shootings from escalating?
Statistic show, on the contrary to what gun controllers say, allowing law-abiding citizens to have guns may be the best deterrent to violent crime. The famous study by John Lott showed that states with right-to-carry laws have lower rates of homicide, rape, and aggravated assault than states without such laws (2). A rather famous gun law in the Georgia town of Kennesaw requires heads of households to own at least one firearm. As a result, their crime rate dropped 89 percent (3).
If the Supreme Court sides with fighting crime and adhering to the Constitution, they will strike down this unfortunate law, and get DC back on the path toward respecting the rights and lives of their citizens.
1. http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm
2. http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=18
3. http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm