To keep and bear arms: The origins of an Anglo-American right

This article looks at non-homicide crime data from Canada in an effort to debunk the myth that guns are more dangerous than other weapons. The author concludes that, "[a]nalyses of Statistics Canada data for 2003, the most recent year these data are available, show that violent crimes involving firearms typically result in fewer injuries, and less serious injuries...

This article looks at the history of gun control in England and its impact on crime rate. The author determines that gun control has left English citizen barely able to protect themselves and done nothing but increase the rate of violent crimes.

"If you own a gun in Illinois, take precautions. The state attorney general, Lisa Madigan, wants to release the names of guns owners in response to an Associated Press request. Publication of that list would tell the criminal class where the guns are, which could be useful to two different sorts of lawbreakers: gun thieves who want to know where the guns are and burglars who want to know where...

This article gives a brief rundown of the history of concealed carry, including references to various studies and statistics demonstrating its benefits to society as a whole.

This article is in response to the recent gun-show "raid" performed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office. The author opines that in light of the failure of many gun-show vendors to follow laws, further enforcement of current laws, including  the "gun-show loophole," is required.

This article tells the tale of Hale DeMar and his path from victim of a burglary, armed citizen, criminal, and finally plaintiff in court cases challenging gun bans. Throughout, the author informs the reader as to the state of gun law in the nation, even touching on the collective vs private-right debate.

This post presents information on the recent ruling of the Supreme Court in McDonald v Chicago. It also includes released statements from various libertarian and conservative organizations.

"Numerous studies have shown that gun shows are not a significant source of guns used in crime. Ignoring this evidence, some gun control activists claim that 70 percent of the guns used in crimes come from shows. And Handgun Control, Inc. asserts that '25-50 percent of the vendors at most gun shows are unlicensed dealers.'"

The rate of gun ownership is given for the countries with the top 20 murder rates. As can be seen, there is no clear pattern between gun ownership and murder rates.

"A clear majority of the U.S. public -- 73% -- believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns. And almost 7 out of 10 Americans are opposed to a law that would make the possession of a handgun illegal, except by the police. ...

Gun owners (the roughly one-third of the U.S. adult...

"A mid-1980s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) study of convicted felons in 12 state prisons found that criminals purchased firearms at gun shows so rarely that those purchases were not worth reporting as a separate category.

The evidence indicates that criminal demand for firearms did not shift to gun shows after the 1994...

"When the gun prohibitionists quote a statistic about how many people are killed by firearms misuse, the discussion sometimes bogs down into whose crime stats to believe and how to count crimes vs. the defensive firearm uses. Death by Gun Control works on a level that nobody can dispute: documented world history.

In the...

"During 2000--2002, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (the Task Force), an independent nonfederal task force, conducted a systematic review of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of firearms laws in preventing violence, including violent crimes, suicide, and unintentional injury. The following laws were evaluated: bans on specified...

"Title XI of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (the Crime Control Act) took effect on September 13, 1994. Subtitle A banned the manufacture, transfer, and possession of designated semiautomatic assault weapons. It also banned 'large-capacity' magazines, which were defined as ammunition feeding devices designed to hold more...

"Most states issue permits to carry a concealed handgun for lawful protection to an applicant who is over twenty-one years of age, and who passes a fingerprint-based background check and a safety class. These permits allow the person to carry a concealed defensive handgun almost everywhere in the state. Should professors, school teachers, or adult...

"'Shall issue' right-to-carry concealed weapons laws require authorities to issue concealed-weapons permits, allowing the permit holder to carry a concealed handgun, to anyone who applies, unless the applicant has a criminal record or a history of mental illness. The shall-issue laws are state laws, applicable to all counties within the state. In contrast, states...

"This information brief reviews major research studies on the effects of enacting 'shall-issue' laws which govern the licensing of people to carry concealed firearms."

"This paper uses state-level data from 1984–96 to examine how right-to-carry laws and waiting periods affect the felonious deaths of police. Some people oppose concealed weapons carry laws because they believe these laws jeopardize law enforcement officials, who risk their lives to protect the citizenry. This paper strongly rejects this contention. States that...

"Facts of the Case:

Several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park in Illinois challenging their gun bans after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller. In that case, the Supreme Court held that a District of Columbia handgun ban violated the Second Amendment. There, the Court...

"Last year, a federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia's ban on handguns. Now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the case after nearly seventy years of silence on the Second Amendment. Observers expect the Court to finally settle the legal question of whether the constitutional 'right of the people to keep and bear arms' is an individual right held...

"On June 28th, 2010, the Supreme Court dealt a massive blow to Chicago's 28-year-old ban on handguns. Chicago's Mayor, Richard Daley, insists the ban is integral to fighting crime. But just how effective are gun bans? And would letting citizens arm themselves be a more effective way in dealing with crime?"

"Down on the boardwalk, we interview a few young Americans to find out what they know about the Constitution of the United States. Can you answer the questions? Does it matter?"

"The controlled study documented in these videos show that concealed carry permit holders are fooling themselves if they think they will be able to react effectively to armed aggressors. Most CCW holders won't even be able to un-holster their gun. They will more likely be killed themselves or kill innocent bystanders than stop the aggressor. For more details, see '...

This case revolved around several murders performed by an allegedly insane man. The case dealt with Due Process of law, but it also had implications for self-defense, for the opinion declared that "there is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen."

"The Slaughter-House Cases was wrong when it was decided. It ignored the fundamental change in constitutional order represented by the Union victory in the Civil War and subsequent amendment to the Constitution. It ignored all relevant legislative history, rendered the Privileges or Immunities Clause redundant of the Supremacy Clause, and failed to give effect to...

"We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking his blessing on our work, do ordain and establish this constitution."

In this Federalist Paper, Hamilton argues for the need to restrain the legislature's authority with regard to defense, and that armed citizens are the last line of defense for liberty.

Writing under the pseudonym "Publius" James Madison discusses the relationship between the federal and state governments, concluding that "the powers proposed to be lodged in the federal government are as little formidable to those reserved to the individual States, as they are indispensably necessary to accomplish the purposes...

"Our law is that in the absence of a special relationship, such as exists when a victim is in custody or the police have promised to protect a particular person, law enforcement agencies and personnel have no duty to protect individuals from the criminal acts of others; instead their duty is to preserve the peace and arrest law breakers for the protection of the general public."

"This appeal presents, in a very sympathetic framework, the issue of the liability of a municipality for failure to provide special protection to a member of the public who was repeatedly threatened with personal harm and eventually suffered dire personal injuries for lack of such protection."

"If I had only to discuss academic principles. I should clearly not attempt an autobiography. But my purpose being to give an account of various practical applications of these principles, I have given the chapters I propose to write the title of The Story of My Experiments with Truth. These will of course include experiments with non-violence, celibacy and other principles of conduct...

"David Kopel's book covers topics ranging from the origins of the Washington, DC gun ban to the Heller decision. He discusses the genesis of modern American gun control, the KKK, the true anti-gun agenda and the deceptions and errors used to promote anti-gun laws. He covers the right to self defense from Judeo-Christian perspectives. Other chapters explore United...

"The subject of Gun Control for many seems to be a modern issue, but it has been with America since before the nation's inception. Has Gun Control best served the People or its Architects? Investigative Analyst Howard Nemerov compares the rhetoric and the legislation to the reality of how Gun Control's promises and laws have come to affect real people. Nemerov...

"The NRA steadfastly maintains that the 30,000 gun-related deaths and 300,000 assaults with firearms in the United States every year are a small price to pay to guarantee freedom. As former NRA President Charlton Heston put it, 'freedom isn't free.'

And when gun enthusiasts talk about Constitutional liberties guaranteed by the...

"By 1990 there were approximately 200 million guns in private hands in the United States, and around half of American households contained a gun. Over 30,000 people a year are killed with guns in suicides, homicides, and accidents, and Americans use guns for defensive purposes over a million times a year. There is little doubt that gun violence and control are issues of vital importance, and...

"Stephen Halbrook's The Founders' Second Amendment is the first book-length account of the origins of the Second Amendment, based on the Founders' own statements as found in newspapers, correspondence, debates, and resolutions. Mr. Halbrook investigates the period from 1768 to 1826, from the last years of British rule and the American Revolution through to the...

"The enduring reference guide to the most important gun-rights case ever heard at the U.S. Supreme Court, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed! is the very first book on the subject, on press just two months after the decision was announced. Captures all the original history that will control the gun-rights debate for decades...

This site provides a database of state-by-state gun law information: "Our free National Directory links you directly to the statutes for all 50 states, CCW laws, Federal firearm statutes, and national resources in the courts and bureaucracies."

The largest pro-firearm organization in the nation. This site gives a great background to the issue and presents one side well.

A variety of articles, events, and academic studies on the Constitution from the Cato Institute.