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Gun Crime, Gun Laws and Citizen Defense in the United States

Received: 28 October 2017     Accepted: 14 November 2017     Published: 13 April 2018
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Abstract

In the United States firearms are used for recreation, self-defense, and unfortunately used in crime. Despite numerous gun laws and registration requirements, gun crimes continue to victimize many citizens. In response, the purchase and registration of guns are regulated by federal and state legislation. A comparison of federal and state gun laws is addressed, including a discussion and how guns are illegally obtained. Due to the fear of predatory crime, many citizens are arming themselves for protection. Armed citizen defensive is examined including laws on justifiable homicide, and the meaning of state castle doctrines or stand your ground laws. Evidence on citizen use of guns for personal protection is presented.

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15
Page(s) 81-87
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Gun Laws, Gun Crime, Citizen Defense, Justifiable Homicide

References
[1] Masters, Jonathan, 2016. U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons. Council on foreign Relations. New York, New York. http://www.cfr.org/publication/by_type/background.html
[2] Monuteaux, Michael, et.al. Firearm Ownership and Violent Crime in the U.S. An Ecologic Study 2015. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26091930
[3] Berg, M (2014). Accounting for Racial Disparities in the Nature of Violent Victimization. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30, 629-650
[4] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. (2016). Data & Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice.
[5] Gomer, Jeremy, Chicago violence, homicides and shootings up in 2015. The Chicago Tribune January 2, 2016.
[6] Decker, S. H., S. Pennell and A. Caldwell. 1997. Illegal Firearms: Access and Use by Arrestees. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice
[7] Barry, Colleen et al., Perspective: After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness, 368 New Eng. J. Med. 1077-1081 (March 21, 2013) at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512
[8] Wintemute, Garen, J. Gun Shows Across a Multistate American Gun Market: Observational Evidence of the Effects of Regulatory Policies, 13 Inj. Prevention 150, 153-54 (2007), at http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/13/3/150.full.pdf.
[9] Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Stats of the State of California. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/california.htm
[10] For a state by state review of guns laws see http://statelaws.findlaw.com/criminal-laws/gun-control.html or http://www.npr.org/2015/12/09/458829225/heres-where-gun-laws-stand-in-your-state
[11] Anestis, Michael D, et al, The Association between State Laws Regulating Handgun Ownership and Statewide Suicide Rates, Am. J of Pub. Health (2015).
[12] Barry, Colleen et al., Perspective: After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness, 368 New Eng. J. Med. 1077-1081 (March 21, 2013) at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512
[13] Branca, Andrew. F., The Journal of American Medical Association disgraces itself by publishing a fatally flawed study of Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law. National Review. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442217/guns-stand-your-ground-law-journal-american-medical-association-study-fatally-flawed
[14] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. (2016). Data & Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/data-statistics
[15] Reese, Phillip. 2017. For first time in history, California dealers sell more than a million guns in a single year. Politics and Government. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article127523969.html
[16] Pendleton, Kara, 2016. Here's How Long on Average It Takes for Police to Respond to a 911 Call. Nation http://ijr.com/2016/03/554002-heres-how-long-on-average-it-takes-for-police-to-respond-to-a-911-call/
[17] Kleck, G., and M. Hogam. 1996, November. A National Case-Control Study of Homicide Offending and Gun Ownership. Paper presented at annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Chicago, IL.
[18] Kleck, Gary, and M. Gertz. 1995. Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86.
[19] Tabirian, Alissa, 2013. CDC Study: Use of Firearms for Self-Defense is ‘Important Crime Deterrent. CNSNews. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cdc-study-use-firearms-self- defense- important-crime-deterrent
[20] McCarthy, Justin. 2014. “More Than Six in 10 Americans Say Guns Make Homes Safer.” Gallup Poll Social Sciences. http://www.gallup.com/poll/179213/six-americans-say-guns-homes-safer.aspx
[21] Kates, D.B. 1995. Gun Control: Epidemic of Violence or Pandemic of Propaganda. University of Tennessee Law Review, spring.
[22] Kleck, Gary and Tomislav Kovandzic, City-Level Characteristics and Individual Handgun Ownership: Effects of Collective Security and Homicide, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Volume 25, Number 1, February 2009, 45-66.
[23] Witkin, G. 1994, August 15. Should You Own a Gun? U.S. News & World Report, p. 24
[24] National Rifle Association and Legislative Action 2017. https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws.aspx?page=1&state=0&startDate=20151128&endDate=20161128&search=&contributor=0&contentBuckets=8176&geo=#latest-news
[25] The news articles are reported incidents where an armed citizen used a firearm as a defense to an armed attack, or to ward off an imminent attack. For a thorough review of articles in referred to in this study See https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/armed-citizen/?page=7&state=0&startDate=20160208&endDate=20170208&search=&contributor=0&contentBuckets=8176&geo=#latest-news
[26] Catalano, Shannon, 2010. Victimization during household burglary National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf
[27] Kellerman, M, L Westfphal, L.Fischer, and B.Harvard. 1995. Weapon Involvement in Home Invasion Crimes. Journal of American Medical Association 273:22
[28] District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
[29] McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
[30] Peruta v. County of San Diego (2014)
[31] Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
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    Robert Jay Meadows. (2018). Gun Crime, Gun Laws and Citizen Defense in the United States. Social Sciences, 7(2), 81-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15

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    Robert Jay Meadows. Gun Crime, Gun Laws and Citizen Defense in the United States. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(2), 81-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15

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    AMA Style

    Robert Jay Meadows. Gun Crime, Gun Laws and Citizen Defense in the United States. Soc Sci. 2018;7(2):81-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15,
      author = {Robert Jay Meadows},
      title = {Gun Crime, Gun Laws and Citizen Defense in the United States},
      journal = {Social Sciences},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {81-87},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180702.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20180702.15},
      abstract = {In the United States firearms are used for recreation, self-defense, and unfortunately used in crime. Despite numerous gun laws and registration requirements, gun crimes continue to victimize many citizens. In response, the purchase and registration of guns are regulated by federal and state legislation. A comparison of federal and state gun laws is addressed, including a discussion and how guns are illegally obtained. Due to the fear of predatory crime, many citizens are arming themselves for protection. Armed citizen defensive is examined including laws on justifiable homicide, and the meaning of state castle doctrines or stand your ground laws. Evidence on citizen use of guns for personal protection is presented.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - In the United States firearms are used for recreation, self-defense, and unfortunately used in crime. Despite numerous gun laws and registration requirements, gun crimes continue to victimize many citizens. In response, the purchase and registration of guns are regulated by federal and state legislation. A comparison of federal and state gun laws is addressed, including a discussion and how guns are illegally obtained. Due to the fear of predatory crime, many citizens are arming themselves for protection. Armed citizen defensive is examined including laws on justifiable homicide, and the meaning of state castle doctrines or stand your ground laws. Evidence on citizen use of guns for personal protection is presented.
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Author Information
  • Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, USA

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