Gun Use and Control

There has long been an urban dimension to gun use and control in the United States, especially in regard to handguns. Gun ownership, especially of rifles and shotguns, tends to be concentrated in rural areas, but handguns and assault weapons—military-appearing, semiautomatic firearms—account for much gun ownership and use in urban areas. Since the 1960s, especially, guns have proliferated in America's inner cities, leading to a rise in gun violence of which young minority males are the chief perpetrators and victims. The title of Geoffrey Canada's 1995 memoir of growing up in New York City, Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun, recapitulates the increasing lethality of weapons used by young men in the inner city. Gun control initiatives in urban areas have been tied to the recent upsurges in violence in America's cities and to the increasing availability of firearms. For example, in 2005, Boston developed new policing initiatives to attempt to deal with an upsurge in gun violence.

City-based efforts at gun control in the United States are not new but have been tied to concerns about urban crime dating back to the 19th century. Films and television present an image of ubiquitous guns and widespread gun use in the Old West, but laws regulating and often prohibiting the carrying of weapons were among the first passed in new western towns. In the 20th century, one of the earliest gun control laws was the Sullivan Act, passed in New York State in 1911, but clearly aimed at New York City. This law gave police chiefs discretion to issue gun permits, a discretion they usually exercised to prevent immigrants from owning firearms. The law, which strictly limits the right of anyone to carry a concealed handgun, is seen by many scholars as a xenophobic response to an influx of immigrants, especially Italians, into the city. The National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, the first comprehensive federal gun law, was a reaction to widespread urban mob violence and the use of machine guns in that violence. The act regulated machine guns and sawed-off shotguns.

To understand gun use and control in American urban history and in the contemporary United States requires consideration of some basic facts and the larger context of intense debates over guns, gun violence, and gun control. These facts and debates frame proposals for gun control policy, at urban and other
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levels, and inform evaluations of the relative success of urban efforts at gun control.

Basic facts to keep in mind are the high levels of lethal violence, especially gun violence, in the United States, coupled with the extremely high numbers of firearms; lack of comprehensive national-level gun control regulation; and a highly developed gun culture, which sees the issue of gun ownership as inextricably intertwined with that of basic rights. The U.S. is also a highly urbanized nation characterized by extremes of wealth and poverty, high levels of past and present discrimination against racially defined minority groups, and continuing high levels of residential segregation, with poor African Americans and Latino/as most likely to live in inner cities. Social and economic trends in recent years, combined with the above factors, have created urban environments characterized by numerous social problems, including poor education, lack of jobs, high levels of crime, and inadequate public safety. Add the widespread availability of firearms to this situation and the linkage of gun violence and cities is understandable.

Another important context for understanding urban gun use and control is the long-standing, intense debate between gun rights advocates and gun control advocates. Gun rights advocates argue that the Second Amendment to the Constitution gives individuals a constitutionally protected right to own and bear arms. They argue that the availability and use of guns saves lives and money and deters criminals from attacks, and that guns do not, in themselves, contribute to violence in the United States. Given these arguments, they suggest that there is a net benefit to guns and that gun control does not work, so they oppose gun control regulation. Gun rights advocates note that crime rates declined during the 1990s, and that violent crimes and homicides dropped significantly in the United States since 1993. They argue that "guns don't kill people, people do."

Gun control advocates argue that the Second Amendment protects a collective right to bear arms in a governmentally organized militia, not an individual right to personal ownership, and stress that the Second Amendment—however interpreted—does not preclude gun regulation. They suggest that the availability of guns—especially handguns—contributes to high levels of lethal violence in the United States. Arguing that gun violence is an epidemic, many view handgun control as a public health issue aimed at reducing risk, rather than a political issue. While acknowledging the declining crime rates of the 1990s, they point out that rates of lethal violence, especially homicide, in the U.S. are still much higher than in industrialized societies which have more comprehensive firearms regulation and fewer guns. Gun control advocates note the increasing rates of gun violence in American cities in the early 21st century and suggest the need for comprehensive gun regulation. They argue that "guns don't kill people, but they make it a lot easier."

Cities have tried to cope with and control the proliferation of firearms. In addition to the earlier Sullivan Act and the NFA of 1934, both Chicago and Washington, D.C., have strict handgun laws, although Congress may reverse the District of Columbia law. Some research has suggested that those laws did reduce lethal violence, but other research suggests that they have not been effective. Pro-gun rights groups regularly criticize these laws as ineffective and suggest that they demonstrate the futility of gun regulation. Gun-control groups acknowledge the shortcomings of these laws, especially the lack of strong gun regulation in surrounding areas. Individuals can obtain guns outside of Chicago or Washington, D.C., and then bring them into those cities. Gun control advocates acknowledge that long-term policies to address discrimination, crime, and other urban social problems are necessary, but they suggest that comprehensive gun regulation can also play a role in lessening urban gun violence and use.

—Walter F. Carroll

See also Crime and Criminals

Further Readings and References
Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York: Norton.

Canada, G. (1995). Fist, stick, knife, gun: A personal history of violence in America. Boston: Beacon Press.

Cook, P. J., & Ludwig, J. (2000). Gun violence: The real costs. New York: Oxford University Press.

McDonnell, J. (2002). Urbanism and gun violence. In G. L. Carter (Ed.), Guns in American society: An encyclopedia of history, culture, politics, and the law (Vol. 2). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Zimring, F. E., & Hawkins, G. (1997). Crime is not the problem: Lethal violence in America. New York: Oxford University Press.

Source Citation Carroll, Walter F. "Gun Use and Control." Encyclopedia of American Urban History. Vol. 1. Sage Reference, 2007. 319-320.