The Duel over Gun Control

Slogans, contradictory statistics and passionate arguments

A handgun is sold in the U.S. every 13 seconds, adding 2 million a year to the nation’s estimated arsenal of 55 million automatics and revolvers. That is one pistol for every four Americans. There is no dispute over these facts, but the endless debate over gun control, pro and con, is dominated by facile slogans, contradictory statistics and arguments that owe as much to passion as to reason. The only consensus is that the present patchwork of nearly 25,000 gun regulations-most at the state and local levels—is a costly, bothersome sham. Practically speaking, any person with $10 in cash can find someone to sell him one of America’s great equalizers, the handguns that are responsible for half the nation’s murders.

There is no truly conclusive evidence that the ready availability of guns increases the amount of crime. Nonetheless, most experts agree with Philip Cook, a professor of public policy at Duke University, that the presence of guns increases the severity of crimes committed. Common sense suggests as much: no other hand weapon is so efficient at killing a human being. Guns particularly are a factor in more than half the murders that result from arguments between husbands and wives or other people who know each other.

This conclusion is supported by a study of Massachusetts’ stringent 1975 gun law, which imposes a mandatory one-year jail term for carrying an unlicensed gun. Says Sociologist Glenn Pierce of Northeastern University in Massachusetts: “The level of criminal activity has not declined, but the character of the crime seems to have been affected. There are fewer gun-related offenses, and as a result it appears the offenses committed are less deadly.” Homicides declined 55% during a two-year period, as shown by a study launched shortly before the bill became law. When those opposed to gun control proclaim, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” they ignore the point that people with guns are far more likely to kill people than those armed with any other weapon.

Opponents of gun control argue that Americans have a basic constitutional right to bear arms. Says Neal Knox of the National Rifle Association: “The right of self-defense is a fundamental one, and if I know how to use a gun and feel I need one for self-defense, whose business is it to say that I shouldn’t own one?” After eight years of trying to fight crime in Houston, Police Sergeant John Gilbert is one of many law officers who see merit in this view. Says he: “It’s getting to the point where it’s up to the citizens to protect themselves. And the way to do that is with guns.” (Houston has the second highest murder rate.)

There are three main approaches to gun legislation:

> Allowing unrestricted ownership but cracking down on the criminal use of guns. Opponents of gun control, including President Reagan and the N.R.A., advocate a stiff mandatory jail term for anyone who uses a gun in committing a crime.

Lafe Pfeifer, secretary of the Texas State Rifle Association, puts it bluntly: “Punish those who misuse firearms, but leave me alone.” This approach predominates in Southern and Western states, but the laws are rarely enforced—and thus serve as no deterrent. In Montana, one survey showed that of 141 people convicted of armed crimes, none were sentenced to additional time for using a weapon. In Florida, where a similar law was passed in 1975, murders have steadily climbed to a record 1,387 last year, an increase of 28% over 1979. In Miami, 29,000 handguns were legally sold in six months last year, up more than 100% from the year before.

> Registration of handguns. While registration would not infringe on the right of citizens to own weapons, it would in theory give police some control over gun sales. Some form of registration is used throughout the country, but the strictness of rules varies enormously. In Arizona, guns can be purchased by simply filling out a form. In New York, by contrast, a purchaser must pass a background check and complete a marksmanship course before getting a permit to carry a gun. Registration has a limited impact on crime. “From the standpoint of homicide prevention, it is meaningless whether a gun is registered,” says Detroit Psychiatrist Emanuel Tanay, a gun-control advocate.

> Banning handguns. Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C., have tried this by imposing severely restrictive permit requirements, backed by mandatory penalties for violations. But these tough laws will not work if nearby communities have easier ones. Mark David Chapman brought a legally purchased gun all the way from Hawaii to kill John Lennon in Manhattan. Bernard Welch stole a gun in Virginia and used it to kill Michael Halberstam, a noted cardiologist and author, in Washington. A ban would attempt to prevent any new handgun from coming into circulation; it would not affect hunting rifles and shotguns, which are more effective than pistols in defending homes, yet are rarely used by muggers or robbers. But even if Congress were to pass a statute banning handguns, the enormous nationwide cache—an estimated 2 million illegal guns in New York City alone—means it would be years before the black-market availability of these weapons was restricted.

A bill proposed by Senator Edward Kennedy last year to ban the sale, import and manufacture of small handguns is considered dead. Indications are that Congress may even loosen the already weak restrictions on guns. The 1.8 million-member N.R.A., with an annual budget of $30 million, forms the nation’s most powerful single-interest group. One pro-N.R.A. bill, sponsored by Senator James Mc-Clure of Idaho and originally called the gun-decontrol bill, already has 61 sponsors in the Senate. It would loosen interstate trade in firearms and allow their possession by some categories of felons. In addition, Reagan plans to cut back or abolish the agency that now enforces federal gun laws, the Treasury Department’s bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms. Although 62% of those surveyed in the most recent Gallup poll say they favor tighter gun laws, opponents of gun control clearly have the upper hand. As long as that is the case, America will have to live with one of the world’s worst murder records. The facts are grim. In the U.S., there are 9.7 murders a year for every 100,000 people. Some others: Japan, 1.6; Britain, 1.3; West Germany, 1.3. One reason is that in these countries tough restrictions keep handguns out of circulation.

-By Walter Isaacson. Reported by Joseph J. Kane/Los Angeles and Marc Levinson/ Atlanta, with other U.S. bureaus