"Debate: Can Handguns Be Effectively Regulated?"
University of Pennsylvania Law Review PENNumbra,
Vol. 156, p. 188 (2007)
Author: JAMES B. JACOBS
New York University - School of Law
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=836548
Contact: DAVID KAIRYS
Temple University - Beasley School of Law
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=359352
Full Text: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1030802
ABSTRACT: The FBI has recently reported that violent crime has increased for
the second straight year across the nation. In particular, the FBI's report
demonstrates that in major metropolitan areas, such as Philadelphia, homicides
have increased by 6.7%.
In the midst of this upsurge in violent crime, Professors James B. Jacobs, of
New York University, and David Kairys, of Temple University, reengage with
America's long-running debate over the effectiveness of gun (specifically
handgun) control regulation.
No. Professor Jacobs initiates the debate by asking whether it is realistic to
pursue a strategy of enhanced regulation of firearms in a country in which
"there are 300 million firearms in civilian hands," and "the large majority of
firearms used in crime... are either stolen or purchased on the black market."
After providing a number of critiques of what he believes to be a shifting
target set by pro-gun-control advocates, Professor Jacobs concludes that
"gun control offers no magic bullet for reducing crime, suicide, or accidental
deaths and injuries."
Yes. In contrast, Professor Kairys does not consider the current amount of
handgun regulation to be nearly enough to satisfy what common sense should tell
us is necessary to adequately ensure that handguns are not easily available to
criminals and youth. He specifically notes that any emphasis on the "black
market" in handguns overshadows the disturbing reality that "any person without
a record can buy large quantities of cheap, easily concealed handguns and sell
them to others indiscriminately, often without violating any law."
At a deeper level, both Professor Jacobs and Professor Kairys agree that the
debate on handgun control "at its core is [related to] a personal, cultural,
and political identification of guns with personal self worth..., freedom,
liberty, and... God and country." Whereas Professor Jacobs accepts this as a
political reality and uses it as an anchor from which to engage in this
discussion, Professor Kairys steadfastly disagrees: "The best hope for emerging
from our disgraceful state of denial is to respectfully engage and challenge
the cultural and political identification of guns with our nation's highest
ideals and the deadly legacy of that identification as it is currently
conceived."
Professor Joseph Olson, J.D., LL.M. o- 651-523-2142
Hamline University School of Law f- 651-523-2236
St. Paul, MN 55113-1235 c- 612-865-7956
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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