Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Armed Self-Defense Isn't Supposed To Be "Sport":
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_07_12-2009_07_18.shtml#1247524890
If you want to see why gun rights supporters are worried that their
rights are under siege -- even by laws that don't actually prohibit
the possession of guns for armed self-defense -- see San Francisco
Police Code � 613.10:
In addition to all other requirements and conditions stated in this
Article, each license [to sell firearms or ammunition] shall be
subject to all of the following conditions, the breach of any of
which shall be sufficient cause for revocation of the license by
the Chief of Police: ...
(g) The licensee shall not sell, lease or otherwise transfer to any
person any ammunition that:
(1) Serves no sporting purpose;
(2) Is designed to expand upon impact and utilize the jacket, shot
or materials embedded within the jacket or shot to project or
disperse barbs or other objects that are intended to increase the
damage to a human body or other target (including, but not limited
to, Winchester Black Talon, Speer Gold Dot, Federal Hydra-Shok,
Hornady XTP, Eldorado Starfire, Hollow Point Ammunition and
Remington Golden Sabre ammunition; or
(3) Is designed to fragment upon impact (including, but not limited
to, Black Rhino bullets and Glaser Safety Slugs).
Many people don't want guns for "sporting" purposes. They want them to
defend their and their family's lives. Why should the usability of
ammunition for "sport[]" -- which presumably means hunting and perhaps
competitive target-shooting (I don't include noncompetitive
target-shooting, since all ammunition would serve that purpose) -- be
relevant here?
Now I should acknowledge that the ordinance would still let people
possess a good deal of defensive ammunition, since much of the
ammunition that's used for hunting and competitive target-shooting is
also useful for self-defense. A [1]lawsuit challenging the ordinance
-- brought by noted California gun lawyer Chuck Michel and by Don
Kates, a lawyer who has also written many important articles on the
Second Amendment -- argues (pp. 12-13) that the some of the
specifically banned ammunition actually is especially useful for
self-defense; but that's not my main point here.
Rather, my point is how the ordinance seems to deliberately
marginalize defensive purposes for gun ownership. Sporting purposes
are labeled legitimate, and other purposes, including defensive ones,
are labeled illegitimate.
And of course if that is broadly done and broadly accepted -- once
people buy into the notion that the legitimacy of gun use rests on its
"sporting" applications -- further steps towards broader gun and
ammunition bans become much easier. After all, the only thing that
would be at stake in such bans would be "sport"; how can that measure
up against the supposed crime-fighting (or even accident-fighting)
benefits of gun control? Why not require that all guns and ammunition
be stored at the range or at the hunting lodge, and never at home? Why
not even ban the sport altogether, in the interests of saving lives?
So long as gun control proponents talk solely about "sporting
purposes," and don't even acknowledge the legitimacy of defensive
purposes, it's hard to take seriously the claims that law abiding
citizens' rights to own guns in self-defense are safe, and that the
only goal is supposedly "reasonable gun control" rather than broad gun
bans.
By the way, such sporting purposes talk has been common among many
supporters of restrictions on guns (e.g., [2]Sarah Brady), and such
provisions are present in various other statutes as well; I highlight
the San Francisco ordinance since it categorically applies to all
ammunition -- including that used for ordinary self-defense purposes
-- and not just to specific subcategories of weapons or reecipients
(see, e.g., 18 U.S.C. � 921(a)(4)(B)).
References
1. http://www.calgunlaws.com/images/stories/Docs/sfcomplaint.pdf
2.
http://books.google.com/books?id=H_RrLyV9rDUC&pg=PA539&dq=%22To+me,+the+only+reason+for+guns+in+civilian+hands+is+for+sporting+purposes.%22
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