Gun Control: A Documentary and Reference Guide

✍ Scribed by Robert J. Spitzer

• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 360
• Edition: First Edition
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Gun control is one of the most enduringly controversial issues in modern American politics. For the first time this book compiles a comprehensive array of documents that explain and illuminate the historical and contemporary context of the modern gun debate. Bringing together over 50 documents from the colonial era to the present, including early colonial laws, founding documents, letters, political debates, federal and state laws, federal and state court cases, and various political documents, this book is an indispensable reference work for those seeking to understand the origins and modern consequences of American gun policy, including the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms. Accompanying commentary and analysis is included to help the reader fully understand the meaning of these documents. Numerous bibliographic sources provide additional resources for interested readers. Ideal for undergraduate and high school students, this collection of primary documents surrounding one of America's oldest controversial issues is a must-have for library shelves.Contrary to popular impression, gun laws are as old as the country, and reflect the intersection of citizens' personal gun habits and the country's early need to defend itself by citizen militias who were required to arm themselves. The nation's gun policies evolved as its needs and resources changed. Old-style militias gave way to a modern professional American military, and the settling of the American frontier ushered in modern gun laws. In the past century, political assassinations and gun-related mass violence spurred both new gun control efforts and a burgeoning modern gun rights movement. Students will be able to read and analyze primary documents surrounding these events, including the Federalist Papers, early hunting laws, Supreme Court rulings, federal and state regulations, and recent political platform statements. Ideal for undergraduate and high school students, this collection of primary documents surrounding one of America's oldest controversial issues is a must-have for library shelves.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
Reader’s Guide to Related Documents and Sidebars......Page 10
Foreword......Page 14
Preface......Page 18
Acknowledgments......Page 20
Introduction......Page 22
1. Founding Documents and Gun Rights......Page 28
The British Bill of Rights, 1689......Page 29
The Virginia Bill of Rights, 1776......Page 31
The Declaration of Independence, 1776......Page 33
Letter from General George Washington to the Continental Congress......Page 36
The U.S. Constitution of 1787 Pertaining to Militias......Page 39
The Federalist Papers......Page 42
Proposed Constitutional Amendments from State Ratifying Conventions......Page 59
2. The Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment, and Early Laws......Page 62
Versions of the Second Amendment......Page 63
Debate on Militias and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, House of Representatives......Page 66
Controlling Militias......Page 71
The Federal Government Attempts to Get Militia-Eligible Men to Be Prepared for Militia Service......Page 75
Early Gun Control Law from Pennsylvania Taking Guns from Those Who Refuse Military Service......Page 81
Early Loyalty Oath-Based Gun Control Law from Pennsylvania......Page 83
An Early Tennessee Law Barring the Carrying of Dangerous Weapons......Page 86
An Early Georgia Law Banning Carrying of Deadly Weapons......Page 88
An Early Virginia Law Banning Carrying of Deadly Weapons......Page 90
Early Hunting by Firelight Law Sends Those Convicted into the Military......Page 93
Another Early Hunting Regulation......Page 96
3. Early Supreme Court Rulings on Gun Laws and Rights......Page 98
The Supreme Court’s First Examination of the Second Amendment......Page 99
The Supreme Court Affirms the Militia Basis of the Second Amendment and Says “No” to Private Militias......Page 109
The Supreme Court Affirms Prior Rulings......Page 117
Laws Restricting the Carrying of Concealed Weapons Are Constitutional......Page 120
4. Early State Court Rulings on Gun Regulations and Rights......Page 122
An Early State Court Upholds Gun Rights......Page 123
The Second Amendment Protects Citizen Service in Government Militias......Page 127
Striking Down a Gun Law That Interfered with Government Militias......Page 133
The Militia Basis of the Second Amendment Affirmed in State Court......Page 138
States Viewed the Right to Bear Arms as Militia-Based......Page 143
Privately Organized and Armed Bodies of Men Are Outside the Law......Page 147
5. Twentieth Century Supreme Court Cases......Page 150
Guns and Non-Citizens......Page 151
The Second Amendment, the Gangster Era, and Militias......Page 154
The Modern National Guard Began as Colonial Militias......Page 162
Two Justices Address the Politics of Gun Control......Page 166
Federal Gun Law Held as Constitutional and a Reasonable Exercise of the Police Power......Page 169
Expanded Federal Government Control over the National Guard is Constitutional......Page 174
Congress May Not Require Local Police to Conduct Federal Background Checks for Gun Purchases......Page 181
The Supreme Court Creates a New, Personal Right to Own Guns Under the Second Amendment......Page 187
6. Lower Federal Court Rulings on the Second Amendment......Page 210
The Lower Federal Courts Interpret the Supreme Court’s View of the Second Amendment as Militia-Based......Page 211
The Militia-Based View of the Second Amendment Applies to U.S. Territories under Federal Control......Page 219
Citizens Must Be in Actual Militia Service for the Second Amendment to Apply......Page 224
Handgun Ban Judged Constitutional......Page 230
States May Enact Strict Laws Regarding the Carrying of Concealed Weapons......Page 239
A Federal Court Declares, for the First Time, That the Second Amendment Protects an Individual Right......Page 245
The Ninth Circuit Rebuts the Fifth Circuit......Page 255
7. Modern Gun Laws......Page 264
The Old-Style Militias Become the National Guard......Page 265
The Depression-Era Crime Wave Prompts New Gun Law......Page 274
Gun Dealers Now Licensed, and Trafficking Regulated......Page 280
Assassinations and Violence Spark New Gun Measures......Page 285
Congress Enacts the First Significant Rollback of National Gun Laws......Page 291
Congress Enacts Waiting Period and Background Checks for Handgun Purchases......Page 295
Assault Weapons Banned for Ten Years......Page 305
The Gun Lobby Wins Unique Legal Protection for the Gun Industry......Page 313
8. Gun Control, the States, and Politics......Page 322
Most States Have Right-to-Bear-Arms-Type Provisions in Their State Constitutions......Page 323
Democratic Party Platform Statements on Gun Control and Gun Rights......Page 331
Republican Party Platform Statements on Gun Control and Gun Rights......Page 341
Gun Control Resources......Page 350
C......Page 354
F......Page 355
M......Page 356
P......Page 357
U......Page 358
Y......Page 359