Showing papers in "Journal on firearms and public policy in 2005"

Citizens in arms: The Swiss experience

Abstract: This paper is an adaptation of the author's presentation at the Tower of London Symposium on The Legal, Economic and Human Rights Implications of Civilian Firearms Ownership and Regulation in May 2003.

Blacks, Gun Cultures, and Gun Control: T.R.M. Howard, Armed Self-Defense, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi

Abstract: T.R.M. Howard was a leading civil rights activists and businessman in Mississippi in the mid-twentieth century. Having grown up in the gun culture, he armed himself for self-defense against racist, helping to set a pattern of affirmative self-defense which was followed by other civil rights leaders. Few blacks in Mississippi were more assertive in confronting Jim Crow and disfranchisement in the 1950s than Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard. When he spoke out, it was hard to ignore him. Howard was not only one of the wealthiest blacks in the state but headed the largest civil organization in the Delta. In honor of his efforts, The California Eagle called him the "Most Hated, and Best Loved, Man in Mississippi." From the beginning, armed self-defense was an important component of Howard’s civil rights strategy. In this respect, he followed in a long tradition that later found expression under the leadership of Robert Williams in Monroe, North Carolina, and various civil rights activists in the Deep South in the 1960s who relied on the often interrelated strategies of "God, Gandhi, and Guns."

Evaluating Canada's 1995 firearm legislation

Abstract: In 1995 Canada amended its firearms law to require owner licenses and to create a universal firearm registry. Despite costing at least C$ 1 billion so far, the firearms program has failed to win the trust of the public or the police. This article examines the organizational problems of the firearms program and evaluates its effectiveness in improving public safety. Years after its inception, with virtually unlimited budgets, the firearms registry remains significantly incomplete and contains an unacceptably high number of errors. The most appropriate ways to evaluate public safety are general measures, such as homicide, suicide, or violent crime rates, not gun deaths or gun crime. There is no discernible impact on public safety by the firearm program. It is recommended that efforts be focused on more serious threats to public safety, such as terrorists or violent criminals, not normal citizens who own firearms.

Ohio's concealed carry law: Practical applications and possible revisions

Abstract: Ohio is one of the most recent states to enact a Shall Issue law for concealed handgun licensing. This article outlines the new law, and examines some of its complexities and uncertainties.