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.