Gun Control

Table of Contents

Introduction
Slave Codes and the “Wild West”
Federal Gun Laws in the 1900s
Federal and State Gun Laws: 2000-2019
2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
Federal Actions: 2021 Forward
The NRA and Gun Rights Lobby
The Gun Control Lobby
Public Opinion
Pros
- Pro 1: Gun control laws are needed, because the Second Amendment is not an unlimited, individual right to own guns.
- Pro 2: More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths.
- Pro 3: The presence of a gun makes a conflict more likely to become violent.
- Pro 4: A majority of adults, including gun owners, support commonsense gun control measures.
Pro Quotes
- Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group:
- The Editors of Scientific American:
- Jacqui Lewis and Sharon Brous, Senior Minister of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Senior Rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles respectively:
Cons
- Con 1: The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects individual gun ownership.
- Con 2: Gun control laws are discriminatory and infringe on citizens’ rights.
- Con 3: Gun control laws simply do not work.
- Con 4: Gun control laws give too much power to the government and may spur government tyranny.
Con Quotes
- The NRA-ILA, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association:
- The Editors of the National Review:
- Laura Carno, senior fellow emeritus at Independent Women’s Forum:
State Constitutional Right to Bear Arms
Guns & the U.S. Supreme Court Timeline
- March 27, 1876 - United States v. Cruikshank
- January 4, 1886 - Presser v. Illinois
- May 15, 1939 - United States v. Miller
- March 26, 1974 - Huddleston v. United States
- June 6, 1977 - Scarborough v. United States
- February 27, 1980 - Lewis v. United States
- March 26, 1985 - Ball v. United States
- May 24, 1993 - Smith v. United States
- May 16, 1994 - Beecham v. United States
- November 30, 1994 - Staples v. United States
- December 6, 1995 - Robinson v. United States
- June 8, 1998 - Muscarello v. United States
- June 22, 1998 - Caron v. United States
- June 15, 1998 - Bryan v. United States
- June 5, 2000 - Castillo v. United States
- April 26, 2005 - Small v. United States
- June 26, 2008 - D.C. v. Heller
- February 24, 2009 - United States v. Hayes
- May 24, 2010 - United States v. O’Brien
- June 28, 2010 - McDonald v. Chicago
- March 21, 2016 - Caetano v. Massachusetts
- June 27, 2016 - Voisine v. United States
- February 20, 2018 - Jeff Silvester, et al v. Kamala Harris
- June 21, 2019 - Rehaif v. United States
- April 27, 2020 - New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York
- June 15, 2020 - U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Almost 12 Gun Control Cases
- June 23, 2022 - New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
- June 21, 2024 - United States v. Rahimi
- June 14, 2024 - Garland v. Cargill
- March 4, 2025 - Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos
- March 26, 2025 - Bondi v. VanDerStok
U.S. Mass Shootings
International Civilian Gun Ownership Rates
International Firearm Death Rates
U.S. Gun Deaths by Year
- Firearm Deaths by Suicide by Age, 2001-2023
  - Ages 10-49
  - Ages 50-85+ and Total Deaths
- Firearm Homicides by Age, 2001-2023
  - Ages 0-44
  - Ages 45-85+ and Total Deaths
- Unintentional Firearm Deaths by Age, 2001-2023
  - Ages 0-44
  - Ages 45-85+ and Total Deaths
- Legal Intervention Firearm Deaths by Age, 2001-2023
  - Ages 15-44
  - Ages 45-69 and Total Deaths
- Firearm Deaths with Undetermined Intent by Age, 2001-2023
  - Ages 0-44
  - Ages 45-74 and Total Deaths
U.S. Leading Causes of Suicide, Homicide, and Unintentional Death
- Leading Methods of Suicide, 2001-2023
- Leading Methods of Homicide, 2001-2023
- Leading Methods of Unintentional Death, 2001-2023
Assessment Quiz
1-minute Survey
Discussion Questions
Take Action
Sources

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

mass shootings in the United States

Read Next

Artwork for themes for Pro-Con articles.

Pro and Con: Gun Control

Handgun on top of the U.S. Constitution

Gun Control in the U.S.

Woman hand pulling a pistol out of handbag

Pro and Con: Concealed Guns

Discover

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant

7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants

Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.

7 Deadliest Weapons in History

Internet http://www blue screen. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, media news television, crowd opinion protest, In the News 2009, breaking news

Who Invented the Internet?

Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Ethel Rosenberg arrested in August 1950. Photograph dated Aug. 8, 1950. American civilians executed for espionage. Spies, communists, Julius Rosenberg

Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game

Gun Control: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

See All Images and Interactives →

Topics

gun control U.S. Ban on Selling Guns to Adults Younger Than 21 Ruled Unconstitutional Death Penalty Recreational Marijuana Drinking Age D.A.R.E.Body Cameras Constitutional Carry of Guns Private Prisons Prostitution Olympic Snowboarder Wanted for Drug Trafficking Drug Enforcement Administration Ends Body Camera Use