Lessons of History: Firearms Regulation and the Reduction of Crime
By Joyce Lee Malcolm
Publication Date
2003
Abstract
This article reviews historical evidence on the relationship between firearms regulation and crime rates, with particular attention to modern England. It argues that England experienced very low levels of violent and armed crime prior to the introduction of comprehensive gun control in the twentieth century, and that subsequent waves of increasingly strict regulation coincided with substantial rises in violent and gun-related crime. Tracing legislation from the 1920 Firearms Act through the 1997 handgun ban, the article contends that many measures were driven more by fear of disorder or symbolic responses to tragedy than by crime trends or demonstrated effectiveness. It concludes that restricting lawful civilian ownership and self-defense while easing sanctions on offenders removed important deterrents, and that historical experience offers little support for the assumption that tighter gun control by itself reduces crime.
Recommended Citation
Joyce Lee Malcolm, Lessons of History: Firearms Regulation and the Reduction of Crime, 8 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 175 (2003).
