From AMMO.COM

Report Highlights

• The amount of State gun laws nearly doubled between 1991 and 2016 (Source).
• The first Federal gun control law was passed in the 1934 National Firearms Act, which limited civilians’ access to machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled shotguns, and others (Source).
• Between 1886 and 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States interpreted the Second Amendment to include the right of the individual to keep and bear arms six times.
• Homicides (all methods) increased 27% from 1968 to 2021.
• Homicide rates increased 28% while incarceration rates fell 15% during the 2020 pandemic.
• The 1994 Crime Bill authorized $12.5 Billion dollars for law enforcement, while the ATF receives $1.5 billion annually to enforce Federal firearm laws.
• The ATF seized more than 360,000 firearms in 2021 (Source).

Timeline of Federal Firearm Laws in the U.S.

Laws

• 1934 National Firearms Act
• 1938 Federal Firearms Act
• 1968 Gun Control Act
• 1986 Firearm Owner’s Protection Act
• 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act
• 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act
• 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
• 1994 Public Safety & Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act
• 2022 Protecting Our Kids Act

Supreme Court Cases Involving Individual’s Rights to Bear Arms

• 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford - Determined Slaves do not have 2A rights.
• 1875 US v. Cruikshank - The right of the individual to keep and bear arms.
• 1886 Presser v. Illinois - States can ban individuals from forming militias.
• 1939 US v. Miller - Courts ruled the Federal Government can regulate firearms not effective for militias (i.e. short-barreled shotguns).
• 1980 Lewis v. United States - Upheld that felons cannot keep and bear arms.
• 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller - Determined that an individual does not have to be a part of the militia to keep and bear arms.
• 2010 McDonald v. City of Chicago - Determined that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment also applies to the Second Amendment.
• 2016 Caetano v. Massachusetts - Determined that the 2nd Amendment applies to firearms that did not exist in 1791.
• 2020 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. City of Bruen - Ruled that states must maintain a “Shall-Issue” stance of concealed carry outside of the home.

Economic Costs of Enforcing Gun Laws

• ATF - 2022 - $1.5 Billion
• NICS - 2022 - $8.4 Billion
• Criminal Justice System - 2022 - $12.62 Billion

*Compared to $2.8 Billion in medical costs yearly.

ATF Conviction Stats

• 34,436 Cases Initiated
• 10,138 Recommended for prosecution
• 6,315 Prosecuted
• 5,338 Convicted

*The Federal Government prosecutes 18% of all cases initiated.

Incarceration Trends & Homicide

Sources

• Incarceration Trends
• Firearm Homicide Trends
• BJS Incarceration Trends
• 2022 Incarceration Data
• Impact of the 1994 AWB
• BJS Firearm Homicide Trends
• 1990-Present Homicide Data
• BJS Incarceration Trends
• FBI NICS Budget
• Gun Violence Research Budget
• Federal Firearm Prosecution Trends
• BJS 2020 Incarceration Stats
• 18 U.S. Code § 922
• 18 U.S. Code § 924
• 26 U.S. Code § 5861

Written by Cassandra McBride

Infographics

• Are Guns & Ammo The New Gold? Why More Americans Are Arming Themselves
• The Greatest Gun Salesman In America: President Barack Obama
• Shooting Straight: How Both Presidential Candidates Have Changed On Gun Control
• President Obama: (Still) The Greatest Gun Salesman in America
• An Inconvenient Truth: How The Obama Administration Became Earth's Largest Arms Dealer
• Armed Drones: President Obama's Weapon of Choice
• COVID-19 Data Study: Ammunition Sales Continue to Soar in Response to Coronavirus Panic
• Data Study: 18 Months of Ammo Sales during a Pandemic, Protests, and the Biden Presidency
• Data Study: U.S. Ammo Sales Surge Following Russian Invasion of Ukraine
• Most Gun-Friendly States in 2024
• Worst States to be a Gun Owner (2024 Updated)
• Adolescents & Firearms: America’s Most Inflated Crisis
• Urban Violent Crime & Legal Gun Ownership
• Gun-Free School Zones & Shootings Statistic (2024 Updated)
• Gun Control Laws and Enforcement Trends 2024
• Gun Ownership by State (2024 Statistics)
• How Many Gun Owners are in America? (2024 Statistics)
• Concealed Carry Crime Stats 2024
• Accidental Shooting Statistics: A Review of Unintentional Firearm Deaths from 1979-2024
• America’s Stolen Guns: A Silent Contributor to Gun Crimes in the U.S. (2024)

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WARNING: Guns and weapons are illegal in the Cayman Islands except by government law controllers and special licences issued by the police to the public.