Private Americans own approximately 120, 000, 000 guns. Fifty-five to sixty million of these are hand guns. Fifty percent of all American households have one or more guns. Approximately ten thousand hand gun homicides of wounding plus more than two thousand accidental deaths plus several thousand gun suicides. Gun violence statistics, high-profile crimes committed with guns, and the ready availability and large number of privately owned guns in the U.S. have spurred support for gun control laws, and for their enforcement. At the same time, many gun owners, and a powerful gun lobby, strongly oppose all or most restrictions as infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens and as ineffective in reducing gun violence by miscreants. In recent
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cities, have filed lawsuits seeking to hold gun manufacturers liable for the damage their products cause.
Roughly 30,000 people are killed in the U.S. each year by guns--whether by accident, suicide, or homicide-according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2004 survey by the Harvard School of Public Health found that about 38% of U.S. households and 26% of individuals owned at least one gun, with about half of the individuals having 4 or more guns. Estimates from that survey placed the total number of privately owned firearms in the U.S. at more than 200 million, with about 40% of them being handguns. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that in 2006 firearms were employed in more than 73% of U.S. homicides, with handguns comprising 88% of the firearms used. Regulation of the purchase and ownership of firearms in an effort to reduce their criminal or unsafe use. Typically, gun control legislation may require registration of firearms; ban the possession of firearms by minors, felons, the mentally ill, and people convicted of domestic violence; mandate criminal background checks or specified waiting periods for gun purchases; limit the number of weapons that can be bought in a particular time period, as in so-called "one gun a month" laws; or impose outright bans on the sale or possession of certain types of guns. Licensing of gun dealers is another
cities, have filed lawsuits seeking to hold gun manufacturers liable for the damage their products cause.
Roughly 30,000 people are killed in the U.S. each year by guns--whether by accident, suicide, or homicide-according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2004 survey by the Harvard School of Public Health found that about 38% of U.S. households and 26% of individuals owned at least one gun, with about half of the individuals having 4 or more guns. Estimates from that survey placed the total number of privately owned firearms in the U.S. at more than 200 million, with about 40% of them being handguns. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that in 2006 firearms were employed in more than 73% of U.S. homicides, with handguns comprising 88% of the firearms used. Regulation of the purchase and ownership of firearms in an effort to reduce their criminal or unsafe use. Typically, gun control legislation may require registration of firearms; ban the possession of firearms by minors, felons, the mentally ill, and people convicted of domestic violence; mandate criminal background checks or specified waiting periods for gun purchases; limit the number of weapons that can be bought in a particular time period, as in so-called "one gun a month" laws; or impose outright bans on the sale or possession of certain types of guns. Licensing of gun dealers is another