Accustomed to firearms, entertained by drama that portray the gun as a glamorous instrument of personal justice, many Americans underestimate the consequences of widespread firearms availability. In the days of the frontier, many believed the gun was indispensable simply for survival. We no longer live in such times. 4 Today's increased urbanization and interdependence of American society call for a new approach to firearms. If we do not control guns we will continue to suffer the violence they generate, the crime they cause and the injury they inflict.
Most authorities agree that the handgun is the weapon of concern.
The revolver and the pistol are the weapons predominantly used in violent crimes. Although only about one-third of the firearms in the nation are handguns, they account for over 75 percent of all armed violence in the United States. The majority of authorities claim that the increase in the number of homicides results in part from the increased use of firearms. A policy that reduces the availability of handguns will reduce the amount of firearms violence. When attention is focused not on the number of crimes committed but on the proportion of crimes involving guns, an inference can be drawn that control systems that substantially reduce the number of guns are effective in reducing the level of gun violence.