Access to Weapons: A Comparative Analysis Between Poland and the United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15678/ZP.2020.51.1.05Keywords:
guns, permit, violence, regulations, civil rightsAbstract
Objectives: In this article, we attempt to answer the following question: is there a need to liberalise policies and laws to allow the Polish citizens to have a greater access to weapons? We compare the Polish and the American regulations in this area. In our attempts to understand possible ramifications for Poland’s greater access to weapons, we review the American experience with firearms with emphasis on ownership history, the current debates, a comparative analysis of other dangers, and policy implications. In the conclusion, we employ the culture theory of risk to highlight the debates. The article draws attention to aspects meaningful in the context of shaping the policy of access to weapons and the direction of possible changes in legal regulations in this area.
Research Design & Methods: The methods used in this article revolve round literature reviews of the debates, statistical data, a survey analysis, and an analysis of legal regulations.
Findings: Restrictions on the access to weapons in Poland may not be desirable. They can limit civic rights and prevent a potential net gain of financial revenue. On the other hand, too liberal access to weapons can be potentially dangerous for the safety and well-being of the citizens.
Implications / Recommendations: We believe that more research in this area needs to be conducted with a greater focus on the culture theory of risk as well as other paradigms which employ the latest statistics for a broader social-research agenda. We observe a lack of research and literature in this area.
Contribution / Value Added: Given the current social and economic climate in Poland and in the United States, we find this research study to be both timely and important. Specifically, on December 14, 2019, new arms regulations entered into force in Poland. On the other hand, President Joe Biden has recently positioned himself on taking a more rigorous approach to firearm violence.
Article classification: research article
JEL classification: K14, K19
Downloads
References
Ayres, I., & Donohue, J. (2009). Yet another refutation of the more guns, less crime hypothesis-with some help from Moody and Marvell. Economic Journal Watch, 6(1), 35–59.
Barry, C., Webster, D., Stone, E., Crifasi, C., Vernick, J., et al. (2018). Public support for gun violence prevention policies among gun owners and non-gun owners in 2017. American Journal of Public Health, 108(7), 878–891. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304432.
Bellesiles, M. (2000). Disarming Early American History. Common-Place, 1(1). www.commo-place.org.
Braman, D., Kahan, D., & Grimmelmann, J. (2005). Modeling facts, culture and cognition in the gun debate. Social Justice Research, 18(3), 283–304. DOI: 10.1007/s11211-005-6829-0CBOS, Research Communication, No. 72/2019, May, Opinions of Poles about safety in the country and the surrounding area, p. 2, https://cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2019/K_072_19.PDFCBOS, Research report No. 137/2017, Poles about access to firearms, October 2017.
CBS DC. (2012). NRA: ‘Only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.’ CBS DC, 21, December. Retrieved from: https://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/12/21/nra-only-way-to-stop-a-bad-guy-with-a-gun-is-with-a-good-guy-with-a-gun/.
CDC. (2018) Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Assaults and Homicides. Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm.
CDC. (2016). Centers of Disease Control and Prevention: Motor vehicle crash deaths: How is the US doing. Vital Signs, July.
Carbide, K. (2017). The second amendment and “The People”: Who has the right to bear arms? John Marshal Law Review, 51(1), 199–223.
Collins, M., Parker, S., Scott, T., & Wellford, C. (2017). A comparative analysis of crime guns. Journal of Social Sciences, 3(5), 96–127. DOI:10.7758/RSF.2017.3.5.05.
Donohue, J., Aneja, A., & Weber, K. (2018). Right to carry laws and violent crime: A comprehensive as-sessment using panel data and state-level synthetic control analysis. National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper 23510. Retrieved: www.nber.org/papers/w23510.
Donohue, J, (2018). More gun carrying, more violent crime. Economic Journal Watch, 15(1), 67–82.
Donohue, J. (2017). Laws facilitation gun carry-ing and homicide. American Journal of Public Health, 107(12), 1864–1865. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304144.
Duggan, M. (2001). More guns, more crime. Journal of Political Economy, 109(5), 1086–1114. URL: www.jstor.org.stable/10.1086/322833.
Esposito, L., & Finley, L. (2014). Beyond gun con-trol: Examining neoliberalism, pro-gun politics and gun violence. Theory in Action, 7(2), 74–104. DOI:10.3798/tia.1937-0237.14011.
FindLaw, (2019). Gun Laws. https://injury.findlaw.com/product-liability/gun-laws.html.
Flis, D., & Gielewska, A. (2019). Pro defense or-ganizations want real guns. Vsquar, 21 January. https://vsquare.org/pro-defense-organizations-want-real-guns.
Follman, M., Aronsen, G., & Pan, D. (2019). US Mass shootings, 1982–2019: Data from Mother Jones’ Investigation. Retrieved from: www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data.
Giffords Law Center (2019). Open carry. See: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-public/open-carry.
Gramlich, J. (2018). Seven facts about guns in the U.S. Fact Tank, Pew Research Center, December 27. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/27/facts-about-guns-in-united-states.
Hauenstein Center (2014). The Declaration of Indepen-dence and Constitution of the United States of America. Hauenstein Center, Grand Valley State University. Grand Rapids, MI.
Hauser, W., & Kleck, G. (2013). Guns and fear: A one-way street. Crime and Delinquency, 59(2), 271–291. DOI: 10.1177/0011128712462307.
Hemenway, D., & Nolan, P. (2017). The scientific agreement on firearms issues. Injury Prevention,23, 221–225. DOI:10.1136/injuryprev-2016-04246.
Hepburn, L., & Hemenway, D. (2004). Firearm avail-ability and homicide: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9, 417–440.
History (2018). Firearms. 28, February. www.history.com/topics/inventions/firearms.
Hsiao, T., & Bernstein, C. (2016). Against moderate gun control. Libertarian Papers, 8(2), 293–310.
Igielnik, R., & Brown, A. (2017) Key takeaways on Americans’ views of guns and gun owner-ship. Retrieved from: www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/22/key-takeaways-on-americans-views-of-gins-and-gun-ownership.
Ile osób...? See: https://tech.wp.pl/ile-osob-ma-pozwo-lenie-na-bron-w-polsce-policja-pokazuje-statystyki-6354390906288257a.
Kahan, D. (2003). The gun control debate: A culture-theory manifesto. Washington and Lee Law Review, 60(1), 3–12.
Kahan, D., & Braman, D. (2003). More statistics, less persuasion: A cultural theory of gun-risk percep-tions. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 151(4), 1291–1327.
Karp, A. (2018). Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers (Briefing Paper). Small Arms Survey. Geneva, Switzerland. www.smal-larmssurvey.org/weapons-and-markets/tools/global-firearms-holdings.html.
Kates, D., & Mauser, G. (2007). Would banning firearms reduce murder and suicide? Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 30(2), 649–694.
Khalil, U. (2017). Do more guns lead to more crime? Understanding the role of illegal firearms. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 133, 342–361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2016.11.010.
Kleck, G. (2015). The impact of gun ownership rates on crime rates: A methodological review of the evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43, 40–48.
Kovandzic, T., Schaffer, M., & Kleck, G. (2013). Estimating the causal effect of gun prevalence on homicide rates: A local average treatment effect approach. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 29(4), 477–541.
Lott, J., & Mustard, D. (1997). Crime, deterrence, and the right-to-carry concealed handguns. Journal of Legal Studies, 26(1), 1–68.
Mark, M. (2018). How Americans really feel about gun control. Business Insider, 15 Feb. 2018 (see: www.businessinsider.com/americans-gun-control-beliefs-las-vegas-shooting-polls-surveys-2017-10).
Markay, L. (2018). The NRA just reported losing $55 million in income. Daily Beast. 27 November. Retrieved from: www.thedailybeast.com/the-nra-just-reported-losing-dollar55-million-in-income.
Mayo Clinic (2019). Traumatic brain injury: Symptoms and causes. See: www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symp-toms-causes/syc-20378557.
McCain, R. (2007). “Shooting for the truth: History of guns in America detailed in new book.” Washington Times, 27 Mar, p. A02.
Miller, J. (2015). Wear a helmet while driving a car. Lesswrong. 30 July. See: www.lesswrong.com/posts/a3a3HcmPw7bbah8TD/wear-a-helmet-while-driving-a-car.
Moody, C., & Marvell, T. (2018). The impact of right-to-carry laws: A critique of the 2014 version of Aneja, Donohue and Zhang. Economic Journal Watch, 15(1), 51–66.
Moody, C., Lott, J., Marvell, T., & Zimmerman, P. (2012). Trust but verify: Lessons for the empirical evalu-ation of law and policy. Available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=2026957 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2026957.
Moody, C., & Marvell, T. (2008). The debate on shall-issue laws. Economic Journal Watch, 5(3), 269–293.
Murray, M. (2018). Poll: 58 percent say gun owner-ship increases safety, but gun-control organizations remain popular. NBC News. 23, March. Retrieved from: www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/nc-na859231?__twitter_impression=true.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Centers of Disease Control. (2019). 10 leading causes of nonfatal emergency department visits, United States, 2017. See: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfilead.html.
National Sporting Goods Foundation (2019). Firearms and ammunition industry economic impact re-port 2019. National Sporting Goods Foundation. Retrieved from: www.nssf.org/government-relations/impact.
NRA (2019). What is the NRA? National Rifle As -sociation. Retrieved from: https://membership.nra.org/FAQ.Offences Using Weapons, Police Statistics, http://statystyka.policja.pl/st/wybrane-statystyki/bron/bron-przestepstwa/50844, Przestepstwa-przy-uzyciu-broni.html.
Parsons, C., & Vargas, E. W. (2017). Stolen guns in America: A state by state analysis. Center for American Progress. July 25.
Pawlaczyk, B. (2016). Theoretical and practical problems of access to firearms to the views of young poles. Ante Portas – Security Studies, 2(7), 167–185.
Police Statistics – Pozwolenia [Permits]. http://statystyka.policja.pl/st/wybrane-statystyki/bron/bron-pozwolenia/186394,Bron-pozwolenia.html.
Police Statistics – Przestępstwa [Crimes]. https://statystyka.policja.pl/st/wybrane-statystyki/bron/bron-przestepstwa/186393,Przestepstwa-przy-uzyciu-broni.html.
Policja.pl, Record sense of security of Poles in the place of residence, 13.06.2013, www.policja.pl/pol/aktualnosci/87685,Rekordowe-poczucie-bezpiec-zenstwa-Polakow-w-miejscu-zamieszkania.html.
Polish Ministry of National Defence, Competition for Offers „Shooting range in the district” No. 2/2019 / WWzS, www.gov.pl/web/obrona-narodowa/konkurs-ofert-strzelnica-w-powiecie-nr-22019wwzs, Offer competition „Shooting range in the district 2020” No. 3/2019 / WWzS, www.gov.pl/web/obrona-narodowa/konkurs-ofert-strzelnica-w-powiecie-2020-nr-32019-wwzs.
Riley, R. (2015). Every man, women and child in the U.S. should carry a gun. Detroit Free Press, 17 Oct., 2015 (see: www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-riley/2015/10/17/everyone-in-america-should-carry-gun/74041934/).
Shi, W., & Lee, L. (2018). The effects of gun control on crimes: a spatial interactive fixed effects approach. Empirical Economics, 55, 233–263. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-017-1415-2.
Siegel, M., Ziming, X., Ross, C., Sandro, G., & Bindu, K. (2017). Easiness of legal access to concealed firearm permits and homicide rates in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 107(12), 1923–1929. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304057.
Siegel, M., Negussie, Y., Vanture, S., Pleskunas, J., Ross, C., & King, C. (2014). The relationship between gun ownership and stranger and non-stranger firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981–2010. American Journal of Public Health, 104(10), 1912–1919. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302042.
Singleton, S. (2019). National study from SafeWiese reveals majority of Americans feel unsafe: Violent crime, property crime and digital security rank highest for concern among Americans across all regions of country. Globe Newswire, 4 March. See: www.globenewswire.com/news-re-lease/2019/03/04/1746218/0/en/National-Study-from-SafeWise-Reveals-Majority-of-Americans-Feel-Unsafe.html.
Stroebe, W. (2016). Firearm availability and violent death: The need for a culture change in attitudes toward guns. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 16(1), 7–35.
Supreme Court (2008). Supreme Court of the United States (syllabus) District of Columbia ET AL. vs. Heller see (www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf).
Supreme Court (2010). Supreme Court of the United States (syllabus) McDonald ET AL. vs. City of Chicago, Illinois, ET AL. see (www.supre-mecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1521.pdf).
Walker, S. (2015). Sense and Nonsense About Crime, Drugs, and Communities: A Policy Guide. Wadsworth Publishing.
Wiśniewski, B. (2016). Access to weapons, law or privilege?, Scientific Circle of Constitutional Law Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics University of Wroclaw, http://repozytorium.uni.wroc.pl/Content/79137/13_B_Wisniewski_Dostep_do_broni.pdf.
Wright, J., Rossi, P., Daly, K., & Weber, E. (1983). Under the Gun: Weapons, Crime and Violence in America. Aldine Publishing.
Xu, J., Murphy, S., Kochanek, K., Bastian, B., & Arias, E. (2018). Deaths: Final Data for 2016. National Vital Statistics Report (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention). July, 67(5), 1–76.
Yamane, D. (2017). The Sociology of U.S. gun cul-ture. Sociology Compass, 11(7), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12497.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Open Access, licence: CC-BY 4.0
