2001

2001 was a rather busy year.

• Koper and Roth of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, published a peer-reviewed paper called The Impact (sic) of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon Ban on Gun Violence Outcomes: An Assessment of Multiple Outcome Measures and Some Lessons for Policy Evaluation. They found that:

"The ban may have contributed to a reduction in gun homicides, but a statistical power analysis of our model indicated that any likely effects from the ban will be very difficult to detect statistically for several more years. We found no evidence of reductions in multiple-victim gun homicides or multiple-gunshot wound victimizations. The findings should be treated cautiously due to the methodological difficulties of making a short-term assessment of the ban and because the ban's long-term effects could differ from the short-term influences revealed by this study."

• The United States Justice Department, under Attorney General John Ashcroft, issued a memorandum opinion stating that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms.
  • The Fifth Circuit court ruling United States v. Emerson also ruled that the Second Amendment protected an "individual right" to keep and bear arms.
  • Meanwhile, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Second Amendment only applies to a well regulated militia, not to individuals. Nothing beats consistency, folks.
• After extensive problems with various malfunctions, the Israelis pull the Magal, a Micro Galil variant chambered in .30 Carbine, from service.
• Richard Poe published The Seven Myths of Gun Control.

January

• Jan. 1: As of this date, all firearms in Canada must legally be registered with the Canadian gun registry. The program, which was supposed to cost only $2 million, ballooned to well in excess of $2 billion before it was done.

March

• March 5: Charles Andrew Williams opened fire at Santana High School in Santee, California. The school sent in an unarmed “trained campus supervisor” to negotiate with Williams which resulted in the supervisor’s death. An armed off-duty police officer, who was dropping off his daughter at the school, kept Williams at bay until more police could arrive.

May

• May 11: Smith & Wesson (whose business fortunes had been flagging since their deal with the Clinton Administration made everybody and their dog boycott them) is acquired by Saf-T-Hammer Corporation from Tomkins PLC for US$15 million, a fraction of the US$112 million originally paid by Tomkins.
• May 15: The Seattle Times quotes the Dali Lama: “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”

June

• Jun. 23: RCMP officer Jocelyn Hotte murdered his former girlfriend Lucie Gélinas and tried to murder three of her friends, proving that only soldiers and cops need guns.

September

• Sept. 11: EVERYTHING changes.

December

• The National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, released 2001 National Gun Policy Survey of the National Opinion Research Center: Research Findings, which showed that 28.5% of women have one or more guns in the house and 41.7% of women either own or have convenient access to guns.

The year in pictures

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  June: Gun workshop, Darra Adam Khel, Pakistan.