Anyone interested to write a research paper on gun control laws of India?

[kartikharit]

Hi everyone, I am a third year law student interested to spread the message to restore our sacred right to bear arms derived from the natural law interpretation of our natural right (negative rights that we already "have by birth" and not "given by the government") to self defense and personal liberty as under Article 21 of the Constitution of India also.
My main issues that I want to cover are effectiveness of gun control laws, how insurgencies rise easily through illegal firearms, gun crimes in India and how the women and elderly population could be protected if gun culture becomes popular in India. Feel free to collab with me to write a research paper that could be sent for publication in a law journal and share with me any major case references and statistics related to it if possible.

[miroflex]

Hi kartikharit,

I think your proposal of writing a research paper on the subject is a wonderful idea and warmly welcome it. I am sure that many members would be happy to provide relevant inputs.

From the historical perspective, it would be useful to start with the events of 1857, which provided the genesis for legislation on control of firearms. As a law student, you and your research guides would be able to apply the rigour required in writing a research paper.

Later, it would be possible to bring out an easy to read publication for promoting the ideas underlying RKBA among our law makers and the public with the possibility of educating the bureaucrats and media, whose ideas on the subject are based on wishful thinking rather than the factual position

[kartikharit]

True that Sir, this topic should to be covered from its very origin and intentions that lies in its history. I don't expect anything from our lawmakers until the common people themselves aren't aware of their rights, therefore, such publication needs to be easy to read and understand. Thank you for this great quote, noted.

[partheus]

Excellent idea! I have given some thought to gun control laws and my take on the situation is that the notion of guns as fundamental rights needs to be supported by stronger, grounded reasoning if they have a chance of being heeded to. I would say (and these are just my ideas, so take them for what they're worth) that gun control in India is in need of rationalization rather than an overhaul.

For instance, gun possession in India is simply made necessary by the many failings of the Indian police system. Even if we discount police corruption which for some reason no one tries to put a number on, the Indian police is utterly understaffed and illequipped. The latest number I came across was that there are 138 policemen per 100,000 citizens, which the fifth lowest in 71 countries covered by a survey. If you are aware of evidence of corruption in police, then it can be used here as well. In other words, they couldn't do their job properly even if they wanted to and the overwhelming odds are that there's no help coming. Consequently, the citizens have no other option but to take their safety into their own hands.

Another case for rationalization can be the grounds on which licenses are issued. If applying for an arms license for self-defense, an applicant needs to first prove that he/she's in danger. In other words, the Indian law says - we'll let you buy a gun if you ever get robbed, raped or assaulted, which is stupid since guns are first a means of detterence. Whatever happened to it's always better to have a gun and not need it rather than need a gun and not have it?

Thirdly, the current rules on number of weapons and ammo allowed make no sense either. If someone can be trusted with a gun, then why restrict them to two? Do they suddenly become unreliable if they went from two to three? The ammo quotas on the other hand are downright dangerous as they encourage incompetent ownership of firearms. Guns are only useful tools if they can be affectively employed. In which case, how is someone supposed to become a proficient user on 100 cartridges a year? And, if the law through one rule is encouraging firearm incompetence, then how does it also trust the gun owner to use their firearms responsibly which is what a license is supposed to certify?

I understand that most officials have a habit of pointing to USA when confronted with questions such as these. But, America isn't the only precedent here. In fact, I will go as far as saying it's the worst example. IMO firearms do need be gated by licenses since they bestow incredible powers upon their wielders. The best example I can think of is New Zealand. Their firearm laws are by far the most realistic and while the recent shootings were unfortunate, we needn't follow their system to the letter (military styled semi-autos are obviously never going into civilian hands here). Their system does closely resemble our own, only they do not require irrational reasons for application. More on their laws here -

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-c ... ealand.php

https://www.police.govt.nz/advice-servi ... pplication

[kartikharit]

Thanks alot Sir for giving these useful and realistic points and contentions regarding this issue. Surely, I will give them a read and it would definitely help me in planning my framework for the research paper.

[sfcabhishek]

Hi everyone, I am a third year law student interested to spread the message to restore our sacred right to bear arms derived from the natural law interpretation of our natural right (negative rights that we already "have by birth" and not "given by the government") to self defense and personal liberty as under Article 21 of the Constitution of India also.
My main issues that I want to cover are effectiveness of gun control laws, how insurgencies rise easily through illegal firearms, gun crimes in India and how the women and elderly population could be protected if gun culture becomes popular in India. Feel free to collab with me to write a research paper that could be sent for publication in a law journal and share with me any major case references and statistics related to it if possible.

Hey Karthik,

Welcome.

Thanks a wonderful Idea, please share your email for connecting.
Alternatively, here's mine : sfcabhishek(at)gmail(dot)com

Best,
Abhishek

(PS. Bear with if I reply late, I'm quite a little busy for the time being)

[pistolero]

What an excellent project. Feel free to PM me at anytime. Happy to assist in anyway

[Aishgupta]

Hit me up anytime