Handguns

Firing tests with the other cal handgnns indicated distinguishable differences in the overall distribution patterns of discharge residues from different handguns. This unique distribution pattern of residues deposited immediately below the flight path of the bullet results from the cloud of combustion products emitted thru the barrel of/the weapon. 

Nondestructive NAA can thus be used for the detection and measurement of Ba, Sb (and also Cu) from residue samples collected from the floor surface after the single firing of a handgun. By constructing a unique distribution pattern of these residues, it is possible to establish the flight path of the bullet and the proximity of the gun with respect to the target. The development of this information, particularly in the absence of a firearm, a bullet or an eyewitness, can be of considerable value in criminal investigations... 

Pyrodex comes in several types RS for rifles and shotguns, P for handguns, C for BlkPdr cannon, and CR for BlkPdr centerfire cartridges. It requires very firm bullet-seating, hot percussion caps, and a strong hammer-spring for... 

Figure 10. A 94 GHz image of a person concealing two handguns beneath a heavy sweater [24].

Figure 14- Visible and MMW images of a group of persons, one of whom is concealing a simulated handgun [27].

The BATF has also ruled that since this type of bullet has a steel ball in its nose, it is considered an armor-piercing handgun round and hence, illegal. It is unlikely that this bullet is capable of piercing body armor. 

Should some types of guns be banned, such as high capacity semiautomatic rifles and pistols, or cheap handguns, or all handguns ... 

A number of studies have found that having a handgun in the home increases the risk of a family member becoming a homicide or suicide victim. Is this presence of a gun a cause of or a response to crime or social pathology ... 

Would banning the cheap handguns called Saturday night specials reduce crime by drying up a source of starter guns for beginning criminals Or would it deprive poor people of the most effective means of self-defense they can afford ... 

Do the semiautomatic rifles and handguns commonly called assault weapons play a significant part in crime Do such weapons have any legitimate uses ... 

In the late 19th century successive waves of immigrants flooded into U.S. cities from Italy, Ireland, Germany, and other countries. The neighborhoods in which they settled were often perceived to be crime ridden, and an increasing number of gun control measures were passed in response. Finally, in 1911, New York State enacted the Sullivan Law, which was the first state law that created a strict permit system for handgun ownership. 

Thus by the early 20th century, guns remained in widespread use (particularly rifles and shotguns in rural areas). Gun control in some form existed on a state and local level in many areas. But as with many other laws, gun laws were often enforced against the poor and persons perceived to be criminally inclined, while established citizens could carry a concealed handgun with the blessing of the local sheriff or police chief. 

Gun rights advocates questioned whether these tight new laws would actually have any effect on crime. Gun control advocates endorsed a 1969 report by the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, which had undertaken a massive study of the conditions that had led to urban riots and other violence during the preceding decade. The commission s report recommended national regulation of handguns and. 

Although the Brady Bill failed in its first attempt at passage in 1991, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in November 1993. The law established a five-day waiting period, after which the gun could be sold if the purchaser met an expanded list of requirements. (In addition to barring convicted felons and the mentally ill, the law also barred from gun purchase anyone who was currently under a court order for stalking or harassment.)... 

Gun rights advocates, however, see such efforts as an attempt to stretch reasonable concepts of liability into a form of backdoor gun control, in effect obtaining through the courts what they could not obtain through political means. They argue that if such suits are widely successful, gun manufacturers may be forced out of business, or at least forced to market only expensive handguns, affordable only by the well-off and by criminals. Thus, in a law journal article, Philip D. Oliver warns that... 

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