Prohibition-Era Gang Violence Spurred Congress To Pass First Gun Law [View all]

Of course, the reason I am posting articles like these here, in Gun Control Reform Activism is that I strongly feel that some historical perspective on guns and their control in this society is pertinent.

Considering that the problem is not new, (just different) and that the way it is being perceived by both sides of the issue, this information gives us a better context to work from and so it is a tool for reform. I hope that more public awareness of this helps to encourage a more sane and pragmatic view that puts more emphasis on the value of human life and the short and long-term effect of trauma on our children, families and society in general.

I think it also demonstrates that, no matter what side of the issue people may be on, it is clear that the NRA, by contrast alone, has become more like a subversive and radical organization that is fueling domestic terrorism.

There was, however, a moment in history when Washington did act on the issue. But it wasn't after a single event.

In the 1920s and '30s, the U.S. was dealing with a different kind of gun violence epidemic: a massive increase in organized crime, fueled by Prohibition.

Gangsters, like Al Capone, were making big money trafficking illegal alcohol. And a key weapon in their arsenal was the machine gun.

"Those criminals from the mob took advantage of the rise of the portable machine gun, capable of firing multiple rounds of ammunition with the single pull of a trigger," says Adam Winkler, a professor at UCLA's school of law and author of Gunfight: The Battle Over The Right to Bear Arms in America.