WASHINGTON — Since the District of Columbia passed its handgun ban in 1976, more than 8,400 people have been killed in the district, many by handguns. Nearly 80 percent of the 181 murders in 2007 were committed with guns.
A long-debated question is whether a strict gun law like Washington’s has any effect on violent crime. City leaders say the law has kept many guns off the street and warn that violence could increase without it.
Homicides in the district did ebb after the law was passed, largely following a national trend. In 1977, the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported robberies, assaults and homicides using handguns had fallen sharply in D.C. and concluded the ban was working. However, the city’s Police Department said police tactics had contributed to the drop.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, murders spiked as Washington, like many other cities, was hit by the crack epidemic. By 1991, the number of homicides reached 479, or 81 deaths per 100,000 people, earning the city status as the nation’s murder capital.
The Associated Press
