Is There a Relationship between Guns and Freedom? Comparative Results from 59 Nations

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION Is there a relationship between firearm ownership in a nation and level of freedom? Many people have thought so. The American founding generation thought that relationship was positive. James Madison spoke of the advantage of being armed, which Americans possess over people of almost every other nation, and contrasted United States with the several kingdoms of Europe, where the governments are afraid to trust people with arms.1 Two centuries later, Senator Hubert Humphrey affirmed same idea: Certainly one of chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is right of citizens to keep and bear arms .... The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, and one more safeguard against tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible.2 Other people argue that there is a negative relationship between guns and freedom. Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stated: The proliferation of small arms, ammunition and explosives has also aggravated violence associated with terrorism and organized crime. Even in societies not beset by civil war, easy availability of small arms has in many cases contributed to violence and political instability. These, in turn, have damaged development prospects and imperiled human security in every way.3 Proponents of both theories can readily cite examples. Widespread ownership of firearms helped Americans win independence from Britain in American Revolution and preserve that independence in War of 1812.4 The well-armed Swiss were able to deter Nazi invasion during World War II, even though Joseph Goebbels thought Hitler might eventually be known as Butcher of Swiss.5 Conversely, guns in hands of warlords and terrorists have played a major role in harming civil society in modern nations such as Lebanon and Ivory Coast.6 Increased United Nations attention to gun control issue in 1990s and early 21st century has resulted in much greater academic interest in international firearms issues.7 It is now possible to use a large panel, consisting of fifty-nine nations, to test for a relationship between increased gun density and various measures of freedom.8 Using data on per capita firearm ownership from Small Arms Survey,9 this Article examines relationship between per capita firearm rates and several measures of freedom. These measures are: * Freedom House's ratings of political rights (such as free elections) and civil liberty (such as freedom of religion). * Transparency International's ratings of government corruption levels. * Heritage Foundation's ratings of economic freedom. * World Bank's ratings of economic success. Part II of this Article describes these data sources. Part III reports findings from comparative analysis. Part IV discusses various ways in which higher levels of firearms density might work to increase or decrease different aspects of freedom. II. DATA SOURCES A. Freedom House's Ratings of Political Rights and Civil Liberty Founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and others concerned by threat of fascism, Freedom House is a leading voice against political and civil oppression, regardless of ideology of oppressor.10 Every year Freedom House publishes a monograph titled Freedom in World, in which each country is given a rating for two categories: political rights and civil liberty. Freedom in World defines these categories as follows: Political rights enable people to participate freely in political process, including through right to vote, compete for public office, and elect representatives who have a decisive impact on public policies and are accountable to electorate. Civil liberties allow for freedoms of expression and belief, associational and organizational rights, rule of law, and personal autonomy without interference from state. …