Gun Violence in The United States - Violent Crime Related To Guns - U.S. Presidential Assassinations and Attempts

U.S. Presidential Assassinations and Attempts

At least eleven assassination attempts with firearms have been made on U.S. presidents (over one-fifth of all presidents); four were successful, three with handguns and one with a rifle.

Abraham Lincoln survived an earlier attack, but was killed by a .44-caliber pistol round fired by John Wilkes Booth. James A. Garfield was killed by Charles J. Guiteau using a .44-caliber pistol September 19, 1881. William McKinley was killed by two rounds fired from a .32-caliber revolver September 14, 1901. John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald with a bolt-action rifle November 22, 1963.

Andrew Jackson, Harry S. Truman, and Gerald Ford (two attempts) survived assassination attempts unharmed. Ronald Reagan survived after being shot by John Hinckley, Jr. with a .22-caliber revolver. Former president Theodore Roosevelt was shot and wounded during the 1912 presidential campaign. On February 15, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara attempted to assassinate president-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was giving a speech in Miami, Florida.'

Response to these events has resulted in federal legislation to regulate the public possession of firearms. For example, the Kennedy assassination (along with others) resulted in the Gun Control Act of 1968. The GCA is a federal law signed by President Lyndon Johnson that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners. It primarily focuses on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by largely prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers.

Read more about this topic:  Gun Violence In The United States, Violent Crime Related To Guns

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