Guns Are for Killing (1966)

Duration: 30:15:00

Year Published: 1966

Sound: sound

Description: Produced by Houston’s KPRC-TV, this television news documentary asks “Isn’t it time for us to make a sincere endeavor ... to bury some guns forever?” Broadcast in 1966, three years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the production questions the lack of legislative action to curb gun violence. Host Ray Miller, news director for KPRC, first identifies the two necessary ingredients for murder: a person and a weapon. Looking at statistics from 1963 as an example, Miller reveals that more homicides were committed with guns than any other classification of weapon. He then demonstrates the ease with which anyone can purchase a gun by either mail order or through a dealer and the problems therein. To better understand the effectiveness of gun regulations, Miller concludes by looking at countries with stricter laws, such as the United Kingdom. Congress would not pass substantial gun control legislation until 1968—after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy—with the Gun Control Act.