# Does Gotham City permit handguns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573 "2010-07-05T02:04:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/1 "2010-07-05T02:04:35Z")
Title Says It All. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/2 "2010-07-05T20:05:36Z")
What good would it do? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/3 "2010-07-05T20:11:13Z")
You probably have to specify a continuity. There have been multiple movies, multiple TV shows, and multiple comic book series set in Gotham, and I can’t imagine the local politics have stayed the same in all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/4 "2010-07-05T20:44:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You probably have to specify a continuity. There have been multiple movies, multiple TV shows, and multiple comic book series set in Gotham, and I can’t imagine the local politics have stayed the same in all of them. Conceded; I was just curious if any storyline ever explicitly mentioned the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/5 "2010-07-05T20:47:15Z")
Gotham does not have laws. It has Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/6 "2010-07-05T20:56:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Gotham does not have laws. It has Batman. And Batman hates guns. So, no. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/7 "2010-07-05T21:33:12Z")
In the Criminal Justice System of Gotham City the people are represented by three seperate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders, and the God damn Batman.These are their stories. > **[Law & Order : Goddamn Batman](http://www.myconfinedspace.com/2007/06/12/law-order-goddamn-batman/)** ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/8 "2010-07-10T02:08:29Z")
At least he ain’t a dick, like the guy over in Metropolis. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/9 "2010-07-10T02:26:31Z")
What with Gotham City being a thinly-concealed New York City On Steroids With A Side of Supervillainy, I suspect its gun laws are both very stringent and routinely violated. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/10 "2010-07-10T03:07:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I suspect its gun laws are both very stringent and routinely violated. I suspect that’s true of most laws in Gotham. ---
**Author:** ![Engineerly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9adbd/32.png) [@Engineerly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineerly)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/11 "2010-07-10T04:11:58Z")
I always imaged there was a weight limit on your manically designed Theme Weapon before the police called in Batman. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/12 "2010-07-10T04:30:28Z")
When Mike W. Barr was writing it, he had Batman take a more pro-gun, pro-self-defense stance. No one talks about MWB now. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/13 "2010-07-10T10:40:22Z")
For what it’s worth, Batman the Animated Series back in the 90s actually had the mundane bad guys use actual firearms (from my own recollection, and according to TV tropes)—as opposed to most modern American cartoons, where guns are commonly [replaced by lasers](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FamilyFriendlyFirearms?from=Main.WhereDidTheyGetLasers) (even when it doesn’t make sense)—but of course, these’d mostly be _criminals_ with the guns, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/14 "2010-07-10T12:29:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > At least he ain’t a dick, like the guy over in Metropolis. Oh, he sometimes [gets in on the act](http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1087:batman-imprisons-superman&catid=29:confounding-comic-covers-index&Itemid=32). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/15 "2010-07-10T20:53:27Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > For what it’s worth, Batman the Animated Series back in the 90s actually had the mundane bad guys use actual firearms (from my own recollection, and according to TV tropes)—as opposed to most modern American cartoons, where guns are commonly [replaced by lasers](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FamilyFriendlyFirearms?from=Main.WhereDidTheyGetLasers) (even when it doesn’t make sense)—but of course, these’d mostly be _criminals_ with the guns, anyway. Not make sense? Why would a military outfit like GI Joe use real guns instead of “lasers”? Pfft, next you’ll be telling me that ninja weapons like katanas, nunchucks, sais, and a bo staff are only useful for fighting robots. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/16 "2010-07-10T22:46:41Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Not make sense? Why would a military outfit like GI Joe use real guns instead of “lasers”? Pfft, next you’ll be telling me that ninja weapons like katanas, nunchucks, sais, and a bo staff are only useful for fighting robots. Also for cutting through doors. Which is about the only thing indestructible hand claws are good for, too, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/17 "2010-07-10T22:57:37Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Also for cutting through doors. Which is about the only thing indestructible hand claws are good for, too, apparently. Wolvie chops up living people up all the time. Well–they generally become formerly living immediately after said carving. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gotham-city-permit-handguns/545573/18 "2010-07-11T04:59:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Wolvie chops up living people up all the time. Well–they generally become formerly living immediately after said carving. In American _cartoons_, as above? Wow, I really need to start watching the hi-def versions of the X-Men cartoons. The letterboxing really _does_ show a lot more. 😉