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Title: The Gun Control Debate : You Decide (Contemporary Issues) by Lee Nisbet ISBN: 1-57392-861-5 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Basic Text Book
Comment: The editor has degrees in history and philosophy, and teaches the latter in college. The book contains selected whole articles; they were not shortened by editing. The Gun Control movement started in the early 20th century as a response to urban crime and domestic violence. Gun control goes back thousands of years: the aristocracy has always sought to disarm the common people the better to exploit them. Aristotle's Politics explains how democracy came to Greece once the common people were armed.
Nineteenth century America was well armed. Until the revolver was perfected that arm was usually a knife - as much a tool as an arm. New York City, the home base of the Ruling Class by the end of the century, took the lead (p.22). Their control of much of the press, then and now, allowed a propaganda campaign for gun control. The Sullivan Law meant a citizen must prove a "reasonable need" to own and carry a handgun; the ordinary person is always rejected (unless they know somebody). The effect of this law was to disarm the people, and this resulted in increased crime and violence. Organized crime became more powerful as the people were disarmed. An armed militia of citizens would quickly put an end to them, and the local ruling class as well.
These articles date from the 1970s and 1980s, but their arguments are still valid. Since then 33 of the 48 states have passed "right to carry" laws. South Dakota and Vermont have virtually no gun controls; you can compare their crime and violence to areas with strict gun controls. But these are two states where owner-operated small businesses overwhelmingly predominate: no powerful corporations to restrict the rights of the people.
Chapter 13 lists the rates of violent deaths for other countries. These countries all have higher rates than America: Rumania, Hungary, Denmark, Austria, Finland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, West Germany, and Japan (p.188). Canada, Norway, and North Ireland just fall below America. Prior to 1977 Canada had virtually no gun control; after they passed a gun control law their rates went up to near America's rates.
Low violence rates in Europe preceded their gun laws. After gun laws were passed in America crime rates grew. Recent reports say crime rates skyrocketed after Gt. Britain confiscated all guns. When will they ever learn?
Chapter 16 lists Kellermann's article on deaths in homes where a gun was present. His study was flawed by a lack of a tally of non-gun deaths in non-gun homes; there was little difference. The real truth is that a person is 7 times more likely to die of suicide than of murder in their home.
Rating: 4
Summary: Essential essays on both sides of the gun control debate
Comment: Although already a bit dated (this book was published in 1990), this collection of essays contains many of the classics in the gun control debate including Sanford Levinson's classic "The Embarrassing Second Amendment" as well as the infamous "43-to-1" study by Arthur Kellerman. Of interest is the manner in which essays were collected for this volume. Nisbet contacted the two major lobbying organizations, HCI and NRA, and asked them to recommend articles and essays that best put forth their respective positions. Using that as a base, Nisbet narrowed the selection down based on his own research, reading and conversation with the experts.
The resulting collection is telling. If the best that the gun control advocates could muster is the ingeniously specious 43-to-1 study, then they've lost the debate. It's also interesting to note that almost none of the pro-control articles were published in criminological or law journals but instead were published in pro-control public health journals like NEJM or JAMA.
The pro-gun side fairs much better. There are many excellent essays by such notables as Gary Kleck and Don Kates, Jr. Kleck, Kates and others skillfully dissect the poor arguments of the pro-control authors.
No matter what your position is on gun control, this book is a must-have for your collection if you are going to try and debate this issue intelligently.
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Title: Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control by Gary Kleck, Don B. Kates ISBN: 1573928836 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control (Social Institutions and Social Change) by Gary Kleck ISBN: 0202305694 Publisher: Aldine de Gruyter Pub. Date: December, 1997 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong by John R., Jr. Lott ISBN: 0895261146 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Gun Violence: The Real Costs (Studies in Crime and Public Policy) by Philip J. Cook, Jens Ludwig ISBN: 0195153847 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Gun Control and Gun Rights: A Reader and Guide by Andrew J. McClurg, David B. Kopel, Brannon P. Denning ISBN: 0814747604 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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