This past June, the Supreme Court decided a question at the heart of one of America's most impassioned debates, ruling that individual citizens have the constitutional right to possess guns. With that decision, the District's handgun ban--one of the toughest and most controversial in the nation--was ended. In Gun Control on Trial, journalist Brian Doherty tells the full story behind the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller ruling. With exclusive, behind the scenes access throughout the case, Doherty delved into the issues of this monumental case to provide a compelling look at the inside stories, including: The plaintiffs' fight for the right to protect themselves and their families from violent neighborhoods. The activist lawyers who worked exhaustively to affirm that right. The forces that fought to stop the case, including city officials and the NRA. The story of the Heller case stretches back to long before the decision struck down D.C.'s restrictive gun ban and forward to the future of the political and legal battle over gun control in America. Doherty provides clear, concise explanations of the issues and battles that have driven the gun control debate for decades, detailing how the Heller decision is a new starting point for the gun control debate as it passionately and energetically continues in the years ahead. It's important to note that the Heller decision does not settle every controversy in the gun control debate. It only settles the legal question of whether or not the right to possess weapons under the Second Amendment extends to personal self-defense: it does, writes Doherty. What the Supreme Court decided in Heller may be narrow in its direct and immediate effect; but it's deep in its implications for the relationship between the government and the American people, explains Doherty. It establishes a new shape to the arena in which the legal and political struggle over guns and gun control will be fought. And that fight assuredly continues.
Gun Control on Trial
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Editorial Reviews
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"As Brian Doherty so clearly demonstrates in Gun Control on Trial, were it not for the rights guaranteed in the Second Amendment--and reaffirmed, in this inside account, by the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller--we would forfeit our individual right to survive."
--NAT HENTOFF
Columnist, Village Voice
Author, Living the Bill of Rights: How to Be an Authentic American
--NAT HENTOFF
Columnist, Village Voice
Author, Living the Bill of Rights: How to Be an Authentic American
"Brian Doherty's Gun Control on Trial is to the Heller case what Richard Kluger's Simple Justice is to the Brown decision--an essential history made up of equal parts legal theory and personal struggle, presented in page-turning fashion."
--GLENN REYNOLDS
Professor of Law, University of Tennessee
Founder, Instapundit.com
"The Supreme Court's Heller decision wasn't merely a political bombshell, it was an historic advance in the ongoing struggle to restore the first human right: the right to self-defense. Brian Doherty, a tireless intellectual sleuth, not only sheds light on the political and legal questions surrounding gun rights today, he lucidly puts them in their proper historical and philosophical context. This is required reading for those interested in, never mind committed to, the right to self-defense."
--JONAH GOLDBERG
Contributing Editor, National Review
Author, Liberal Fascism
About the Author
Brian Doherty is a senior editor at Reason magazine and Reason.com. He is the author of the books Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and This is Burning Man. His articles have appeared in dozens of national publications, and he has appeared as a commentator and analyst on hundreds of TV and radio programs.
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Brian Doherty is a senior editor at Reason magazine and Reason.com. He is the author of three previous books, including Radicals for Capitalism: A History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and Gun Control on Trial. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, National Review, and The Weekly Standard, among other publications. He has been a commentator on hundreds of radio and TV shows, including The O'Reilly Factor and Glenn Beck Show. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
On June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court addressed the country's debate on the right to bear arms, deciding that the right still applied to individuals - and ending the District's handgun ban. GUN CONTROL ON TRIAL comes from a journalist who probes the case and its results, offering behind-the-scenes insight on the legal, scientific and historical debates and the myths about gun control that have permeated the case. Any high school to college-level collection strong in social issues will find here perfect material for classroom debate.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Eric Davis
Format:Hardcover
As a NRA member, I was shocked to read about how little the NRA had to do with the Heller case!
Although I don't totally agree with the CATO Institute all the time (Libertarian Ideologues), they really came through for us law abiding gun owners.
Now, unfortunately, the NRA is running with the Heller case results as if they had something to do with it.
This is a good book to learn what really happened and why.
Although I don't totally agree with the CATO Institute all the time (Libertarian Ideologues), they really came through for us law abiding gun owners.
Now, unfortunately, the NRA is running with the Heller case results as if they had something to do with it.
This is a good book to learn what really happened and why.
11 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By M. Dillon
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is short but packed with the important details of the issues, the people, and the trial itself. It is accessible for the layman but not lightweight: a quick, fun read on what was arguably the most important Supreme Court decision of this century. While the author is not shy with his own opinion he is not overbearing or overheated as too much of Second Amendment discourse has been.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average book
The book has some interesting bits of information but it is on the wordy side. Most of the points made could likely have been stated more succinctly.
Published 3 months ago by Gary M. Fellner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Must read for folks who like constitution and strategy
I learned a lot. I don't own guns and probably will never own guns. But, I am a constitutionalist and I like strategy. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Pradeep Rajagopal
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good book
Interesting reading that gives the facts on attempts to control people outside the scope of the Bill of Rights.
Published on February 11, 2010 by Ed Galvin
1.0 out of 5 stars
Propaganda, not journalism
When an author is ideologically committed to a cause -- in this case, unfettered gun ownership -- the product is certain to be biased and incomplete. So it is with this book. Read more
Published on September 26, 2009 by M. J. Wilkinson
3.0 out of 5 stars
government report
I thought that this book was very well written. While it is a bit of a dry read the author does a good job of staying generally objective and supporting his arguments with facts. Read more
Published on May 31, 2009 by Lauren T.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Weak Book, superficial
The Heller case is an interesting topic. Unfortunately, this book is superficial, though the case's history is more complete than the discussion of the research on guns and... Read more
Published on March 7, 2009 by John R. Lott Jr.
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