Customer Reviews

Guns, Crime, and Freedom

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Finally, a source book for supporters of the Right to Bear Arms. Before "Guns, Crime and Freedom", only leftist ideologues got into print on the subject of Firearms in America. Lapierre reversed this long-standing trend and opened something of a floodgate of scholarly research and commentary supporting the traditionalist interpretation of the Second Amendment and the utilitarian aspects of a free and armed citizenry.

Lapierre's research spans the alpha and the omega of the gun rights issue. The book is carefully and thouroughly sourced and the extensive bibliography includes references to anti-gun material as well as evidence supporting the gun rights stance.

With the facts on his side, Wayne thoroughly explores the arguments of the gun control clique and demolishes them one by one. "Guns, Crime and Freedom" is a splendid tool for gun rights advocates who would like to do the same.

Wayne Lapierre does an excellent job of explaining the Second Amendment and exposing the myths of gun control advocates. This book is a must for anyone who supports the Constitution and opposes the movement toward a socialist-type government. One only has to examine the recent loss of freedom faced by citizens of Australia to understand the importance of protecting our Constitutional right to bear arms.

Buy this book for your friends, family and co-workers. The only way to save our precious freedom is to educate the public about their rights and counter the propaganda being spread by members of the media.

A great piece of work put forth here by Wayne LaPierre. I am very much in disagreement with the reader from Polk County, Florida, who says the arguments put forth by the author are not logical. Quite the contrary, it is the arguments put forth by the kooky left against gun ownership by individuals that should leave normal people scrathching their heads in disbelief. Why does there have to be an amendment to the Constitution to allow the militia (a government entity) to be armed? Pure nonsense to be sure, but that is exactly how the anti-gun crowd is trying to re-define the 2nd amendment. Individual liberty is under attack daily by this bunch and Americans must wake up to this fact and reject their goofy ideas before we all fall to their tyranny as our forefathers warned.

This 1994 book explores the controversy of "gun control" (really Gun Prohibition) by presenting facts to use against the arguments made for gun control. Does the spiraling crime rate result from private gun ownership? The reality is that areas with the least private gun ownership have the most crime and murders (Washington DC, New York city, Detroit Mich). The corporate controlled media simply lie, or tell half-truths, to promote the interests of the economic aristocrats who own them. You can read other books on this subject, like William Weir's "A Well-Regulated Militia: the Battle Over Gun Control".

Chapter 2 says that gun ownership would be mandatory if the right to keep and bear arms was interpreted like the other amendments (p.12). In fact, that was the law in 18th and 19th century America. You either showed up with your gun for the monthly militia muster, or paid a fine. Could an armed populace defeat a tyranny? It happened in 1781 America, and in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Indochina, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Algeria, Angola, Ireland, Israel, Mozambique, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe (p.20). Read your newspaper for current events. An armed people could not prevent an invasion but would give the invaders holy hell. Chapter 3 mentions that the use of guns is a common and effective deterrent to crime, but rarely reported in the corporate media (its not fit to print?). Chapter 4 explains why concealed firearms will protect the public. Florida's 1987 "right to carry" law was followed by a lowered crime rate. Chapter 5 tells why a "waiting period" didn't work in California, or anyplace else (p.42)!

Chapter 6 explains the "bait and switch" tactics used by the corporate media to attack people's rights just because guns started to used plastic in place of wood (automobiles, another deadly weapon, did this ages ago). Chapter 7 compares guns to vehicles. Everyone with a driver's license could buy one, and schools would teach their use. Every town would have one or more stores! Chapter 8 is on "Guns for Cash": this program has not lowered the number of murders anywhere its been tried. Chapter 9 tells of political chicanery by the Governor of Colorado after gang warfare broke out (pp.75-76). More children die from accidental drownings, bicycles, skate boards, automobiles, or medications than from shootings (p.81).

Chapter 10 explains why the hidden agenda of the "Brady Bill" is to disarm the people through registration, licensing, gun bans, and taxes. "Gun Control" groups will tell any lie to fool the voters. Registration leads to confiscation (pp.92-93). Chapter 11 tells of the growing realization by more people to defend their civil rights. Pages 100-101 tell of the ABA's policy dispute with the NRA. Gerry Spence says the ABA speaks for corporate interests, not the people. Chapter 12 gives examples on how dangerous convicts are released to terrorize the people. Isn't this a new way to oppress and distract the people? When people are in fear they can't realize how their government manipulates them. Does this result in a lower voter turnout?

This book is worth reading, even if you don't agree with all of it. My complaint about this book is its echo of the solution of the Gun Prohibitionists: pass more laws to create a better society. What is really needed is "good jobs at good wages"; prosperous people rarely commit violent crimes. That and stable neighborhoods (as in small towns).

This is a well-written, well-thought-out treatise on whether the USA's 2nd amendment (the "right to keep and bear arms") is relevant today, and if so, what it means. Whether you are for or against private ownership of guns, I highly recommend this book. The author looks at the issue in light of legal precedent, overall crime statistics, gun ownership and usage statistics, the writings of the founding fathers of the USA, and every other relevant illumination you can imagine.

No rabid rhetoric here, just clear, intelligent exposition.

Tom Clancy's Foreword points out that there is little crime in his suburb and many guns, unlike nearby Washington DC where there is much crime and few guns. Doesn't this reflect prosperity versus poverty? Wasn't Hubert Humphrey's policy "good jobs at good wages"? Clancy notes that the result of Prohibition was to enrich organized crime and increase criminal activity (p.xv). Could this have been a hidden agenda?

This 1994 book claims to provide a concise reference to refute gun control arguments. It does not provide "opposing viewpoints". But the paid professionals who promote gun control policies use emotion, not reason. Their background is in advertising, public relations, or an allied field. They use fear and ignorance to drive away rational thought. The same techniques used to sell cigarettes, SUVs, and other higher-priced commodities. I once met a woman who was convinced that "childproof guns" were needed to prevent her 4 year old child from being shot. But she had no gun in her home! She also drove an SUV (for "safety") but worried about the reports of their dangers. You can't reason with anyone who has been conditioned to fear an inanimate object they they don't own. Telling her that most of the "children" who are shot are 15 to 17 year olds who are used by drug dealers didn't make any effect. She believed what she read in a weekly newsmagazine!

Chapter 2 discusses "the right of the people to keep and bear arms", which goes back to Colonial times. The newly powerful corporate class began to attack the traditional "well-regulated militia" in 1877 Pittsburgh. The campaign against the right to keep and bear arms still continues by these economic aristocrats, often hidden behind fronts like the Open Society Institute, the Joyce Foundation, etc. A "well-regulated militia" was composed of all eligible males, who had to show up for the monthly muster with their arms. Most importantly, they elected their own officers for a one year term. They provided the armed support for the civil authorities, and provided a "check and balance" against unpopular laws (like the attempt to enforce Prohibition in 1890s S. Carolina). Since the militia could not be sent out of state, this was a drawback to a newly imperial national government. The National Guard was invented as a select militia (of the well-to-do) and used as "white collar soldiers" in strike-breaking, etc. The "well-regulated militia" was attacked and eliminated by various state and federal laws from 1877 to 1934. These important facts are not in this book. (You can read "The Minuteman" by Gary Hart.)

Starting in 1934 the corporate ruling class then began to attack the right to keep and bear arms on the national level. Some states had already copied NY's Sullivan Law. They adopted the usual tactics of prohibition by banning the least-used arms. World War II intervened in this campaign. But in the mid 1960s the increasingly powerful corporate class passed the 1968 Gun Control Act, and other bans later. James Madison said Americans had the right and the advantage of being armed, unlike other countries whose rulers feared their people (p.8). Who do you trust?

This book will arm gun owners , hunters , and sportsmen with ammuniton against the Anti Gun Lobbiests who want to take away the Second Amendment . This book is an informative guide to show all the tricks and schemes of the anti guners and how they work to try and disarm America . I recommend this book for all gun owners , sportsmen , and hunters

A totally logical explanation of the Second Amendment backed up by the intent of our founding fathers as seen in the US Constitution and other writings. The most rabid anti-gun activist will come away deeply moved by the requirement for firearms in a free and safe society. Mr. LaPierre convincingly argues the case that firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens are indeed the path to reduced crime and ultimately the defense of our freedoms and our sovereignty. Chapter 4 on carrying concealed weapons (did you know the police have no obligation to protect you? Their obligation is solely to society.) and chapter 20 on media bias (LaPierre suggests that abuses of the First Amendment should be punished as severely as abuses of the Second Amendment) are particularly compelling. LaPierre's dissection of the so called "Assault Weapon Ban" gives one pause to seriously consider the real intentions of our law makers regarding the promoting of public safety and preserving individual freedoms. The only problem with this book is that the very people who need to read it, the anti-gun forces and our elected representatives, probably won't as LaPierre is too easily written off as a hack for the NRA. I assure you, this book is well written, logical and is well researched. If you have the slightest feeling our government is not adequately concerned with the rights of citizens, at least give Guns, Crime and Freedom a glance. This book is the basis for the gun rights position of the John Birch For Congress committee (no...not that John Birch! This is a different guy, same name is all.

This is a practical approach to this politically-charged topic. Wayne LaPierre offers a no-nonsense explanation of how PEOPLE, not their tools, are the cause of crime. Though he is politically savvy, he doesn't talk talk out of both sides of his mouth the way politicians do. He takes a complex-sounding problem and writes for the "common man" with common sense.

The history of the Second Amendment is on LaPierre's side when he shows that THE PEOPLE, not the government, are the beneficiaries of the right to keep and bear arms.

The reader will come to appreciate that the NRA is not just "the gun lobby," it's a civil rights group for men AND WOMEN...it's a sportman's group...it's a conservation group...it's a child safety group (no other organization educated more children about firearms safety than the NRA's Eddie Eagle Program).

I liked this book so much, I asked LaPierre to autograph it for me -- and he did!

I am not a member of the NRA (yet), but after reading this book, I am leaning to joining. This makes a powerful case FOR gun ownership.

Make no mistake...although EVERYONE has the RIGHT to "Keep and bear arms", the book does NOT say that EVERYONE deserves to own them. This is about the right to LEGAL gun ownership.

Wayne LaPierre makes his case stoically, using REAL numbers, REAL facts, and not guesswork. His reasoning and logic are without fault.

Being constantly bombarded by those who wish to subjugate our second amendment rights, it's refreshing to read something with a lot more truth and substance to it.

I am a gun owner (now), and it was spawned by a sincere desire to protect my house and family from those who would wish to avail themselves of OUR possessions (and possibly lives), and I highly recommend this book for ANYONE who has questions about the REAL issues on "gun control".

If anything is learned by reading this, it would be that we need no more GUN control..but rather PEOPLE control.

And by that, I mean owning a firearm entails a certain level of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY...and those who illegally secure a gun (for whatever purpose) DO NOT subscribe to those two aspects of human behavior. Therein lies the real problem.

THAT should be the motivating factor against crime...not fewer GUNS...fewer CRIMINALS!