Customer Reviews

One Nation Under Guns: An Essay on an American Epidemic (Speaker's Corner)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Not so much a researched and analyzed work as an opinion article in the form of a book. Mr. Grossman sets out with a premise in mind and then picks and chooses his "data" specifically to support his pre-drawn conclusion. Objectivity played no role in this work whatsoever. Reading this is a waste of time unless you would like to read a case study in how to marginalize any opinion other that your own. If that is your wish, this is an excellent book.

Like Sarah Brady and her ilk, this book is full of factual errors, absurdities, fabrications, and outright lies. For example, the author claims that anyone can buy a .50-caliber machine gun on the spot at gun shows. That ludicrous assertion displays an irresponsible ignorance of the law and what really goes on at gun shows. Even the photo on the cover is a gross deception -- it is unlawful for a juvenile to own or handle a handgun, or handgun ammunition, without a parent's written permission. The only value of this book is its role as a window into the minds of anti-gun radicals. Anyone who, like Diogenes, seeks honesty should look elsewhere. If the author is as wreckless with a gun as he is with facts and his exercise of his freedom of speech and of the press, stay well out of shooting range!

I have followed the various gun-related debates and concerns in our country for over 32 year now. I have lived in both restrictive and open states. I consider myself pretty well informed on most of the topics covered by this author, but I'm always checking for more information.

Unfortunately, this book proved to be just another tired rehash of the anti-gun misinformation I've seen on the Brady Campaign web site. "We need more laws controlling guns." Why, when criminals - by definition - don't obey the law? For that matter why bother, when the convicted violent criminals are released back into the public despite their records? "Statistics show" ...anything you want them to show, when taken out of context, as most of these are. "Assault weapons..." are defined by the military as capable of fully automatic fire (think "machine gun") and as such have been banned from general purchase since the 1934. Even the factually challenged definition of "assault weapons" banned in the nineties described firearms that were used in .026 of One Percent(!) of firearms related crimes, according to the FBI.

Bottom line: There are an enormous number of factual errors in this document. There are many quotes from the Brady Campaign, including quotations attributed to individual members of that campaign. It's quite apparent that the author spent many hours with the anti-gun organizations. On the other hand, I saw no quotations or evidence that his research was more widely spread.

My recommendation: If you're reading this review, you're on the Internet. Do your own research from the data available out "here" if you want real facts about this topic, not to mention saving money since you don't have to buy a book. If you are merely looking for a good summation of the anti-gun lobby's platform, this book is a good resource. But PLEASE check his "facts" before agreeing to the premise. You'll find many if not most of them are incorrect.

This is basically a liberal opinion piece, with little to NO FACTS. The notions presented go from quasi-common sense to the ridiculous.

Try "More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-Control Laws" by John R. Lott Jr.

I don't claim to be an expert on Gun Issues and I don't have a Dog in this fight, However I did read this book and I was impressed by the Authors writing style and his passion on the issue of Gun Control.

After reading all his claims I took some time out and researched all his claims and found out that just about everything he claims is untrue and most of his claims that I found that were false came straight from Government Sites and Books and could have been easily found if the Author would have taken the time to do the work.

I understand if the Author has an issue with our Gun laws but when he makes false claims he does a disservice to advocates for Gun Control and weakens his argument.

I found the book extremely enlightening. I believe the information and point of view will appeal to all moderate peoples. Grossman is not anti gun, he is anti gun VIOLENCE and anti ILLEGAL gun ownership. The most telling part of the book are the statistics at the end. The more gun laws outlawing illegal gun ownership that are on the books, the less gun violence there is. That bit of education alone is worth the price of the book.

Gun violence is not a political issue. Violence is instead a social problem. One where one person in a senseless act can march into an Amish one-room school house and kill 5 young girls. It's true that a gun, by itself without human intervention, does not kill people - that in fact it requires a person to use the gun, to create this terrible means to an end. However, the question that we as a society need to evaluate - or at least being open to consider, is how do people that are likely to commit violent crime get the weapon to do so.

It is this question that leads us back to the courts, and the laws that both protect the right to bear arms, and the need to protect the citizens of this country. I bought and read One Nation Under Guns after I heard Arnold Grossman on a Denver radio show. His arguement was sound, moderate, and leaned towards finding a solution for this exact problem, not stripping away the right to bear arms, or destroying every gun.

After reading the book, and reviewing the statistics provided (which are from the FBI, ATF and the National Crime Lab - not Mother Jones). It reinforced my concern for finding a solution to this issue, where the average "smart" gun-owning American does not lose or impede his rights to own a firearm, while those at "high risk" of commiting a dangerous crime are limited in their ability to get a gun. Sure, if someone "really wants" to get a hold of a gun they will find a way on the black market, or steal one, but here is where the statistics in the US compared to other countries where guns are legal, but controls exist to keep felons from owning them are in place - prove that smart gun purchasing and ownership laws make a huge difference. Let's consider the gun violence that we hear about - it's not someone commiting some large scale assualt on the government or massive terrorist acts, it's a milk truck driver who flips out one day and decides to enter a school room and commit a senseless crime. The odds of this (idiot) guy taking the time and initiative to track down a black market contact to buy a gun to commit this crime are highly unlikely if not impossible.

Grossman argues for sensible laws to be put in place - not an outright end to guns. These laws include requiring background checks so that felons and those previously convicted of violent crimes cannot buy a weapon. It includes hardening specific state laws - for example - Texas has some of the most stringent requirements of any state to receive a concealed carry permit - why don't other states follow this model? And, Grossman focuses a lot of attention on gun shows - and how the lack of stringent controls here has enabled anyone (legal, Illegal, terrorist, or felon) to walk into a local show and purchase guns without going through the existing requirements if you were to go to your local gunsmith.

Those that are law-abiding gun owners, should be concerned about the fact that a select statistical few are bringing "a bad name" to guns and in turn, putting second ammendment rights at risk. You can only have so many school shootings, before someone is able to lobby a case to the Supreme Court, and if you are overly confident enough to believe that this won't happen, or that it won't pass - I'd suggest picking up a copy of the Constitution and reviewing the ammendments that have been passed, and considering some of the Supreme Court rulings that have as well.

Bottomline is that One Nation Under Guns is not "liberal opinion" it is not full of weightless statistics, or hype. It's a call to a problem. That violence, where a gun is involved, is on the rise and that action should be and can be taken that keep our citizens safe and our rights in tact.

Thus, 5 - Stars for Grossman for not making this a political topic, but instead providing a thoughtfully written essay that encourages people on both sides of the gun debate to communicate, stop finger pointing, and address the problems at hand.

This book is an essay on why we need gun control in the United States. It has some valid arguments about what we need to do in this country to curb gun violence. It is not, however, a call for the banning of guns, as others has indicated.

Some of the issues discussed are closing loop holes in laws that allow sales at gun shows to anyone who wants to buy a gun, mandatory background checks for all buyers, stricter enforcement against "straw purchases" and the reinstitution of the assault weapon ban.

The author is trying to find middle ground on the subject, which is what, as a nation, we should be trying to do. We need to get together, realize that there is no absolute right to own all guns, (much like the free speech right has some limitations) and figure out which controls are common sense and then implement them.

This is not "the book" to end the discussion for gun control. There are some factual mistakes in the book, but the ones I found are minor. But it is generally well written and will provide a platform to start a discussion and for thought on the subject. In the wake of Virginia Tech and other tragedies, we need to start the discussion somewhere, and this is a good place to start. If you are a gun fanatic, don't bother with the book. If however, you want to open your mind a little, buy the book and think about what it has to say.