Gun Control and Gun Rights: A Reader and Guide (Paperback)

~ Andrew McClurg (Author), David B. Kopel (Author), Brannon Denning (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The second amendment is the most hotly debated and controversial right in the Constitution. In light of the recent surge of school shootings and other gun-related crimes, gun policy has become one of our leading national concerns, affecting politicians, gun manufacturers, sport shooters, and ordinary citizens alike.

Showcasing viewpoints from all sides of the gun control debate, Gun Control and Gun Rights, presents the first balanced gun policy textbook for use by undergraduates, graduate students, law students and the general public.

This comprehensive anthology includes selections from legal cases, hunting stories, public policy briefs and journalistic accounts. Anyone looking for a fair, even-handed account of the gun issue will find it in this book.

About the Author

Andrew J. McClurg is Nadine H. Baum Distinguished Professor of Law at University of Arkansas, Little Rock. David Kopel is Research Director at the Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado. Brannon Denning is Assistant Professor of Law at Southern Illinois University Law School.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814747604
• ISBN-13: 978-0814747605
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasoned, Balanced and Badly Needed, June 6, 2002

By A Customer

For the most part, the gun-policy debate in the United States could be well summed up by Yeats' words: The best lack all conviction while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity. Truly honest scholarship, in the sense of a dispassionate exploration of the issues underlying the debate, has been sorely lacking. Even the best, scientifically-based work has taken the form of attempts to prove something about the social benefits or social costs of private gun ownership. No one, it seems, has come forward to frame the questions that the debate ought to be seeking to answer.

Andrew McClurg, David Kopel and Brannon Denning have done just that. While holding very different personal views - McClurg is an advocate of increased gun control while Kopel and Denning are in favor of broader gun rights - these three have built a framework within which a meaningful debate can begin.

Anyone who truly cares about finding a workable resolution to our country's disagreements over gun ownership - anyone, that is, who will make the effort to get beyond simply demanding that things be settled their way - will benefit from reading this book.

I want to stress how very important it is that we, as informed, thinking citizens, take control of this debate. Politicians work to extend and ensure their tenures by polarizing constituencies around divisive issues. They have, in all too many instances, no genuine desire to find solutions that meet and respect the vital interests of all. If lasting resolutions are to be achieved, if answers are to be found that we can all live with, they will have to be built from the ground up in the minds of individuals who have taken responsibility for their own beliefs.