The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know? by Phillip J. Cook and Kristin A. Goss
“The Gun Debate” takes a look at this hot-button issue in an engaging question-and-answer format. Economist Phillip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A.Goss team up to provide readers with a fair and even-handed analysis of the gun debate from a number of angles and perspectives. This immersive 294-page book includes the following twelve chapters: 1. America and Its Guns, 2. The Value of Guns for Self-Protection and Combating Tyranny, 3. The Costs of Gun Violence, 4. Causes of Gun Violence, 5. Manufacture and Marketing of Guns, 6. How America Regulates Firearms, 7. Effectiveness of Firearms Policy, 8. Guns and Gun Control in History, 9. Public Opinion and Political Party Positions on Guns, 10. The Gun Rights Movement, 11. The Gun Control Movement, and 12. What Sorts of Gun Policies Might Be Politically Acceptable Going Forward?.
Positives:
1. Well written and researched topic.
2. The fascinating hot-button topic of gun debate.
3. Even and fair-handed treatment backed by solid research.
4. Effective use of the question-and-answer format to cover the gun debate from many angles. Each chapter covers a topic and with a series of questions and answers the authors summarize their conclusions. “In sum, the threat of gun violence degrades the quality of life in affected communities. Reducing gun violence would have tangible societal value.”
5. Limited but effective use of charts and tables.
6. The authors’ cautious approach should be applauded; it recognizes the limitations of the research and makes reasonable conclusions. “The bottom line is that no one knows how many firearms are in private hands in the United States. Based on the calculations presented above, a range of 200 to 300 million seems reasonable.”
7. Some eye-opening facts. “No state requires that a rifle or shotgun buyer have any training or pass a test on gun safety.” “The group of states with high gun ownership had more than four times as times as many gun suicides as the states with low gun ownership.”
8. Provocative questions with surprising answers. “Do Burglars Avoid Neighborhoods Where Residents Keep Guns in the Home? In fact, they found that greater gun prevalence caused an increase in the residential burglary rate.”
9. Fascinating facts presented a table of notable mass shootings outside the United States.
10. An excellent chapter on the causes of gun violence. “The strong finding that emerges from this research is that gun use intensifies violence, making it more likely that the victim of an assault or robbery will die. The positive effect is on the murder rate, not on the overall violent-crime rate. In other words: More guns, more deaths.”
11. So how do criminals obtain their guns? Find out.
12. A look at the Second Amendment, what gun controls are unconstitutional and what laws are lawful.
13. A timeline of federal gun policy.
14. Gun legislation around the world including the requirements for gun ownership.
15. A look at stand-your-ground laws. “Two recent studies by economists at Texas A&M and at Georgia State University conclude that stand-your-ground laws do not result in a reduction in rates of assault, robbery, or rape—and have the costly effect of increasing homicide rates.”
16. The effectiveness of gun laws. “The old bumper sticker says, ‘When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.’ Perhaps a more accurate statement is ‘When guns are scarce, outlaws will use less lethal weapons.’”
17. An interesting look at the gun culture in America. The two-tiered system, “Historically, legislatures and courts observed what amounted to a two-tiered system: Guns kept for public purposes, namely collective defense through militia service, enjoyed the highest level of constitutional protections (they could not be sold to pay taxes owed, for example), while those intended for private purposes, such as hunting or self-defense, were subject to state powers to promote public safety and health.”
18. The gun divide by politics. The gun rights movement vs the gun control movements. “In short, the gun lobby succeeds in part because its structure mirrors that of government.” “Gun rights supporters are passionate, relentless, single-issue voters who will stop at nothing to prevent passage of stronger gun laws.”
19. A look at tenable gun policies.
20. Notes and references included.
Negatives:
1. I would have added a section on the most popular weapons used in America and why.
2. I also would have added a section on politicians voting records as it relates to gun debate issues.
3. Light on supplementary materials. What’s included is good but this topic warrants more.
4. Those on the political right will claim there is bias against their position but I found the material to be fair.
5. The book is ambitious and covers many topics but it does so at a price, the lack of depth.
In summary, the book succeeds in covering many topics of interest in the gun debate. The question-and-answer format worked well and provides readers with a handy reference. A few missed opportunities aside keeps the book from attaining a five-star score but overall it’s a useful book. I recommend it!
Further recommendations that cover both sides of the debate: “Guns (Kindle Single)” by Stephen King, “More Guns, Less Crime” by John R. Lott, “Gunfight” by Adam Winkler, “Updated Evidence and Policy Developments in Reducing Gun Violence in America” by Daniel Webster, “The Second Amendment” by Michael Waldman, “Reducing Gun Violence in America” by Michael Bloomberg, “Living with Guns” by Craig Whitney, and “Gunfight” by Adam Winkler.
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... if they had written book about why guns are bad and or why we need more gun laws but ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 15, 2018
