The Politics of Gun Control

by Robert J. Spitzer

The Politics of Gun Control is a the unique case study that delves into a controversial topic students know something about--or at least have an opinion on--while raising important issues and questions about how the American political system works. Now in its fourth edition, this authoritative and fair-minded analysis of the gun control debate in the United States analyzes every important aspect of the controversy, including its history; the Constitutional right to bear arms; the criminological consequences of guns; and the role and impact of American governing institutions, interest groups, political parties, public opinion, and more.

This fourth edition incorporates new research on the pro-gun control movement, the lapse of the assault weapons ban, Congress’s enactment of liability protection for gun manufacturers, and renewed efforts to expand gun carrying and gun use at the state level, including, most importantly, the enactment of "shoot first" laws in over a dozen states. Whether it is used in American politics or public policy courses, this case study provides an engaging and clear-minded look at one of the most enduringly contentious and compelling issues in American politics.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Robert J. Spitzer is Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York, College at Cortland, where he has taught for nearly forty years. He has also been a visiting professor at Cornell University for almost thirty years. Spitzer is Series Editor for the book series "American Constitutionalism" for SUNY Press, and for the "Presidential Briefing Book" Series for Routledge. He's received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship, and served as President of the Presidency Research Group, an international association of presidency scholars (affiliated with the American Political Science Association). He has testified before Congress on several occasions, and is often quoted and interviewed by American and international news outlets, and contributes regularly to newspapers and other media outlets. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a great deal from this book. Admittedly, though, it does have a slant; I've yet to find a single book on the issues that is not far slanted. Of course, this one leans on the side I lean toward, but it also leans too far for me in some respects, as I've read a lot on the other side too. But in my opinion, it never goes as far astray in rhetoric or stretching of numbers as Lott's books tend to on the other side.

And even my students who feel strongly against gun legislation learned a lot from the information here. If only everyone would open up to *listen* to what others had to say......

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of useful information and some interesting discussions but not as much as I had hoped for. His last chapter in which he outlines a new framework for gun control politics is particularly disappointing.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who lived in Portugal most of her life, gun control was something unimaginable to me. This book gave me some context to why the issue is more prominent in American culture.

[G.C. Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books seems to come closer than most I have read, but the author seems to have missed that our founding father's owned quite a lot of firearms and Jefferson, at multiple times, mentioned that revolutionary war soldiers (who fought with privately owned guns) were crack shots because they had used guns since they were children.

Jefferson personally purchased 12 pounds of black powder in 1777 for his guns. Founders also mentioned fowling seasons in letters, which shows they obviously did hunt. There wasn't gun worship then, as there is now, but it was obviously a readily available tool since they had enough to win their first war with their own firearms- and that was after the British confiscation of firearms in 1775.

The author also claimed the second amendment was not meant to be utilized as a weapon for self defense, but as a hunting implement. Let's say for the sake of argument that is true. Then the argument may be made that gun owner rights are still being violated, as there is a LARGE anti-hunting movement seeking to ban hunting. He curiously makes no mention of that.

As it so happened, I had just read "The Gun and Its Development" by W.W. Greener (a British rifle manufacturer) written in 1910. Greener's exhaustive history of the firearm directly contradicts many of Spitzer's claims about early firearms, which is interesting as Greener was British and therefore not part of the American firearm debate, whose book was written well before the current firearm debate, and was further developed in firearms than the U.S.. at that point in history.

[Ted Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 1995 first edition, which is obviously out of date. Still, it is revealing and disturbing to see how little has changed in the past two decades. Mr. Spitzer explains how the Second Amendment came to be (it's all about the militia), and how the NRA evolved from a sportsman's organization into a political action group. He also details the actions taken and not taken by Congress up to the Clinton administration.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the 1995 edition. This is a relatively well written, relatively well researched policy discussion - incorrect usage of terms like bullets and clips instead of rounds and magazines notwithstanding (semantics matter in policy discussion). It is biased, though that's not altogether surprising. Given the date for the edition I read, it's also lacking more recent topics of discussion, but without a time machine what can one do?

[Mariah Almquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a public policy class and while I think it was a good case study to look at, I just did not enjoy this book. Part of that was because of the stories at the beginning. Those were not it for me. I also was not enjoying the prose throughout the book and didn't feel like I was learning a mass amount in the first half of the book.

2.75

[Donald Trump · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book introducing this chaotic debate to readers. It also demonstrates how public policy and law interact with politics, history and morality.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

for school 😁

[Patrick Sauriol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very policy oriented, focused on process tracing of various gun control bills and reasons why they may have succeeded or failed in the US Congress

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1995 book is obviously, at this point, outdated. The District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago changed a lot when it comes to federal gun laws, and post-9/11 hysteria has had a large impact on our national gun culture. That being said, Spitzer provides a context and history for gun legislation in the U.S. and does so without the vitriol that is in many accounts on the subject. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic with the caveat that it should be looked at alongside events that have happened in the last 20 years.

[Joe Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid history of gun ownership/control in the U.S. Quite fascinating, as well as frustrating. I would recommend it to anyone looking for information on this subject.

[Sel ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational text about gun control & the culture in the US. Delves into NRA history & gun shooting incidents across the US. Generally an okay read.