The Politics of Gun Control

by Robert J. Spitzer

Overview

The new edition of this classic text covers the latest developments in American gun policy including the most recent shooting incidents that persist in plaguing the American landscape. Continuing a multi-decade trend, crime generally remains low throughout the US, but mass shootings have increased in both number and lethality, stoking greater support for gun laws among the public. Two seismic political events are highlighted in the eighth edition. The first is the ascendance of the gun safety movement, culminating in numerous electoral victories for gun law supporters in 2018 congressional and state races around the country. This outcome, which contributed to the Democrats’ capture of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2008, also demonstrates that support for stronger gun laws could be a winning issue for proponents in 2020 and beyond. The second political development featured is the financial, political, and legal crises that beset the nation’s oldest and most powerful gun group, the National Rifle Association. These crises are sufficiently grave that they may pose an existential threat to the organization’s traditional dominance in the realm of gun politics.

Author Robert J. Spitzer has long been a recognized authority on gun control and gun policy. His even-handed treatment of the issue—as both a member of the NRA and the Brady Center—continues to compel national and international interest, including appearances on major media such as the PBS NewsHour. The eighth edition of The Politics of Gun Control provides the reader with up-to-date data and coverage of gun ownership, gun deaths, school shootings, border patrols and new topics including universal background checks, limits on large capacity ammunition magazines, and "red flag" laws.

New to the Eighth Edition

• Covers the ascendance of the Second Amendment sanctuary and gun safety movements, resulting from heinous shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida.
• Tracks the financial, political, and legal crises that threaten the dominance of the National Rifle Association.
• Examines new policy measures including universal background checks, limits on large capacity ammunition magazines, the bump stock controversy, and "red flag" laws, among others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367502867
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/14/2020
Edition description:	8th ed.
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert J. Spitzer is Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He served on the New York State Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, and from 2001 to 2003, was president of the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association.

Table of Contents

Preface New to this Edition Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction 1. Policy Definition and Gun Control 2. The Second Amendment: Meaning, Intent, Interpretation, and Consequences 3. The Criminological Consequences of Guns 4. Political Fury: Gun Politics 5. Institutions, Policymaking, and Guns 6. Gun Policy: A New Framework

Editorial Reviews

Although someone is murdered in the U.S. every 21 minutes, and in more than 50% of the cases by handguns, Americans cling to the gun culture with a tenacity that transcends all reason. Clearly, primordial meanings are at work here, a symbolism as profound as it is irrational. Spitzer discusses the various dimensions of the controversy with a rare balance and maturity. The author first analyzes the Second Amendment, drawing out its legal interpretations (an ``armed militia'' is not quite the same as drug dealers with AK-47s). He then examines the consequences of guns to the nation, from injury to accidents, homicide to suicide; the political battle between the NRA and Handgun Control Inc.; and the history of policy making, culminating in the assault weapons ban and the Brady bill. Spitzer ends the book by suggesting a new public policy based on an international model, one that includes nonproliferation of new weapons and arms control for those that already exist, but whether this form of regulation would work is a moot point. It is not so much the hunting ethos that keeps guns in 70 million American homes but the cultural mythology that champions self-reliance and a frontier ethic. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Explains gun control issues, analyzing the meaning, intent, and interpretation of the Second Amendment and reviewing the contending claims of forces on both sides of the debate. Recounts histories and missions of major organizations, and looks into the roles played by political parties, Congress, and the federal bureaucracy. This second edition incorporates recent issues such as schoolyard shootings and militia groups. For scholars, students, and journalists. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Praise for The Politics of Gun Control

Robert Spitzer deftly distills decades of firearm policy-making, court decisions, and interest-group mobilization into one readable volume. As a veteran observer of the great gun debate, Spitzer brings an expert knowledge and historical view that few other scholars can rival.

—Jacob D. Charles, Duke University School of Law

The Politics of Gun Control continues to provide an authoritative assessment of the many issues surrounding guns in America, and offers new commentary on the growing empirical literature as well as on some of the latest wrenching spasms of gun violence that continue to plague this country

—John Donahue, Stanford Law School

First published in 1995 and frequently updated, Robert Spitzer’s excellent work is my go-to book for gun control. It is the single best primer available on gun control, and this new edition should be first on any list of readings on the topic. Anyone with an interest in firearms—for whatever reason—must read this book.

—Charles W. Smith, The Ohio State University

Robert Spitzer has written the classic work on the gun control problem: His analysis is comprehensive, penetrating, and dispassionate.

—Raymond Tatalovich, Loyola University Chicago

"Robert Spitzer deftly distills decades of firearm policy-making, court decisions, and interest-group mobilization into one readable volume. As a veteran observer of the great gun debate, Spitzer brings an expert knowledge and historical view that few other scholars can rival."
Jacob D. Charles, Duke University School of Law

"The Politics of Gun Control continues to provide an authoritative assessment of the many issues surrounding guns in America, and offers new commentary on the growing empirical literature as well as on some of the latest wrenching spasms of gun violence that continue to plague this country."
John Donahue, Stanford Law School

"First published in 1995 and frequently updated, Robert Spitzer’s excellent work is my go-to book for gun control. It is the single best primer available on gun control, and this new edition should be first on any list of readings on the topic. Anyone with an interest in firearms—for whatever reason—must read this book."
Charles W. Smith, The Ohio State University

"Robert Spitzer has written the classic work on the gun control problem: His analysis is comprehensive, penetrating, and dispassionate."
Raymond Tatalovich, Loyola University Chicago

From the Publisher