"This book is the classic work on the tumultuous national gun debate in the US. The eighth edition brings together the latest research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology and covers new topics including the Second Amendment sanctuary movement, the connection between the concealed gun carry movement and crime, the cascading troubles besetting the National Rifle Association coupled with a surging gun safety movement, the bump stock controversy, and the rise of red flag laws. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. 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"--

Gun-related violence remains an intractable problem despite a decline in the past decade. Some believe the solution lies in stricter gun control laws while others think these measures would be ineffective or counter-productive. Guns, Gun Control, and Elections examines current gun control policy and explains how it was adopted by discussing the roles and interactions of elected officials, interest groups, political parties, and the public. Original research on media coverage and public opinion as well as a chapter on state policy (Virginia) make the book both informative and accessible. The book focuses on the utility of gun policy, and its discussion of policy impact is grounded in real-world politics. Wilson also highlights the importance of gun control in the Presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 as well as in some U.S. Senate and statewide campaigns.

In recent years, political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment has become increasingly volatile and this collection of original essays by top scholars illuminates the various reasons why. Gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association are more organized and aggressive and their issue agenda has evolved as new and more powerful weapons and militia appear. On the other side of the debate, the critical wounding of James Brady gave gun control advocates a visible martyr with strong ties to Republican conservatives. In sum, gun control and the right to bear arms have become hotly disputed issues where political alignments are constantly shifting. The contributors chart these changes and explore how Congress, the courts, the President, and individual states are currently addressing the issue of gun control. This book, which includes profiles and examinations of relevant interest groups, the gun control coalition, recent Supreme Court decisions, and public opinion surveys, will be of great interest to classes in political science, American government, law, and sociology.

As cultural, social, political, and historical objects, guns are rich with complex and contested significance. What guns mean, why they matter, and what policies should be undertaken to regulate guns remain issues of vigorous scholarly and public debate. Gun Studies offers fresh research and original perspectives on the contentious issue of firearms in public life. Comprising global, interdisciplinary contributions, this insightful volume examines difficult and timely questions through the lens of: Social practice Marketing and commerce Critical theory Political conflict Public policy Criminology Questions explored include the evolution of American gun culture from recreation to self-protection; the changing dynamics of the pro-gun and pro-regulation movements; the deeply personal role of guns as sources of both injury and security; and the relationship between gun-wielding individuals, the state, and social order in the United States and abroad. In addition to introducing new research, Gun Studies presents reflections by senior scholars on what has been learned over the decades and how gun-related research has influenced public policy and everyday conversations. Offering provocative and often intimate perspectives on how guns influence individuals, social structures, and the state in both dramatic and nuanced ways, Gun Studies will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as sociology, political science, legal history, criminology, criminal justice, social policy, armaments industries, and violent crime. It will also appeal to policy makers and all others interested in and concerned about the use of guns.

"To understand public opinion and political behavior, researchers typically sort people by self-identified groupings such as party identification, race, gender, education and income. This book advances gun owners as a new classification. It demonstrates a "gun gap", which captures the differences between gun owners and non-gun owners, and shows how this gap improves conventional models of political behavior. The gun gap in fact represents an important explanation for voter choice, voter turnout, perceptions of personal and public safety, preferences for gun control policies, and support for the death penalty. Moreover, the gun gap is growing. During the 1970s and 1980s, the gap was small. However, legislative battles over guns in the early 1990s marked a significant growth in the gun gap that continues to this day. The 2016 presidential election witnessed the largest recorded gun gap in history. The gun gap in voter choice was nearly three times larger in 2016 than the gender gap, and exceeded age and education gaps by notable margins. This book also focuses on variation among gun owners. Gun owners are not a monolith but exhibit attitudinal and behavioral differences that can be as large as the gap between gun and non-gun owners. The gun gap thus affords a new and compelling vantage point to evaluate modern mass politics"--

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: A Personal Memoir -- Part I: The IRA Past as Prologue -- 1. Arms and the Volunteer -- 2. The Thompson Submachine Gun in Ireland -- 3. Proliferation: Sophisticated Weapons and Revolutionary Options -- Part II: The Irish Past as Prologue: Patterns, Probes, Wars, and Warriors -- 4. Societal Patterns and Lessons -- 5. Ireland and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 -- 6. The Curragh: 1940-45 -- 7. The Shadow of the Gunman, 1969 -- 8. The Secret Army, 1969 -- Part III: The Ulster Troubles Since 1969: Old Myths, Old Realities, and Alien Perspectives -- 9. The Escalation of Insurgency, 1969-71 -- 10. Strategy, Tactics, and Terror, 1969-74 -- 11. Men with Guns: The Legitimacy of Violent Dissent -- 12. Revolts Against the British Crown -- 13. On Revolt: An Irish Template -- 14 Democracy and Armed Conspiracy, 1922-77 -- 15. Terrorism: Nets and Oceans -- 16. Terror International: The Nature of the Threat -- 17. Hostage Ireland, 1976, 1982 -- Part IV: The Ulster Troubles: New Surveys, New Problems, and Analytical Perspectives -- 18. Terrorism International: Academic Branch -- 19. Contemporary Irish Archival Resources -- 20. The Chroniclers of Violence in Northern Ireland: The First Wave, 1972 -- 21. The Chroniclers of Violence in Northern Ireland Revisited, 1974 -- 22. The Troubles as Trash: Shadows of the Irish Gunman on America -- Epilogue: A Political Memoir -- Index

No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades. The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know? delves into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the effectiveness of gun control, the connection between mental illness and violent crime, the question of whether more guns make us safer, and ways that video games and the media might contribute to gun violence. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements. Written in question-and-answer format, the book will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America. What Everyone Needs to Know? is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.