A Well Regulated Militia: The Battle Over Gun Conrol

by William Weir

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0208024239
• ISBN13: 9780208024237
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Archon Books
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Lose Guns, Gain Crime

This book explains why criminals will always have guns; why armed citizens reduce crime, and do not increase murders; and why gun prohibition would increase crime and create major new criminal activity. The history of "gun control" goes back thousands of years, long before guns were invented. Kings and the aristocracy have always tried to limit popular access to weapons in order to oppress the common people. The one exception is arming the people to avoid defeat by a foreign power; afterwards they are quickly disarmed.Page 13 explains why the American militia differed from the English: all the men would be armed, and they elected their officers. Indian wars went on for 400 years, and there were wars with the French, Spanish, and Dutch empires. Hunting game was part of everyday life in America; game belonged to everyone. As noted in Aristotrle's 'Politics', armed citizens led to popular government in the colonies. The Second Amendment, like the English Bill of Rights, rejected the idea of a collective right in favor of an individual right (p.32). Whenever the right of the people to keep and bear arms is prohibited, liberty is on the brink of destruction.The book discusses many topics. Page 107 exposes the subtle lies put into the "Brady II" bill. By requiring a minimum weight for a pistol, and then restricting the number of cartridges in a magazine, it would outlaw almost all handguns. Page 111 tells how the Morton Grove Ill. ban on handguns originated as a way to keep out competition to an existing store! Page 118 tells how crime sky-rocketed after passage of the 1968 Gun Control Act. Guns are more common than swimming pools, but more drown in swimming pools than die in gun accidents (p.120)."The Politics of Scaring the Public" (p.125) points out that TV news is always showing victims on TV, while most viewers may have never seen as much as a fistfight for years! The number of crime shows on TV may have resulted in the public's perception (not reality!) of polls reporting crime as the most important problem - or the feeling that there's too many lawyers!What is the true effect of "gun control"? The worst homicide rates tend to be among the cities and states with the most restrictive laws; the states with no or few few gun laws (SD, VT) are the safest. The hidden agenda of the Gun Prohibitionists is to create more crime and violence in order to create a more oppressive society. Instead of a Reichstag fire, imagine a jumbo jet crashing into a Washington building?Prior to 1977 Canada had almost no "gun control", and much lower homicide rate. After they severely restricted pistols, the Canadian homicide rate grew closer to the USA rate (p.247).Stable societies with a fairly equitable distribution of wealth, and opportunities to advance, make a peaceful society (p.262). Nations with high homicide rates do not have these qualities. If you want America to be as peaceful as Sweden or Switzerland, you will need the same "gun control" laws as in these coun

Fair and thorough

This book provides both a history of the second amendment, the role of the NRA and its relationship to the military and the police, and an excellent background to the various players in the controversy over gun control. If you are extremely pro or anti gun control you may not like this book. You will certainly question your position. It is a rational and calm analysis, and if your position cannot abide this you may find the book disturbing. The book is nicely organized and is easy to read without being simplistic. It assumes a certain basic understanding of statistics, at least a middle-school level. Sources of quotes and numbers are well documented.

The Best Volume on the Subject

This is the one best book on the subject! It covers the historical and philosophical backgrounds to the subject, and provides information that you find in newspapers.

The Best Book on the Subject

This is the one best book on the subject! It covers the historical and philosophical backgrounds to the subject, and provides information that you won't find in newspapers.

A Thoroughly Documented Look At The Hysteria On Both Sides.

The amount of research Mr. Weir has put into this work is truly astounding, especially given the almost mindless parroting heard from both sides of the gun control debate. I am admittedly very much against gun control, but his points about the NRA and other organizations are clear and undeniable. Whether you favor or oppose gun control in America you need to read this book. The well documented numbers and historical background data will be useful to all. and their easy availability in one text is sure to bring a bit of sanity to what has been an insane battle of lies and exageration for too many years.