Information Plus Gun Control May 2003

by Linda Schmittroth

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787660728
• ISBN13: 9780787660727
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Information Plus
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Discussions on Gun Prohibition

The 13 chapters and Appendix provide concise coverage on this topic. The right to keep and bear arms is a definition of democracy (Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, James Madison). English Common Law regarded keeping arms as a human right. Against that human right were most despots and their apologists (Plato, Garry Wills). America's right to keep and bear arms goes back to the 17th century. The Bill of Rights was to guarantee the rights of the people against an oppressive state. Late in the 19th century as the corporate aristocracy gained power they sought to limit people's rights. First they attacked the "well-regulated militia" from 1877 to 1919. Then they started on "the right to keep and bear arms" from 1934 onwards. The militia was composed of all male citizens was replaced with a "select militia". This battle goes on today (Chapter I). Chapter II discusses gun ownership. Many Americans today buy firearms from China or Russia because of their high-quality and lower cost than domestic products. Table 2.4 presents statistics from a polling organization. People in rural areas need firearms for hunting and vermin control. Overall, white males formed a majority. Chapter III summarizes firearms laws. The 1986 Gun Control Act made it legal to transport guns through jurisdictions (p.20). [Has the increase of gun laws gone in step with attacks on the economic well-being of citizens?] Since 1989 in Florida most states have passed a right-to-carry law. This reverses the gun banning from the WW I era. In the 18th and early 19th century people were required to own guns as part of militia duty. Chapter IV tells how the federal and state courts have handled "the right to bear arms". Does the Bill of Rights apply to the states (p.43)? Not always. Note how the judges will create a decision to back the politicians. Chapter V has many tables of figures relating guns to crime. "Many Americans believe they are safer at home" but 4 out of 10 murders were done by a family member or acquaintances. Children are safer in school than at home (pp.63-68). Chapter VI covers the injuries and fatalities from firearms. Suicides account for half of the mortalities, homicides almost half. More than half of the deaths occur for those aged 15 to 54, next age 55 or older. Gun ownership correlates with wealth (white males), gun wounding correlates with poverty (black males). These economics are rarely mentioned. Victims mirror the perpetrators, by race and age. [Gun deaths seem to match the latitude, more in Galveston and Memphis, fewer in Seattle (p.82).] Gun use saves lives and prevents injuries; gun ownership prevents home invasions. There is a concerted effort to attack popular gun ownership disguised as a safety measure, but they do nothing to provide "good jobs at good wages" or less oppressive taxation. Hypocrisy or politics? Chapter VII discusses "Guns and Youths" and their social environment. The authors fail to mention the quality of the high schools involved. [There w

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