The Politics of Gun Control

The new edition of this classic text covers the latest developments in American gun policy, including shooting incidents plaguing the American landscape—especially the Orlando nightclub shootings, the San Bernardino incident, and the ongoing legacy of Sandy Hook—placing them in context with similar recent events. The incidents described in the book sparked a wave of gun control legislation at local, state, and national levels, some of which was successful, some doomed, and all controversial. 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 National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Brady Center—continues to compel national and international interest, including interviews by the likes of Terry Gross, Tom Ashbrook, and Diane Rehm. The seventh 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 social media, stand-your-ground laws, magazine regulation, and shooting-related mental health initiatives.

• Reports on the pivotal 2016 elections, including the rise and victory of onetime gun-control supporter turned gun-rights advocate Donald Trump.
• The latest data on gun ownership and use, revealing contradictory trends.
• New developments in the push to allow civilian gun carrying on college campuses, the controversy over so-called “gun-free zones,” and a new examination of restrictions imposed on the Centers for Disease Control.

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.