Guns in American Society : An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law Gree Lee Carter Vol - 2

Top scholars present an unbiased, two-volume set that takes on the explosive issue of guns and gun violence in the United States.

How Americans feel about guns is usually determined by personal experience rather than research results, observes sociologist Gregg Lee Carter. His goal in compiling Guns in American Society, the most comprehensive single source of information on the gun issue, is to help readers educate themselves.

Is the high rate of violence in the United States linked to the prevalence of guns―or to a lack of social homogeneity and economic inequality? Should there be support for stricter or more lenient gun control? Should people carry concealed weapons for personal protection? What exactly did the authors of the Constitution mean by "the right of the people to keep and bear arms"? The encyclopedia doesn't tell readers how to answer these questions. Instead, it helps them sift through the latest thinking and research in the fields of criminology, history, law, medicine, politics, and sociology, providing objective information so they can make up their own minds.


• 400+ data-rich entries on all aspects of the issue including gun violence, gun control legislation, court decisions, gun organizations, gun owners, and gun subcultures

• Contributions by nearly 100 of the most important researchers and writers on guns in the United States

• Archival and contemporary illustrations, photographs, charts, and tables such as results of the Firearm Use in Crime National Victimization Survey, 1999

• Lists of key federal and state gun laws, right to bear arms provisions from state constitutions, and contact information for organizations on both sides of the issue

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