Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review

For years proposals for gun control and the ownership of firearms have been among the most contentious issues in American politics. For public authorities to make reasonable decisions on these matters, they must take into account facts about the relationship between guns and violence as well as conflicting constitutional claims and divided public opinion. In performing these tasks, legislators need adequate data and research to judge both the effects of firearms on violence and the effects of different violence control policies.

Readers of the research literature on firearms may sometimes find themselves unable to distinguish scholarship from advocacy. Given the importance of this issue, there is a pressing need for a clear and unbiased assessment of the existing portfolio of data and research. Firearms and Violence uses conventional standards of science to examine three major themes - firearms and violence, the quality of research, and the quality of data available. The book assesses the strengths and limitations of current databases, examining current research studies on firearm use and the efforts to reduce unjustified firearm use and suggests ways in which they can be improved.

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Data for Measuring Firearms Violence and Ownership
• 3 Patterns of Firearm-Related Violence
• 4 Interventions Aimed at Illegal Firearm Acquisition
• 5 The Use of Firearms to Defend Against Criminals
• 6 Right-to-Carry Laws
• 7 Firearms and Suicide
• 8 Firearm Injury Prevention Programs
• 9 Criminal Justice Interventions to Reduce Firearm-Related Violence
• References
• Appendix A Dissent--James Q. Wilson
• Appendix B Committee Response to Wilson's Dissent
• Appendix C Judicial Scrutiny of Challenged Gun Control Regulations: The Implications of an Individual Right Interpretation of the Second Amendment--Scott Gast
• Appendix D Statistical Issues in the Evaluation of the Effects of Right-to-Carry Laws--Joel L. Horowitz
• Appendix E Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff
• Index