The Politics of Gun Control

Since its initial publication in 1995, this book has become the classic work on every important element of the tumultuous national gun debate in America. This new edition brings together the latest developments and research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology to provide a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. In this era of polarized politics, this book provides a unique window into how and why that polarization drives our politics. Among the new topics covered in this edition are the Supreme Court’s new foray into applying history to evaluate modern gun laws, the effects of political whipsawing between Democratic and Republican control of government, and the consequences of that for gun laws, violence, and policy.

New to the Tenth Edition

• Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision that for the first time implemented its controversial history-based standard for judging the constitutionality of current gun laws
• Highlights the whiplash between the pro-gun policy actions of the Biden administration and the second Trump administration’s about-face to roll back those initiatives
• Chronicles the rise and nearly cataclysmic implosion of the once-vaunted National Rifle Association as self-created problems brought it to the brink of disaster, and as legal actions against the NRA finally came to an end
• Elucidates the scramble of other gun rights groups to replace the NRA as the nation’s foremost anti-gun law organization
• Presents new and updated statistical research on gun ownership in America, gun-related fatalities, public opinion support of ’red-flag’ laws and other gun control measures. After a surge in gun violence and gun ownership, both have receded to pre-pandemic levels, and the murder rate continues its decline after a short upsurge
• Includes new pedagogical features of chapter summaries and discussion questions in each chapter

Robert J. Spitzer is Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the State University of New York at Cortland and adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary School of Law. He is the author of 16 books and over 700 articles, essays, papers, and op-eds.