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Praeger Publishers
The following review appeared in the May 2016 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email ChoiceHelp@ala.org.
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Editor Utter promises to go beyond the usual gun-rights anecdotes and arguments that suggest that the possession of firearms may have helped to save a potential crime victim, and gun-control advocacy highlighting tragic cases in which children with access to firearms may have killed other children. Instead, the 27 essays in these three volumes take historical, cultural, and policy approaches to the study of the role of guns in the US. The first volume starts with an essay on the history of the antebellum US, when enslaved as well as free Africans were forbidden by law from possessing firearms due to fears of insurrections, while white households were legally required to own guns as part of militias to defend the country against perceived internal and external enemies. Other historical overviews in this volume look at local, state, and national firearms legislation, court decisions, the history of the firearms industry in the US, and organizations for and against owning firearms. Volume 2 explores cultural issues related to gun ownership from such groups as militia movements, public health workers, hunters, feminists, and gun show attendees. Essays in the third volume explore legal and policy issues pertaining to gun ownership—guns in schools, terrorism and firearms ownership, stand-your-ground laws, and background checks. The final two chapters feature a debate between leaders of organizations advocating either more gun control or more gun rights, suggesting that this struggle will continue.
--B. Agozino, Virginia Tech