Guns In American Society 3 Volumes

Thoroughly updated and greatly expanded from its original edition, this three-volume set is the go-to comprehensive resource on the legal, social, psychological, political, and public health aspects of guns in American life. The landmark 2002 edition of Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law was acclaimed for helping readers get beyond the sometimes overheated rhetoric and navigate the overwhelming amount of unbiased academic research on gun-related issues. Now, in light of the steady rate of gun violence and several high-profile shooting incidents, this extraordinary three-volume work returns in a timely and thoroughly updated edition. With over 100 new entries, the latest edition of Guns in American Society is the most current resource available on all aspects of the gun issue, including rates of violence, gun control, gun rights, regulations and legislation, court decisions, pro- and anti-gun organizations, gun ownership, hunters and collectors, public opinion toward guns, and much more. With expert contributions from the fields of criminology, history, law, medicine, politics, and social science, it gives students, journalists, policymakers, and researchers a foundation for their own investigations, while helping readers of all kinds make decisions as family members, potential gun owners, and voters.

The revised third edition of the landmark Guns in American Society provides an authoritative and objective survey of the history and current state of all gun-related issues and areas of debate in the United States. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law is a comprehensive and evenhanded three-volume reference resource for understanding all of the political, legal, and cultural factors that have swirled around gun rights and gun control in America, past and present. The encyclopedia draws on a vast array of research in criminology, history, law, medicine, politics, and social science. It covers all aspects of the issue: gun violence, including mass shootings in schools and other public spaces; gun control arguments and organizations; gun rights arguments and organizations; the firearms industry; firearms regulation, legislation, and court decisions; gun subcultures (for example, hunters and collectors); leading opinion-shapers on both sides of the gun debate; technological innovations in firearm manufacturing; various types of firearms, from handguns to assault weapons; and evolving public attitudes toward guns. Many of these entries place the topics in both historical and cross-cultural perspective.

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.

"The revised third edition of the landmark Guns in American Society provides an authoritative and objective survey of the history and current state of all gun-related issues and areas of debate in the United States"--

This three-volume set examines various approaches to firearms, including constitutional and legal issues, public health and criminal justice concerns, and perspectives on personal safety and self-defense. Recent mass shootings have led to renewed calls for additional legislation at the state and federal levels to address gun access and control. In this hard-hitting compilation, experts delve into various aspects of firearms in America—from gun control and gun rights to militia movements, to school-related shootings, and to the recent trends in gun ownership by women. Authors from varied backgrounds and viewpoints share their perspectives on the pros and cons of firearm ownership as all of the following: a constitutional right, a key instrument of self-defense, a guarantee of political freedoms, and as a major factor in crime and personal injury. The reference is divided into three volumes. The first volume covers firearm history, legislation, and policy; the second volume explores public opinion, gun ownership trends, international laws, and self-defense; and the third considers popular debates about firearm policy, including concealed carry of firearms, terrorism and the ownership of firearms, background checks for purchasing guns, and stand-your-ground laws. The work concludes with an informed debate on gun policy between Richard Feldman, president of the Independent Firearm Owners, and Paul Helmke, former president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

This third volume in Moller’s authoritative reference work describes muzzleloading percussion shoulder arms procured by the U.S. government for issue to federal and state armed forces in the period that includes the Civil War. These twenty-five years were an exciting time in the history of shoulder arms. During the 1840s, only a handful of American manufacturers were capable of producing significant quantities of arms having fully interchangeable components. By the early 1850s, at least one firm was producing rifles with close enough tolerances to be considered fully interchangeable. And thanks to the invention of the expanding bullet, rifled arms could be used by an army’s entire infantry. For the first time, line infantry were equipped with arms capable of rapid reloading and of consistently hitting a man-sized target at distances as great as three hundred yards. Like the first two volumes of American Military Shoulder Arms, this exhaustive reference work will be a must for serious arms collectors, dealers, and museum specialists.

Thoroughly updated and greatly expanded from its original edition, this title is the go-to comprehensive resource on the legal, social, psychological, political, and public health aspects of guns in American life.