This book critically examines the link between guns and violence. It weighs the value of guns
for self-protection against the adverse effects of gun ownership and carrying. It also analyses
the role of public opinion the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and the firearms
industry and lobby in impeding efforts to prevent gun violence. Confronting Gun Violence in
America explores solutions to the gun violence problem in America a country where 90 people
die from gunshot wounds every day. The wide-range of solutions assessed include: a national gun
licensing system universal background checks a ban on military-style weapons better
regulatory oversight of the gun industry the use of technologies such as the personalization
of weapons child access prevention repealing laws that encourage violence changing violent
norms preventing retaliatory violence and strategies to rebuild American communities. This
accessible and incisive book will be of great interest to students and researchers in
criminology and sociology as well as practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in gun
ownership and violence.
