Gun Violence in America

Few social issues have produced more exaggerated claims and contention among Americans than the struggle to control gun violence. Fueling the emotional fire in debates between firearm groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun control advocates is the dispute over the importance of guns in American culture. Is the fondness for firearms truly part of a venerable American tradition, one to be observed with very few limits? In this fascinating inquiry, Alexander DeConde delves into the myths and politics regarding gun keeping, as well as the controversies over gun use, crime, and policing from the early days of the republic to the present. DeConde explains why the United States, with all its resources, fails repeatedly to confine gun violence to the same low levels achieved by other advanced democracies.