Recommended Reading on Gun Control Issues

"Just the facts" on Gun Control.  For example:
• In the early/mid 1990's, criminals on parole or early release from prison committed about 5,000 murders, 17,000 rapes, and 200,000 robberies a year.
• Americans use firearms to defend themselves from criminals about 760,000 times a year.  This figure is the lowest among a group of 15 nationwide polls done by organizations including Gallup and the Los Angeles Times.
• Approximately 11% of gun owners and 13% of handgun owners have used their firearms for protection from criminals.
• When citizens use guns for protection from criminals, the criminal is wounded in about 1 out of every 100 instances, and the criminal is killed in about 1 out of every 1000 instances.
• Washington D.C. enacted a virtual ban on handguns in 1976.  Between 1976 and 1991, Washington D.C.'s homicide rate rose 200%, while the U.S. rate rose 12%.

 Excellent!   How to Recognize a Skunk:  Reading the morning paper, you come across a wire-service article on a subject you know well -- guns.  The article is filled with biased language ("gun violence," "spraying bullets" "million moms") and statistics that are either made up or cooked from highly unscientific methodology ("12 students killed by guns every day,"  "43 times more likely to be killed by a gun in your own home").  How do we tell truth from fiction, or recognize when half-truths and twisted language are being used to manipulate us, without spending our lives tracking down every obscure databit or factoid behind every news story?

So You're Thinking of Buying a Gun.  With all the unease in the country since 9-11, that isn't surprising.  Many people are buying guns; they're doing so to be able to protect themselves and loved ones.  It's not a bad idea, but before you make that move, you should learn as much as you can about guns so you can make an informed choice.

Gun Facts  is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control.  It is intended as a reference guide for journalists, activists, politicians, and other people interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment.

Nine Myths About Gun Control:  Gun bans result in lower gun suicide rates, but a compensatory increase in suicide from other accessible and lethal means of suicide.  The net result of gun bans?  No reduction in total suicide rates.  People who are intent in killing themselves find the means to do so.  Are other means of suicide so much more politically correct that we should focus on measures that decrease gun suicide, but do nothing to reduce total suicide deaths?

Fifteen Myths about Gun Control:  Firearms are used to commit as many as 650,000 crimes each year.  But firearms are also used to prevent crimes as many as one million times each year.  In fact, criminals are three times more likely to be killed by armed victims who resist them than by the police.  Would tougher gun control laws make our lives safer?  Fair appraisal of the issue requires us to put aside some common myths.

How to collect guns and irritate PETA:  Mike Adams lists his favorite guns.

So You've Bought Yourself a Gun.  would you buy a new car without knowing how to use it, or planning to learn how?  Would you buy a computer, or any complex tool, and toss it and the owner's manual in a corner until you absolutely need to use it, and had to use it well?

The Bias Against Guns:  Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong, by John R. Lott.

Suggested Reading:  Huge collection of material related to firearms issues.

The Bible and self-defense:  The Bible couldn't be clearer on the right — even the duty — we have as believers to self-defense.

Deadly Consequences:  The Real-Life Effects of Violent Entertainment.  A Special Report from the Parents Television Council.

7 dead, no guns:  While I do not seek to politicize this tragedy, someone needs to point out the obvious.  Men are capable of great evil — even mass murder — without the benefit of firearms.  This incident should serve to remind us of that fact.

Thou Shalt Not Kill — A Convicted Murderer?:  Our justice system's failure to swiftly and consistently apply justice is the real deterrent to deterrence.

Right of Refusal:  If your doctor starts pestering you about guns, you have several options.

How to Stop Shooting Sprees,  by Morgan Reynolds, director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Deaths and Injuries From Guns Decline in U.S.  Deaths from firearms declined 29 percent and injuries by 47 percent between 1993 and 1998, the latest year for which figures are available.

S. 2099 "The Handgun Safety and Registration Act of 2000" is no hoax.

Guns:  The great equalizer.  The old saying goes that God made men, but Sam Colt made them equal.  Col. Samuel Colt's revolver continues to serve as an equalizer.  Being bigger, tougher and meaner than the next guy may not mean [anything] if the next guy carries a .357 in his waistband.

One Man's Opinion Darrell Scott — The father of Rachel Scott, one of the students murdered at Columbine High School, offers a moving testimony to the House Subcommittee on Crime.

This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2013 by Andrew K. Dart



Books:

The Best Defense:  The basic premise of this book is: defensive use of firearms is not just for the military and police; it is for every citizen confronted or assaulted by violent criminals violating their personal and property rights. This book contains numerous examples of citizens who used firearms to save their own lives, or the lives of others, before law enforcement arrived.

More Guns, Less Crime:  Understanding Crime and Gun-Control Laws by John R. Lott Jr.  Does allowing people to own or carry guns deter violent crime?  To provide the answer to this question, criminal deterrence, law, and economics professor John R. Lott. Jr. has made an exhaustive study of crime statistics and compressed his findings into a single, manageable volume.  His conclusion will confirm the beliefs of those who defend the Second Amendment.

Gun laws of America:  Every federal gun law on the books — with plain English summaries.

The UN Plan to Disarm Civilians:  In "Global Gun Grab", William Norman Grigg exposes the UN's worldwide campaign to eliminate civilian ownership of firearms and explains the dangers facing Americans.

That Every Man be Armed:  The Evolution of a Constitutional Right.  Stephen Halbrook traces the origins of the Second Amendment back to ancient Greece and Rome, and then through the "freemen" movement in 18th century England and France.  He demonstrates that the framers of the U.S. Constitution were conscious of such history when they drafted the Second Amendment, and that the Second Amendment was clearly intended to allow possession of firearms not just for defense of personal life and property but also to prevent government infringement of human liberties.

The Second Amendment:  Preserving the Inalienable Right of Individual Self-Protection, by David Barton

Dial 911 and Die by Richard W. Stevens, with an Introduction by James Bovard



Video:

This item is available through American Opinion Book Services.  The description was transcribed verbatim from the AOBS web site.

Civilian Disarmament:  Prelude to Tyranny.  The historical record clearly shows that civilian disarmament has been a precursor to tyranny and genocide.  This is the grim reality that lurks behind the phrase "gun control."  This video lays out the facts concerning the ongoing drive by the federal government and the UN for civilian disarmament, and explains how you can help prevent America's descent into police state tyranny.

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Updated March 13, 2013.

©2013 by Andrew K. Dart