Hi Sfwendy,
I recently got into an extended email debate with a stranger at a
pro-gun website and had to do some digging to buttress my own beliefs.
I also read a lot of material from the opposite point of view, so I'm
going to take a crack at your question.
You're correct in saying that the sources in this debate tend to be
one-sided and "frothing at the mouth", but there are plenty of
statistics available to help people argue both sides of the issue.
Let's start with the pro-gun position. Here are some references to
look at:
References with a generally PRO-GUN bias ---
1) an article by Robert J. Woolley, MD arguing that the AMA's position
with regard to firearms is intellectually dishonest:
Http://www.dsgl.org/Articles/woolley.htm
2) an article by Gene R. Flick, MD taking issue with the gun control
position of the American Psychiatric Association:
http://www.dsgl.org/Articles/flick2.htm
3) rebuttal of statistics cited below in Reference (1) of the
Anti-Gun section with regard to gun violence in Alberta, Canada. This
article is by M.J. Ackerman, MD:
http://www.dsgl.org/Articles/Ackermann.htm
4) arguments that gun shows do not constitute the danger many people
believe by David Kopel, columnist for various publications including
the Colorado Springs Gazette, and associate policy analyst at the Cato
Institute (also co-author of reference (7) below):
http://keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=1454
5) in-depth study of the Second Amendment as a guarantee of broad
individual rights to own firearms by Randy E. Barnett, Boston
University Professor of Law:
http://www.bu.edu/rbarnett/texts.htm
6) an essay considering the racist origins of gun control laws by
historian Clayton E. Cramer which was originally published in the
Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy (this is an angle little
considered elsewhere):
http://www.law.ukans.edu/jrnl/cramer.htm
7) an extensive study of positive effects associated with concealed
handgun permit laws written by Clayton Cramer and David Kopel,
Research Director of the Independence Institute, a Colorado think
tank:
http://www.claytoncramer.com/shall-issue.html
8) summary statistics by various academic writers concerning the
successful defensive use of guns (with several useful links):
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdgeff.html
References with a generally ANTI-GUN bias ---
1) Facts supporting the statistical linkage of guns to violence in
Alberta, Canada (see Article 3 above for rebuttal of these numbers):
http://www.med.ualberta.ca/acicr/
2) excellent summary of the reasons for banning handguns by the
Violence Policy Center, a group that is sort of the mirror image of
the NRA, and which has extensive study and position papers available:
http://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/hgbanfs.htm
3) an extensive study by the Violence Policy Center of murder-suicide
incidents in the United States:
http://www.vpc.org/studies/amercont.htm
4) the position of the AMA with regard to gun violence as described on
the AMA website:
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_00/hlsb0710.htm
5) a symposium on the history and interpretation of the Second
Amendment, presented by The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence:
http://www.gunlawsuits.org/defend/second/symposium/symposium.asp
6) key facts regarding firearms violence as compiled by the Violence
Policy Center:
http://www.vpc.org/studies/wher2gen.htm
7) a compelling discussion of why firearms are a dangerous choice for
self defense, with extensive (219) references:
http://www.vpc.org/studies/unincont.htm
8) a report from the Brady site describing corporate gun sale
strategies, and how those strategies ensure that many guns will be
diverted to the criminal market:
http://www.gunlawsuits.org/reform/distribution.asp
Reference with a NEUTRAL bias ---
1) from James D. Wright writing for the National Institute of Justice
comes "The Armed Criminal in America", a summary article that
discusses how criminals acquire and use firearms. This article might
be used to buttress either side of the gun control argument.
http://rkba.org/research/wright/armed-criminal.summary.html
For reasons of time and brevity, I have not attempted to write a
review each of the above citations. I hope that, upon study, you will
find them worthy of fueling both sides of your debate. I have tried to
select references that would come at the gun control controversy from
as many directions as possible, but if you feel any significant point
of contention has been omitted, please let me know, and I'll try to
find more specifics for you.
Google Searches Used:
gun control debate statistics
firearm self defense debate
Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz
AMA gun control position
Regards,
ericynot-ga |
