Card catalog description
Discusses the history of guns and gun control in the United States, relevant laws and legal cases, and the arguments posed by both sides in the debate about how much government control there should be over firearms.
Gun Control ANNOTATION
Discusses the history of guns and gun control in the United States, relevant laws and legal cases, and the arguments posed by both sides in the debate about how much government control there should be over firearms.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck
Every year over 25,000 Americans use guns to either murder someone or kill themselves. Faced with such morbid statistics one would think that the concept of gun control would be a self-evident one for politicians and the broader public. However, as Susan Dudley Gold notes in this volume in the "Open for Debate" series, the issue of gun control is highly controversial. In Gun Control, readers will encounter the opposing perspectives that make the gun control debate such a heated one. Adherents of gun control point toward murder and suicide rates as well as signal episodes of violence like political assassinations, school shootings, and mass murders. Opponents to gun control refer to the constitutional rights that call for the bearing of arms. In either case both thoughtful and thoughtless critics exist who repeat these and related arguments about this controversial topic. In Gun Control the author traces the constitutional and social history of gun usage and the concomitant debate over regulation. Opposing points of view are presented in a comprehensive and fair manner. However, if there is a criticism of this book it lies in the encyclopedic writing style utilized by the author. Simply put, this is a book written in a textbook manner that will be difficult to sustain the interest of younger readers. While there is a great deal of relevant information, it is written in a style that can be aptly described as dry. 2004, Benchmark Books, Ages 12 up.
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-These series entries use an organized and accessible approach to examine controversial and current social issues. In Capital Punishment, the author discusses how to make the death-penalty system more just and humane and then moves on to present the history of the debate and the viewpoints of those who support and oppose the practice. Full-color photographs, graphs, and sidebars illustrate the facts and concepts presented. For example, the copy of Timothy McVeigh's final defiant handwritten statement and the graph showing the trend of executions in the U.S. from 1953 to 2000 are strong visual statements. The factor of race in death-penalty cases and executions is also discussed. Gun Control presents a balanced overview of the topic by discussing the Second Amendment, history of legislation, and various concerns such as school shootings and gun makers and dealers. References are made to the DC sniper attacks and Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine.-Janet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
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