One of the interesting things in moving to another country is coming across strongly-held opinions that are so utterly, well, foreign to those you were brought up around. Being from the gun-controlled UK and moving to the US is one such example. I would like to read more about the issues, available data and analysis of gun possession and control. Ideally, I would like people to recommend to me books where the author does not have an agenda. If there are none of those, then I’ll just have to read both sides.
Please, please, do not turn this into a gun control thread, or go into long attacks on other people’s recommendations if they don’t support your view. By all means alert me to any issues with the veracity/agendas of recommendations, but we do not need this to become the gazillionth gun control thread - I just want to find some books to read.
amarone: I have read many books on the subject, and am a member of many “gun-oriented” online forums.
I have never seen a web site or book that is truly objective on this issue. I don’t believe one exists.
Here’s my advice: Instead of searching for an objective source (which, as stated above, I don’t think exists), you should study the history of the issue and seek answers to the following questions: Why is there a gun culture? When did it start? Are guns in private hands good or bad for society? Do private citizens have a right to keep and bear arms? What are gun owners afraid of? What are gun control advocates afraid of?
To help answer these questions, I would suggest visiting gun control websites and pro-gun websites. Read what they have to say, find answers to the above questions, then make up you mind on where you stand.
might get reasonably close to an academic treatment. Not that being in academia guarantees much, and I don’t know Dr Mauser personally, so I can’t vouch for him or anything. He also has a bunch of books and such referenced at the bottom of the page.
I (being a former peacenik who is now a gun enthusiast) think that there is too much bullshit on both sides so I suggest looking at the pro’s and anti’s both and forming your own opinion (taking everything “with a grain of salt”, everyone has an agenda!).