Guns and Elections: The Politics of Gun Control

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In the book Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms, Wilson discusses the complex issue of gun control and the many debates and controversies regarding the issue. Many people throughout the United States feel it is the right as a citizen in the United States to own a weapon, and the government should have no say in the matter. These people believe this because of the part of the Second Amendment that states, “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” People who are strong advocates against gun control use this part of the Second Amendment to drive their point across. Advocates against gun control believe that preserving the freedom of a state through a militia is not the only way it should be looked at, these people believe that the amendment also implies a clause that takes into account one’s right for self-defense. Wilson in his book does a good job of discussing the arguments for pro-gun rights, but he believes that these people’s arguments for their gun rights should not be more important than protecting the greater good of people. He also points out to the reader that often times people for gun rights have a personal bias and accuse news coverage on the issue as being mostly liberal. Even though the research collected by Wilson shows that most news coverage tends to be neutral. Wilson then goes on to discuss how often times advocates for gun control will never attack the media, and say that there is bias or that people for gun rights are bias. Another crucial issue that is mentioned in the book Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms, is that the issue of gun control should constantly be an important issue and the “garbage can model”... ... middle of paper ... ...e (2001): 145-149."Gun Control Facts." By James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 12/22/10. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp Gemma, Peter B. "Media-Induced Gun Myths." Human Events 59.11 (2003): 16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. Report: "2008 Crime in the United States, Expanded Homicide Data – Table 9." Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, September 2009. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_... Su, Ya Chen. "The Effects of the Cultural Portfolio Project on Cultural and EFL Learning in Taiwan's EFL College Classes." Language Teaching Research 15.2 (2011): 230. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 5 Apr. 20 Tanne, Janice Hopkins. "Data Collection System Needed for Gun Injuries: BMJ." British medical journal 321.7273 (2000): 1370. ProQuest. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

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