Hot Topic: Gun Rights & Gun Control

This accessible legal history describes how the Second Amendment has been interpreted throughout most of American history and shows that today's gun-rights advocates have drastically departed from the long-held interpretation of the constitutional right to bear arm.

The only reference guide to Supreme Court cases organized both topically and chronologically within chapters so that readers understand how cases fit into a historical context, the 17th edition has been updated with 20 new cases, including landmark decisions on such topics as campaign finance, Obamacare, gay marriage, the First Amendment, search and seizure, among others. Updated through the end of the 2017 Supreme Court session, this book remains an indispensable resource for undergraduate and law school students, lawyers, and everyone interested in our nation's laws and Constitution.

The collection presents a balanced view between those who favour more gun controls and those who would prefer fewer of them. It is infused with the belief that through honest and open debate the often bitter cultural divide on the Second Amendment can be overcome and real progress made.

This resource explains gun control in the US and its current and proposed regulations, effectiveness, chronology, similarities and differences to other countries, key legislation and court rulings, and other aspects. It covers the background and history of gun control.

Nowhere is the gun control debate more heated than in the United States. Gun control advocates argue for tighter restrictions on purchasing and licensing in the hopes of reducing incidents of shootings. Gun owners fear that their guns will be taken away, eliminating their ability to protect their families. Carrying a concealed handgun is legal in every state, and polls shows that the majority of Americans support conceal and carry. The viewpoints in this volume attempt to answer tough questions, such as Do concealed handguns deter or increase crime? and Do the protections stipulated in the Second Amendment cover today s gun owners.

This illuminating study traces the transformation of the right to arms from its inception in English and Colonial American law to today's impassioned gun-control debate. As historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles shows, what the right to arms means to Americans, as well as what it legally protects, has changed drastically since its first appearance in the 1689 Declaration of Rights. Armed in America explores how and why the right to arms transformed at different points in history.