The politics of gun control / Robert J. Spitzer.

1. Policy definition and gun control
Regulation, public order, and public policy
Guns and regulation
The gun controversy
The gun culture
Policy gridlock
Social regulatory policy analysis
2. The Second Amendment : meaning, intent, interpretation, and consequences
Historic roots
The Constitution
The Bill of Rights
The militia transformed
Supreme Court rulings
Other court rulings
The textbook Bill of Rights
Conclusion
3. The criminological consequences of guns
America and violence
Choice of weapons
Homicide and malicious injury
Suicide
Accidents
Self-defense
Guns and school violence
Extending the "Castle Doctrine" to America's streets
Conclusion
4. Political fury : gun politics
Single-issue gun groups : the NRA
Explaining the NRA's effectiveness
The Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence
The Million Mom March
The gun control movement's strategic blunders
The political balance and the invincibility myth
Public opinion
Political parties and guns
Conclusion
5. Institutions, policymaking, and guns
Early legislative efforts
The Gun Control Act of 1968
The Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986
The tide turns : the assault weapons ban
The Brady Bill
The post-Columbine reaction
Lawsuit protection for gun manufacturers
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Conclusion : furious politics, marginal policy
6. Gun policy : a new framework
Federalism : the great regulation dilemma
Gun policy alternatives
The barriers to gun control
The security dilemma
The security dilemma and the gun debate
Nonproliferation and arms control.