This collection of essays looks at over 200 major court cases, at both state and federal levels, from the colonial period to the present. Organized thematically, the articles range from 1,000 to 5,000 words and include recent topics such as the Microsoft antitrust case, the O.J. Simpson trials, and the Clinton impeachment. This new edition includes 43 new essays as well as updates throughout, with end-of-essay bibliographies and indexes by case and subject/name.

American democracy owes much to the rights guaranteed to individuals in the U.S. Constitution and specifically in its first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. Each book in the new six-volume American Rights set provides the history of a specific right or rights, from the right to vote to the right to bear arms. The volumes begin with brief colonial history, discussing the war fought by American Revolutionaries to gain independence from Great Britain - and their opportunity to decide what rights every American should possess. Coverage also includes later and ongoing struggles by groups such as women and people of color to gain these rights - both in law and in practice. Students will learn to appreciate the value of these rights by reading of the battles fought to secure them and, in some cases, by learning of their relative rarity around the world. Graphs, maps, photographs, and box features enhance the lively and accessible narrative, calling out important details and bringing this exciting material to life. Providing a wealth of information, American Rights is a thought-provoking, must-have set perfect for the young readers of today.

In recent years, political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment has become increasingly volatile and this collection of original essays by top scholars illuminates the various reasons why. Gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association are more organized and aggressive and their issue agenda has evolved as new and more powerful weapons and militia appear. On the other side of the debate, the critical wounding of James Brady gave gun control advocates a visible martyr with strong ties to Republican conservatives. In sum, gun control and the right to bear arms have become hotly disputed issues where political alignments are constantly shifting. The contributors chart these changes and explore how Congress, the courts, the President, and individual states are currently addressing the issue of gun control. This book, which includes profiles and examinations of relevant interest groups, the gun control coalition, recent Supreme Court decisions, and public opinion surveys, will be of great interest to classes in political science, American government, law, and sociology.

Newtown. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Tucson. Aurora. Gun violence on a massive scale has become a plague in our society, yet politicians seem more afraid of having a serious conversation about guns than they are of the next horrific shooting. Any attempt to change the status quo, whether to strengthen gun regulations or weaken them, is sure to degenerate into a hysteria that changes nothing. Our attitudes toward guns are utterly polarized, leaving basic questions unasked: How can we reconcile the individual right to own and use firearms with the right to be safe from gun violence? Is keeping guns out of the hands of as many law-abiding Americans as possible really the best way to keep them out of the hands of criminals? And do 30,000 of us really have to die by gunfire every year as the price of a freedom protected by the Constitution? In Living with Guns, Craig R. Whitney, former foreign correspondent and editor at the New York Times, seeks out answers. He re-examines why the right to bear arms was enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and how it came to be misunderstood. He looks to colonial times, surveying the degree to which guns were a part of everyday life. Finally, blending history and reportage, Whitney explores how twentieth-century turmoil and culture war led to today's climate of activism, partisanship, and stalemate, in a nation that contains an estimated 300 million guns--and probably at least 60 million gun owners. In the end, Whitney proposes a new way forward through our gun rights stalemate, showing how we can live with guns -- and why, with so many of them around, we have no other choice.

Covering the history of firearms and gun control in America, this two-volume work presents original documents and helps readers understand these documents in relation to the social and political context in which they were written. Offering the most complete collection of primary documents on the subject of guns and gun politics, this two-volume set will give readers a comprehensive, unbiased understanding of the complex and often-surprising evolution of gun ownership, gun culture, and gun politics in the United States. This fascinating history is examined through approximately 150 primary source documents from the Colonial era to the present day. Each section opens with an informative headnote that provides important context for understanding the social and political milieu in which the document was created. The chronologically arranged set begins with Colonial laws regulating firearms, then proceeds through debates regarding the Second Amendment and laws that prohibited slaves from possessing guns. The use and regulation of firearms in the "Wild West" is explored, as is the era of Prohibition and organized crime in the 1930s. Later chapters cover the impact of 1960s-era racial and political violence and assassinations on gun laws and attitudes; the struggles over gun control and gun rights in the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations; the increased clout of the NRA during the Bush administration; and the impact of events ranging from the Sandy Hook Massacre to the Supreme Court's District of Columbia v. Heller decision. Documents include laws, speeches, court decisions, Congressional debates, and more, giving college students and other interested readers the opportunity to evaluate each document—and each period—for themselves.

First Published in 1993. This volume is a collection of legal and historical material of the second amendment that includes court cases and decisions, law review articles and gives a balanced view of both sides of the debate.

Each book in this series offers all the statutes, legal opinions, and studies a student needs to structure a cohesive argument on a given controversial topic. Issues are presented from multiple points of view; sidebars cite law and opinions to aid in critical analysis; paratextual questions encourage reader engagement; and all sources are fully documented and grouped by the side of the argument. Analyzes the controversy over gun ownership in America: How does the Second Amendment's right to bear arms fit into the modern world? Does the state have an interest in restricting the licensing or sale of firearms to the public?