Gun Control (Opposing Viewpoints)

Gr 10 Up--Magazine articles and position papers written by professors, lawyers, research directors, journalists, and others discuss a variety of issues related to individual ownership of firearms and ways to reduce gun violence. The topics explored within the pro-and-con framework are: private handguns as a public-health hazard, the constitutionality of private ownership, and the legalization of concealed weapons. Articles include both balanced and biased views, with writers frequently citing extensive statistical support for their positions. Cartoons, graphs, and boxed quotes enliven the format; magazine and book bibliographies and organizations to contact are included. General readers with limited background in this subject will benefit from reading a less complex introduction such as Maggi Aitkens's Gun Control (Lerner, 1990; o.