KF3941 .W56, 204-3-4

The Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) centers this book on the history and future of gun control in the United States. Guns played a prominent role in the founding of the nation, but ideas about guns, who should have access to guns, and especially the meaning of the Second Amendment has changed over time. The book explores these changes and the way perspectives on guns have hardened over time. The NRA, for example, had for most of its existence supported gun control. Gun control advocates hurt their cause by denying the importance of gun ownership throughout the nation's history. The decision in the Heller case left both gun control advocates and opponents surprised and concerned. Winkler also discusses what the Heller decision means for the future of gun control. ( )

This 2016 book takes as its premise that there is a strong constitutional basis for an individual right to bear arms in self-defense, and that there would be due to dozens’ of states’ constitutions even without the Second Amendment. That said, Winkler aims to discomfit both “gun nuts” and “gun grabbers” by arguing that this individual right was historically consistent with substantial amounts of regulation, including universal gun registration and even—in the supposedly Wild West—requirements that cowboys coming into town surrender their guns to the sheriff while they were in town. In 2018, I can’t share Winkler’s hope that the Supreme Court’s decision affirming an individual right will calm “gun nuts” down enough for them to agree to sensible, historically grounded regulations, even if gun sales have dropped now that a black man is no longer president. ( )

Probably the single best book on the tangled history of gun ownership and gun regulation in the United States. There's plenty here to upset and offend extremists on both ends of the question. Winkler makes it clear that America has a long history of gun ownership AND gun regulation, and until the 1960s, no one thought the two ideas conflicted in any way. ( )

Very helpful overview of the history of gun ownership and gun regulation in the U.S. I learned a lot about both sides of the debate. I especially like the way he weaves the Heller vs. Washington D.C. case throughout the book. His final chapter provides an excellent summary of where the debate currently stands. Everyone who feels passionately about this issue, regardless of which side they are on, would benefit from reading Winkler's treatment. ( )