Investigates the history and impact of the Second Amendment, how it was designed, and how it has been constructed from the start to keep African Americans powerless and vulnerable.

"When Chicago's Mayor Michael Rodriguez starts a national campaign to ban handguns from America's cities, towns, and villages, Otis Cogsworth, the wealthy chairman and CEO of Cogsworth International Arms worries about the effects on his company. In response he and lobbyist Sunny McCarthy convince an Arkansas congressman to introduce federal legislation mandating that every American must own a firearm. Events soon escalate"--

"After John F. Kennedy was shot and killed with a rifle purchased through a mail-order magazine, Congress enacted and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the 1968 Gun Control Act (GCA), regulating firearms under interstate commerce. The politics of firearms controls suddenly underwent a formative transformation. Though the politics of firearms controls date as far back as the late nineteenth century, and though the first gun rights movement...

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords--disabled from an assassination attempt in Tucson, Arizona--and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, share their impassioned argument for responsible gun ownership and more responsible gun control laws, despite being gun owners and staunch supporters of the Second Amendment themselves.

Since the birth of the United States of America, the question of who can own a gun has been debated by passionate people on both sides of the argument. The Founding Fathers are no longer around to clarify exactly what they meant in the Second Amendment. As the country suffers an increasing number of public shootings in schools and beyond, the question of who should be able to own a gun becomes even more important for the safety of everyone in America....

Explores how the gun industry has changed and how the nature of gun violence has changed in step with industry trends and argues that a renewed political effort is necessary.

"Non-aligned voters are often baffled by gun control. This book is designed to be a guide to thoughtful discussion; it arms readers with facts and observations behind the conflicting arguments, leaves emotional rhetoric to the pundits, and focuses on the thorny perspectives underlying the debate."--Inside jacket

This book explores the history of guns as it applies to the Second Amendment and the effects of gun violence on society. Gun control and legislation in the United States on federal, state, and local levels are addressed without taking sides on this controversial issue. Sidebars highlight the NRA, the ongoing debate about gun control legislation, and what today's youth can do to help.