HOW TO DEAL WITH GUN VIOLENCE

A quick overview of current issues related to gun control.

Though too cursory to provide fodder for serious debate, this pro-and-con–style report on the rising tide of gun-related crimes, accidents, and mass murders in the U.S. invites readers to understand the scope of the problem and reflect on why it has led to polarized positions on gun control. Casting his narrative into easily digestible blocks that are light on specifics and statistics (and even lighter on sources for his numbers), Hunter presents position statements on facing pages. He covers issues ranging from whether or not gun ownership is a right to whether the next generation will find a solution for gun violence. In laying out explanatory background, the author’s efforts to sound even-handed lead to the potentially inflammatory claim that “police officers must assume that most suspected criminals are armed” and the dismally bland formulation that the use of firearms by police is “often controversial.” Hunter successfully avoids using coded, politically partisan language, and mentions important contextual data, such as the fact that fewer than 100 of the 40,000 lives lost on average to guns in the U.S. each year are due to terrorist action. Many photos break up the text, showing memorials, crime scenes, and racially diverse people protesting for and against gun-related issues. The resource lists at the end contain just four books and three websites.

Thin on facts but perhaps enough to get a discussion going.