Gun control policy is complex, covering topics from the meaning of the Second Amendment, to criminology to public opinion. Below are some books that are informative. Most are required reading for anyone serious about the topic.

 

Criminology and Statistical Analysis of Gun Control Policy

Guns and Control by Guy Smith

Guns and Control: A Nonpartisan Guide to Understanding Mass Public Shootings, Gun Accidents, Crime, Public Carry, Suicides, Defensive Use, and More. By Gun Facts founder Guy Smith, this is an end-to-end review of what we know and don’t know about guns, violence and where the solvable problems exist.

The book makes no point on gun control and offers no pro- or anti-gun viewpoint. But it gives the reader everything they need to know in order to decide what is or isn’t going to be effective.

https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Control-Nonpartisan-Understanding-Shootings/dp/1510760075


Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control: This classic work by Gary Kleck is a studious tome by a revered criminologist. Targeting Guns is the original source of the “2,500,000 defensive uses” data as well as a wealth of other information.

https://www.amazon.com/Targeting-Guns-Firearms-Control-Institutions/dp/0202305694


Point Blank: The focus of this book agrees with the Gun Facts mission: “Written deliberately to counter an atmosphere of hysteria and extremism.” Kleck again provides perspective about what is happening and what has happened vis-a-vis guns and violence.

https://www.amazon.com/Point-Blank-Guns-Violence-America/dp/020230762X


Assassination Generation: What role does violent entertainment and games have on mass violence? The world’s leading authority on military/police training to desensitize soldiers/cops to killing on duty has the answers, and they are frightening.

https://www.amazon.com/Assassination-Generation-Aggression-Psychology-Killing/dp/147890979X


Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting: A distillation of the most useful and complete of all the (currently) available mass public shooting databases. Though it contains infrequent incorrect analysis, it is a solid survey of what is known about mass public shooters.

https://www.amazon.com/Violence-Project-Stop-Shooting-Epidemic-ebook/dp/B08WJV7W3P


 

Mass Killings: A concise book covering many of the essential topics and observations about mass public shootings. A good primer for those who don’t need a deep, deep dive.

https://www.amazon.com/Mass-Killings-Myth-Reality-Solutions/dp/1718142242


Second Amendment Studies

That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right is hailed by many as the best distillation of the twin rights of the individual and militia to keep and bear arms. Noted left-of-center law professor Sanford Levinson said of this book “provides indefatigable research into the second amendment, and all serious scholars will eternally be in its debt.”

https://www.amazon.com/That-Every-Man-Armed-Constitutional/dp/0945999380


For the Defense of Themselves and the State: This is the masterwork of Clayton Cramer, a man who earn some distinction by his deconstruction of Michael Bellesiles’ notion that guns were scarce in colonial America (which led to Bellesiles’ academic conviction). This book covers the European origins and legislative history of the Second Amendment, details some 200 state and US Supreme Court decisions concerning the amendment, and discusses issues such as the role of racism in the passage of gun control laws during Reconstruction.

https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Themselves-State-Original-Interpretation/dp/0275949133


The Origin of the Second Amendment: This is not an analysis book, but a complete compilation of 500+ documents that had a direct bearing on the creation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For the scholarly minded or the 2nd Amendment warrior in need of reference materials (such as the Senate votes that eliminated the collective rights proposal).

https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Second-Amendment-Documentary-Commentaries/dp/0962366439

Miscellaneous

Shooting The Bull: By Gun Facts founder Guy Smith, Shooting The Bull is a book on propaganda analysis using the misinformation campaigns found in the control debates as a case study and guide. Academic foreword by Brian Anse Patrick, author of The Ten Commandments of Propaganda.

https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Bull-Guy-Smith/dp/0983240701