Annotated Bibliography

Websites
http://www.manyfacets.com/dan/propaganda.html
This website, while filled with many grammatical errors, focuses on the emotion used in the propaganda in the gun control debate. What caught my attention was the author’s use of the emotional appeals to Pathos, Ethos, and Logos in the article. I think that this could definitely be a good resource tool for my paper.

http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/McClurgA1.html
McClurg’s article was published in the American University Law review, and is quite an extensive article discussing the rhetoric behind the gun control debate. While much of his focus is on the Brady Bill and the efforts to get that particular bill passed, he does discuss quite a number of points that are relevant to my paper. He discusses the fallacies of the gun control rhetoric, to include the fallacy of emotion, a major emphasis used in both sides of the debate. This particular article will be extremely helpful to me in completing my paper.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/32181.html
This website offers a great article on the gun control debate, especially relevant to my paper, in that it is a discussion of the debate, with each writer taking a different stance based upon the primary topic. The first author discusses a “middle ground” approach – quite important to my paper, while the remaining authors either attempt to refute her claims, or support her stance. None of the articles seem to take a particularly “rabid” approach to the debate, and instead offer a voice of reason with each article.


Cartoons
www.ctsportsmen.com/news/gun_cartoons.htm
This is the primary source website that I will use to find gun control cartoons that are pertinent to my paper. I found it interesting that it was a bit difficult to find cartoons that are done in support of gun control!


Books

Crooker, Constance Emerson. Gun Control and Gun Rights, Westport: Greenwood, 2003.
GREAT book! Ms. Crooker offers valuable insight into the debate, while, for the most part, keeping an open mind in the debate. She elaborates on the debate, beginning with the origin to present day. The chapters in the book discuss the theories and rhetoric used by each side, and also introduces facts that are supported and not supported by each side. There are numerous quotes from politicians and activists that show just how passionate each side is within this debate. This book is quite balanced in its approach to the issue – something I’m striving for in my paper.


Davidson, Osha Gray. Under Fire – The NRA And The Battle For Gun Control. New York, Holt, 1993.
This book is about the NRA and its “battle” in keeping gun control regulation to a minimum. He looks critically at some of the NRA's broad-brush critics, suggesting that neither side gives "any credence to the claims of the other." He observes that the NRA is "neither the Evil Empire its foes claim nor the super-patriotic defender of the most cherished American values it claims to be." But only in the epilogue does he address important policy questions (such as the role of handguns in self-defense) and sociological analysis (such as of the urban-rural cultural roots of the gun control debate).


Hook, Donald D. Gun Control – The Continuing Debate Bellevue: Second Amendment Foundation, 1992.
Using a quote from the Amazon.com website by the author: “I comment at greater length in the preface, but I try to make the point, with authority, that balance is needed in this country today with regard to the sane possession and use of firearms. Gun control is an emotion-laden issue not unlike capital punishment. I believe there is more persuasive evidence on the side of the gunners, but I share the concern of the anti-gunners that the misuse of guns in America has gotten out of hand. I do not agree with the solution of more and more control as put forth by the latter group, but I do subscribe to certain controls, and especially to a drastic one introduced toward the end of the book. I also strongly endorse educating the public in the proper use of guns and enthusiastically support the various sporting uses of weaponry. The book also contains a handy glossary of gun terms.”.

Yet again, another book that seems to advocate a middle ground approach to the gun contril debate. A very useful tool in researching my paper.


Nisbet, Lee. The Gun Control Debate – You Decide, Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2001.
This book doesn’t seem particularly useful to me, as far as actual quotes from the book. It does offer a good source as far as analyzing various strategies used by both sides of the debate, as it asks various questions that demand thought - Among the questions addressed are: Does the availability of guns influence levels, patterns, and concentrations of violent crime? If so, how, and with what policy implications? Do more guns equal more or less crime? Do guns kept for self-defense menace gun owners and their families more than protect them? Is mass media coverage of gun control issues biased? If so, how, and in what direction? How should we interpret the Second Amendment? Does the gun debate reflect an underlying cultural conflict between groups who detest each other's values and lifestyles?


Spitzer, Robert J. The Politics of Gun Control , New York: Chatham House Publishers, 1998.
This book discusses the political ramifications within the gun control debate. While useful, it’s not a great source.


Quigley, Paxton. Armed and Female, New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1989
This author is a prime example of someone who has a particular stance on gun control, and through a series of events is able to come to a different conclusion regarding this topic. This is something I’m striving for in my paper – that the activists on both sides of the debate can stop the noise and actually listen to each other’s opinions and beliefs.