Guns and Gun Control

To locate books or other materials held in the Boston University Libraries on a particular topic, you will need to do a subject or keyword search in the online Catalog. Relevant subjects for books may include:

firearms firearms industry and trade firearms law and legislation gun control machine guns pistols rifles

Reference Sources || Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources || Statistics || Internet Sources

REFERENCE SOURCES.

Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. 2nd ed. 4 vols. 2002.: Contains scholarly articles concerning the causes of crime, criminal behavior, criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal justice systems, and the prevention, punishment, and treatment of crime. Topics include guns, regulation of. Mugar Ref. X HV6017 E52 2002.
Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights. 2000.: Contains more than 300 entries on individuals and organizations on all sides of the gun control question, as well as laws, judicial decisions, issues, events, and types of weapons. Entries conclude with a list of further readings, including web links. There is an introductory overview with facts and statistics on gun control; a chronology; appendices with a list of organizations, state constitutional provisions, and firearms laws; and a bibliography. Mugar KF3941 A68 U88 2000.
Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook. 2006.: Presents introductory essays on gun control in the U.S. Includes chronology of significant events/court cases, statistical data, federal and state gun laws, biographical essays of individuals who have had an impact on the gun control issue, a directory of organizations, and a list of resources. Mugar Ref. X HV7436 C36 2006.
Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. 2 vols. 2002.: Contains 500+ entries on gun violence, gun control, government legislation, court decisions, gun organizations, gun subcultures, attitudes towards guns, and more. Appendices list key federal and state gun laws, state constitutional right-to-keep-and-bear-arms provisions, and organizations concerned with the role of guns in American society. Mugar Ref X HV7436 G8783 2002.
People for and Against Gun Control: A Biographical Reference. 1999.: Biographical dictionary profiling fifty experts and activists in the gun control debate. Mugar HV7436 B54 19 99.

INDEXES, ABSTRACTS, AND FULL TEXT SOURCES.

America: History and Life. 1964 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical articles and dissertations in the field of North American history and culture, including native American. Look here for the historical perspective on firearms, the right to keep and bear arms, gun manufacturers (e.g., Colt), historical firearms (e.g., muskets), gun culture, Indian warfare, 2d Amendment, and more.
ATLA Religion Database. 1949 - . (BU-px).: Indexes religion periodicals, essays in books and dissertations. Subjects include religious and moral aspects of firearms.
Congressional Quarterly Researcher. (ChRiv).: A full text resource offering basic background information on many contemporary issues of interest to Congress. An excellent starting point for research into major public issues, this source gives summary coverage to all sides of the issues along with extremely useful bibliographies.
Criminal Justice Abstracts. 1977 - . (BU-px).: Contains abstracts to journal articles, reports, dissertations, and books. Entries are arranged under broad subject categories. Use the cumulative subject/geographic index to locate citations on gun control and firearms.

Criminal Justice Periodicals Index. 1981 - . (BU-px).: More than 50 titles are available full-text, with abstracts and indexing for a further 140 titles. The major emphasis is on practical aspects of criminal justice, especially law enforcement and corrections. Available in print (1978-1998), Mugar Z5118 C9 C74. Storage: Use Request Form.

Criminology: A Sage Full Text Collection. (BU-px).: "Includes the full-text of 23 journals published by SAGE and participating societies, some journals going back 23 years, encompassing over 5,500 articles. It covers such subjects as Criminal Justice, Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Justice, Corrections, Penology, Policing, Forensic Psychology, and Family and Domestic Violence."
General Science Ful Text. 1984 - . (ChRiv-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical articles in the sciences, including life sciences, medicine and health. Relevant subjects include guns and gun control.
Historical Abstracts. 1955 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical literature and dissertations on world history (excluding the U.S. and Canada), from 1450 to the present. Look here for the history of firearms.

LexisNexis Academic. (BU-px).: A full-text database that includes newspapers, wire services, transcripts of television and radio broadcasts, medical and health journals, trade journals, accounting literature, company financial reports, law reviews, statutory and case law, and public opinion polls. The database is international in scope, and includes newspapers in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and German. Dates of coverage vary depending upon the publication.

Medline (PubMed). 1966 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts medical literature.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database (NCJRS). (BU-px).: "The National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database contains summaries of more than 180,000 criminal justice publications, including Federal, State, and local government reports, books, research reports, journal articles, and unpublished research."
NCJRS Virtual Library.: Access to 7000+ full-text publications on the NCJRS web site and the web sites of the agencies of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service). 1915 - . (BU-px).: Index to articles, books, and documents in public affairs and public policy, including social conditions. Includes articles, books, and government documents on firearms, pistols, and rifles.
PsycINFO. 1872 - . (BU-px).: "Contains nearly two million citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports, all in the field of psychology." Relevant subject headings include weapons and gun control laws.
Social Sciences Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px): Indexes and abstracts core journals in such fields as anthropology, criminal justice and criminology, gender studies, geography, gerontology, minority studies, social work, sociology, and urban studies. Includes full text of articles from 215+ journals as far back as 1995. For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.
Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - .: Indexes and abstracts periodical articles, conference papers, proceedings, dissertations, and book reviews in sociology and related fields. Search here for works on the sociological aspects of firearms and gun control. (BU-px).

STATISTICS.

Crime in the United States. 1948 - .: Nationwide view of crime compiled by the FBI from statistical reports submitted by state and local law enforcement agencies. Formerly titled Uniform Crime Reports for the United States Mugar HV6787 F30 (1948-); latest year in Mugar Reference. Online through the FBI website from1995.
Firearms and Crime Statistics.: Summary statistical information from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics on victimization, injuries, and arrestees and offenders. Links to related BJS publications and to related sites.
Firearms Statistics.: Statistics from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, on firearms manufacturers, export, and tax collection.

LexisNexis Statistical. (BU-px).: An online version of three indexes: American Statistics Index, covering 1973 to the present; Index to International Statistics, covering 1983 to the present; and Statistical Reference Index, covering 1980 to the present. The database indexes and abstracts social, demographic, and economic statistics published by the U.S. government, the U.N. and other international governmental organizations, as well as US state governments, and US private nonprofit and commercial associations and organizations. Most of these publications are available in the ASI, IIS, and SRI microfiche collections in Mugar Library. The PowerTables section of the database contains complete statistical tables, and may be searched separately.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. 1974 - .: Annual compendium of statistics on crime and criminal justice published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Mugar HV7245 N37B. Latest edition available on the Web. Sourcebook Archive 1994-2002 is also online. Print volumes ended in 2003 but the online version is updated on a regular basis.
Statistical Handbook on Violence in America. 1996.: Compendium of statistical data on violence in America. Chapters cover fatal and other forms of interpersonal violence, vulnerable and high-risk groups and situations, and the impact of violence. Mugar HN90 V5 S833 1996.
Statistics on Weapons and Violence. 1996.: Selection of charts, graphs and tables on availability, ownership and use of weapons in crime; on violence and violent crime (including youth and workplace violence); and on murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Mugar HN90 V5 S834 1996.

INTERNET SOURCES.

ABA Special Committee on Gun Violence.: "The Committee was created in 1994 in recognition of the breadth of the problem of violence with the mission to coordinate the Association's efforts to implement ABA policy on gun violence."
ATF Online: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.: Moved from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department following passage of the Homeland Security Act, "the ATF will continue to perform the law enforcement functions relating to firearms, explosives, and arson." Provides overview of firearms laws, including the Brady Law, as well as information on domestic and youth violence, firearms curios, firearms licensing, and statistics on firearms and explosives.
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.: "As the largest national, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center are dedicated to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in their communities. The Brady Campaign works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies through grassroots activism, electing pro-gun control public officials and increasing public awareness of gun violence. The Brady Center works to reform the gun industry and educate the public about gun violence through litigation and grassroots mobilization, and works to enact and enforce sensible regulations to reduce gun violence including regulations governing the gun industry. "
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.: The Brady Act is named for James Brady, President Reagan's Press Secretary, who was wounded in the March 1981 assassination attempt on the President. The Brady Act establishes a national five business day waiting period and requires local law enforcement to conduct background checks on handgun purchasers. Signed by President Clinton on November 30, 1993, the Brady Act went into effect on February 28, 1994 as Public Law 103-159.
The Center for Gun Policy & Research, Johns Hopkins University.: "The Center is engaged in a broad range of activities, including original scholarly research , policy analysis, and agenda-setting public discourse. Our goal is to bring public health expertise and perspectives to the complex policy issues related to gun violence prevention."

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.: "The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) emerged from the civil rights movement in the early 1970s and pushes a progressive agenda to reduce firearm death and injury. CSGV is comprised of 45 national organizations working to reduce gun violence. Our coalition members include religious organizations, child welfare advocates, public health professionals, and social justice organizations. "

Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review. 2005.: "Firearms and Violence uses conventional standards of science to examine three major themes - firearms and violence, the quality of research, and the quality of data available. The book assesses the strengths and limitations of current databases, examining current research studies on firearm use and the efforts to reduce unjustified firearm use and suggests ways in which they can be improved." National Academies Press book available in print (Mugar HV6789 N37 2005) and online.

Gun Laws, Gun Control, and Gun Rights.: "JURIST: The Legal Education Network presents this guide to Gun Laws, Gun Control & Gun Rights as a resource for individuals on all sides in the ongoing controversy over the legal status of guns in the United States."

National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS).: "The Brady Act, Public Law 103-159, requires that a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) be established by November 30, 1998...The NICS will be a national system that will check available records on persons who are disqualified from receiving firearms."
National Rifle Association of America (NRA).: Firearms lobbying, education, and training organization. Includes fact sheets and news alerts pertaining to crime, guns, and gun control legislation; special reports; information on women's firearms issues; summaries of state firearms laws; online exhibits from the National Firearms Museum; and more.

Physicians for Social Responsibility.: "Physicians for Social Responsibility is working to create a world free of nuclear weapons, global environmental pollution, and gun violence."
Second Amendment Foundation.: "The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is dedicated to promoting a better understanding about our Constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms. To that end, we carry on many educational and legal action programs designed to better inform the public about the gun control debate." Includes a database of articles and books on the Second Amendment; Supreme Court decisions; NRA columns; news items; information on sponsored publications; and links to related RKBA (Right to Keep and Bear Arms) sites.
University of Pennsylvania Firearm & Injury Center.: "The Firearm & Injury Center at Penn, founded in 1997, was established in the Division of Traumatology and Surgical Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. FICAP is a unique collaboration among healthcare professionals, researchers and communities to address the magnitude and impact of firearm injury and violence. The mission of FICAP is to create safer communities through the systematic reduction of injury and its repercussions to the individual, family, and society. FICAP seeks to achieve its mission by stimulating firearm and injury research, supporting efforts to translate research findings into practice, and broadly disseminating information to policymakers. "

The Violence Policy Center.: "National non-profit organization working to fight firearms violence through research, education, and advocacy." Includes news, research reports, fact sheets, links, and other information. Topics include the firearms industry, women and firearms violence, the elderly and firearms violence, and pro-gun special interests.

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