Robert J. Spitzer – författare

An informed and sophisticated look at the current debate between gun laws and gun rights in America. Contemporary gun controversies are deeply rooted in our history, yet much of that history is unknown, ignored, or distorted. This is all the more important because a new gun rights movement is pressing to expand the definition of gun rights well beyond the standard set by the Supreme Court in its landmark, controversial Heller ruling from 2008. These activists' efforts have found a receptive audience among a new generation of very conservative federal judges cultivated in part for their professed adherence to the doctrine of constitutional Originalism and fealty to an expansive reading of gun rights. In The Gun Dilemma, Robert J. Spitzer examines this "gun rights 2.0" movement in the light of a host of gun controversies: assault weapons, ammunition magazines, silencers, public gun brandishing and display, and the emergent Second Amendment sanctuary movement. Given the importance of actual gun law history to this debate, Spitzer draws from the historical record to illuminate several contemporary and emergent gun controversies that may well make their way to the Supreme Court. Revealing and illuminating as that history is, he argues that we should not be straitjacketed by that history, but rather informed by it as the nation struggles with how to frame its gun policies. By utilizing novel information sources to explore both gun law history and current debates, The Gun Dilemma provides an informed and sophisticated challenge to the ascendant originalists who appear to be set on enshrining in law a radical libertarian vision of gun rights.

An informed and sophisticated look at the current debate between gun laws and gun rights in America. Contemporary gun controversies are deeply rooted in our history, yet much of that history is unknown, ignored, or distorted. This is all the more important because a new gun rights movement is pressing to expand the definition of gun rights well beyond the standard set by the Supreme Court in its landmark, controversial Heller ruling from 2008. These activists' efforts have found a receptive audience among a new generation of very conservative federal judges cultivated in part for their professed adherence to the doctrine of constitutional Originalism and fealty to an expansive reading of gun rights. In The Gun Dilemma, Robert J. Spitzer examines this "gun rights 2.0" movement in the light of a host of gun controversies: assault weapons, ammunition magazines, silencers, public gun brandishing and display, and the emergent Second Amendment sanctuary movement. Given the importance of actual gun law history to this debate, Spitzer draws from the historical record to illuminate several contemporary and emergent gun controversies that may well make their way to the Supreme Court. Revealing and illuminating as that history is, he argues that we should not be straitjacketed by that history, but rather informed by it as the nation struggles with how to frame its gun policies. By utilizing novel information sources to explore both gun law history and current debates, The Gun Dilemma provides an informed and sophisticated challenge to the ascendant originalists who appear to be set on enshrining in law a radical libertarian vision of gun rights.

Gun Law History accomplishes two important purposes. First, it brings together the full panoply of types of old weapons laws, numbering in the thousands. No work has presented as comprehensive, coherent, and wide-ranging an account of historic American weapons laws from the 1600s through the start of the twentieth century as this one. In the process, it upends many standard assumptions about America's gun history past. That purpose, by itself, is a worthy goal, demonstrating that, contrary to American mythology, the default in American history was weapons regulation, not the reverse.Second, this analysis is framed in the context of America as a developing nation-state. It explains how America's expansive gun law history coincided with the evolution of the American nation-state from a small yet sprawling, overwhelmingly agrarian, Atlantic-coast hugging new nation struggling for legitimacy into a trans-continental, industrial, developed, urbanized giant. Indeed, the development of the American nation-state was inextricably linked to weapons regulations of every imaginable sort. Spitzer also demonstrates that the contemporary Supreme Court's interpretation of America's gun law history is entirely wrong. Weapons laws were integral to the overarching purpose of protecting the public peace.

Gun Law History accomplishes two important purposes. First, it brings together the full panoply of types of old weapons laws, numbering in the thousands. No work has presented as comprehensive, coherent, and wide-ranging an account of historic American weapons laws from the 1600s through the start of the twentieth century as this one. In the process, it upends many standard assumptions about America's gun history past. That purpose, by itself, is a worthy goal, demonstrating that, contrary to American mythology, the default in American history was weapons regulation, not the reverse.Second, this analysis is framed in the context of America as a developing nation-state. It explains how America's expansive gun law history coincided with the evolution of the American nation-state from a small yet sprawling, overwhelmingly agrarian, Atlantic-coast hugging new nation struggling for legitimacy into a trans-continental, industrial, developed, urbanized giant. Indeed, the development of the American nation-state was inextricably linked to weapons regulations of every imaginable sort. Spitzer also demonstrates that the contemporary Supreme Court's interpretation of America's gun law history is entirely wrong. Weapons laws were integral to the overarching purpose of protecting the public peace.

Political scientists and media specialists accept the commonplace assumption that the mass media have a profound and direct impact on virtually every aspect of the political process, yet remarkably few systematic studies examining the relationship between media and policy exist. Media and Public Policy brings together 15 prominent scholars who focus analytic attention on the underexamined connection between the media and public policymaking.Part I, which addresses theoretical perspectives, includes a chapter on media impact on the political status quo by leading expert Doris A. Graber and another on newsmaking and policymaking by Julio Borquez. Part II, Media and Domestic Policy, includes chapters on FCC decisions (Wenmouth Williams, Jr.), understanding public policy through news broadcasts (Marion Just and Ann Crigler), the role the media plays in economic development and agenda setting (Michael Hawthorne), and media and the right to privacy (Dean Alger). Jerry and Michael Medler contribute a chapter about media images as environmental policy, and Montague Kern examines the rhetoric of public policy issues in mass media elections. In the final section, Robert Sahr and Patrick O'Heffernan discuss mass media and U.S. foreign policy processes in two chapters, and Holli Semetko and Edie Goldenberg examine how AIDS reporters in several countries use the media to affect policymaking.

Gun control is one of the most enduringly controversial issues in modern American politics. For the first time this book compiles a comprehensive array of documents that explain and illuminate the historical and contemporary context of the modern gun debate. Bringing together over 50 documents from the colonial era to the present, including early colonial laws, founding documents, letters, political debates, federal and state laws, federal and state court cases, and various political documents, this book is an indispensable reference work for those seeking to understand the origins and modern consequences of American gun policy, including the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms. Accompanying commentary and analysis is included to help the reader fully understand the meaning of these documents. Numerous bibliographic sources provide additional resources for interested readers. Ideal for undergraduate and high school students, this collection of primary documents surrounding one of America's oldest controversial issues is a must-have for library shelves.Contrary to popular impression, gun laws are as old as the country, and reflect the intersection of citizens' personal gun habits and the country's early need to defend itself by citizen militias who were required to arm themselves. The nation's gun policies evolved as its needs and resources changed. Old-style militias gave way to a modern professional American military, and the settling of the American frontier ushered in modern gun laws. In the past century, political assassinations and gun-related mass violence spurred both new gun control efforts and a burgeoning modern gun rights movement. Students will be able to read and analyze primary documents surrounding these events, including the Federalist Papers, early hunting laws, Supreme Court rulings, federal and state regulations, and recent political platform statements. Ideal for undergraduate and high school students, this collection of primary documents surrounding one of America's oldest controversial issues is a must-have for library shelves.

This book is a sweeping indictment of the legal profession in the realm of constitutional interpretation. The adversarial, advocacy-based American legal system is well suited to American justice, in which one-sided arguments collide to produce a just outcome. But when applied to constitutional theorizing, the result is selective analysis, overheated rhetoric, distorted facts, and overstated conclusions. Such wayward theorizing finds its way into print in the nation's over 600 law journals - professional publications run by law students, not faculty or other professionals - and peer review is almost never used to evaluate worthiness. The consequences of this system are examined through three timely cases: the presidential veto, the 'unitary theory' of the president's commander-in-chief power, and the Second Amendment's 'right to bear arms'. In each case, law reviews were the breeding ground for defective theories that won false legitimacy and political currency. This book concludes with recommendations for reform.

This book is a sweeping indictment of the legal profession in the realm of constitutional interpretation. The adversarial, advocacy-based American legal system is well suited to American justice, in which one-sided arguments collide to produce a just outcome. But when applied to constitutional theorizing, the result is selective analysis, overheated rhetoric, distorted facts, and overstated conclusions. Such wayward theorizing finds its way into print in the nation's over 600 law journals - professional publications run by law students, not faculty or other professionals - and peer review is almost never used to evaluate worthiness. The consequences of this system are examined through three timely cases: the presidential veto, the 'unitary theory' of the president's commander-in-chief power, and the Second Amendment's 'right to bear arms'. In each case, law reviews were the breeding ground for defective theories that won false legitimacy and political currency. This book concludes with recommendations for reform.

Since its initial publication, this book has become the classic work on every important element of the tumultuous national gun debate in America. This new edition brings together the latest developments and research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology to provide a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. In this era of polarized politics, this book provides a unique window into how and why that polarization drives our politics. Among the new topics covered in this edition are the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, new Supreme Court protections for concealed carry permits, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gun violence and policy. New to the Ninth Edition• Examines current gun control legislation at both state and federal levels, particularly the circumstances that lead to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022. • Introduces the new constitutional standards for gun control legislation set by the controversial, pro-Second Amendment Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).• Provides expanded and updated consideration on related issues including: the rise of "gun carry" movements on college campuses, attempts to regulate "ghost guns," bump stocks and guns with high capacity magazines, .50 caliber sniper rifles, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6 Capitol Attack, and the Black Lives Matter movement on contemporary gun control debates. • Tracks the financial, political, and legal crises that threaten the dominance of the National Rifle Association and examines the rise of new gun rights groups, such as the National Association for Gun Rights.• Presents new and updated statistical research on gun ownership in America, gun-related fatalities, public opinion support of "red-flag" laws and other gun control measures.• Incorporates new pedagogical features of chapter summaries and discussion questions into each chapter.

Since its initial publication in 1995, this book has become the classic work on every important element of the tumultuous national gun debate in America. This new edition brings together the latest developments and research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology to provide a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. In this era of polarized politics, this book provides a unique window into how and why that polarization drives our politics. Among the new topics covered in this edition are the Supreme Court’s new foray into applying history to evaluate modern gun laws, the effects of political whipsawing between Democratic and Republican control of government, and the consequences of that for gun laws, violence, and policy.New to the Tenth EditionAnalysis of the Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision that for the first time implemented its controversial history-based standard for judging the constitutionality of current gun lawsHighlights the whiplash between the pro-gun policy actions of the Biden administration and the second Trump administration’s about-face to roll back those initiativesChronicles the rise and nearly cataclysmic implosion of the once-vaunted National Rifle Association as self-created problems brought it to the brink of disaster, and as legal actions against the NRA finally came to an endElucidates the scramble of other gun rights groups to replace the NRA as the nation’s foremost anti-gun law organizationPresents new and updated statistical research on gun ownership in America, gun-related fatalities, public opinion support of ‘red-flag’ laws and other gun control measures. After a surge in gun violence and gun ownership, both have receded to pre-pandemic levels, and the murder rate continues its decline after a short upsurgeIncludes new pedagogical features of chapter summaries and discussion questions in each chapter

Since its initial publication in 1995, this book has become the classic work on every important element of the tumultuous national gun debate in America. This new edition brings together the latest developments and research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology to provide a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. In this era of polarized politics, this book provides a unique window into how and why that polarization drives our politics. Among the new topics covered in this edition are the Supreme Court’s new foray into applying history to evaluate modern gun laws, the effects of political whipsawing between Democratic and Republican control of government, and the consequences of that for gun laws, violence, and policy.New to the Tenth EditionAnalysis of the Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision that for the first time implemented its controversial history-based standard for judging the constitutionality of current gun lawsHighlights the whiplash between the pro-gun policy actions of the Biden administration and the second Trump administration’s about-face to roll back those initiativesChronicles the rise and nearly cataclysmic implosion of the once-vaunted National Rifle Association as self-created problems brought it to the brink of disaster, and as legal actions against the NRA finally came to an endElucidates the scramble of other gun rights groups to replace the NRA as the nation’s foremost anti-gun law organizationPresents new and updated statistical research on gun ownership in America, gun-related fatalities, public opinion support of ‘red-flag’ laws and other gun control measures. After a surge in gun violence and gun ownership, both have receded to pre-pandemic levels, and the murder rate continues its decline after a short upsurgeIncludes new pedagogical features of chapter summaries and discussion questions in each chapter

Building on We the People’s focus on the citizen’s role, why participation matters, and the influence of gender, class, race, and ethnicity in American politics, the Fifteenth Edition delivers new ways for students to understand and participate in politics. New chapter-opening author videos in the Norton Illumine Ebook draw students in with engaging personal stories and explain the learning objectives. New interactive features invite students to engage with data and understand the role of participation and representation in American politics. Check Your Understanding questions with feedback for each major section in the ebook help students retain what they’ve read, while InQuizitive helps students master and apply key concepts.

An objective examination of the Second Amendment, focusing on the intentions of its authors, its evolution from America's beginnings to the present, and the views expressed by the courts.In The Right to Bear Arms: Rights and Liberties under the Law, the first volume in ABC-CLIO's America's Freedoms series, political scientist Robert J. Spitzer combats hysteria and rhetoric with simple facts.He takes no position on whether more or fewer gun control laws are needed or whether guns are good or bad. Instead, he traces the roots of the Second Amendment, analyzes the opinions and intentions of its authors, follows its application and evolution from its beginnings, and explores the views expressed by the courts. He then carefully compares the intended and the implied meaning of this amendment with the views expressed by the entire spectrum of groups involved in the gun control issue. Armed with the facts, readers can decide for themselves.A detailed analysis traces the right to bear arms from its origins in Britain into the 21st centuryThe book includes key primary source documents, such as federal regulations and Supreme Court decisions, a list of the right to bear arms provisions from 44 state constitutions, and excerpts from the Republican and Democratic Party platforms

Examines the work of Louis Fisher, renowned scholar of constitutional law and politics.Politics and Constitutionalism presents a collection of eight original essays by leading political science and law scholars, organized to recognize and analyze Louis Fisher's prolific and important body of work. The essays explore the role of all three branches of government in shaping constitutional meaning and institutional behavior, noting that the courts do not have sole interpretive power. This principle is applied to such topics as the dynamic of key court rulings, federalism, war powers, diplomacy, government secrecy, and the impact of the legal community on constitutional interpretation. The book's contributors also turn renewed attention to the study of American institutions as the fountainhead of political analysis, a movement in which Fisher has been a pioneer. Fisher himself contributes a summative essay.Contributors include David Gray Adler, Dean Alfange, Jr., Neal Devins, Louis Fisher, Michael J. Glennon, Loch K. Johnson, Nancy Kassop, and Robert J. Spitzer.

This is the first modern study of the veto. In addition to tracing the genesis and historical evolution from Ancient Rome, through the ultimate inclusion in the Constitution, it also explores the veto's consequences for modern presidents. In doing so, Spitzer promotes a key argument about the relation between the veto power and the Presidency - namely, that the rise of the veto power, beginning with the first Chief Executive, is symptomatic of the rise of the strong modern Presidency, and has in fact been a major tool of Presidency-building.A special and revealing irony of the veto power is seen in the finding that, despite its monarchical roots and anti-majoritarian nature, the veto has become a key vehicle for presidents to appeal directly to, and on behalf of, the people. Thus, the veto's utility for presidents arises not only as a power to use against Congress, but also as a symbolic, plebiscitary tool.