Description
Book SynopsisPatrick J. Charles charts the rise of gun rights activism from the early twentieth century through the 1980 presidential election, pinpointing the role of the 1968 Gun Control Act. Offering a deep dive into the politicization of gun rights,
Vote Gun reveals the origins of the acrimonious divisions that persist to this day.
Trade ReviewIn
Vote Gun, Patrick Charles sheds light on the historical origins of the gun debate, drawing on painstaking archival research and challenging received wisdom about the historical role of the “gun lobby.” This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the balance of gun rights and regulation in the United States. -- Joseph Blocher, coauthor
The Positive Second Amendment: Rights, Regulation, and the Future of HellerVote Gun challenges the NRA’s narrative of its own history, including the claim that it has the power to swing elections, as well as the conventional wisdom that the NRA only became a fierce gun lobby in the late 1970s. The book is an important history of the role of the gun rights movement, as well as the evolution of gun politics and policy, throughout the first eight decades of the twentieth century. -- Kristin Goss, coauthor of
The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to KnowAn illuminating history of an oft-misunderstood political movement,
Vote Gun is a thorough and persuasive account of the rise and transformation of gun rights politics. Patrick Charles is one of the most respected voices on gun law historiography, and this meticulous account will further cement that status. -- Eric Ruben, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
No study has excavated NRA history to this depth and detail. The basic outlines of this narrative have been often told, but Charles here provides a degree of detail, nuance, and complexity that has not been brought to light until now. This alone makes it an important, and also highly readable, contribution. -- Robert J. Spitzer, author of
The Gun Dilemma: How History Is Against Expanded Gun RightsThe story put together here is an important one. * National Review *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
1. “A Shot Sure to Be Heard Around Congress”
2. The Rise of the “Gun Lobby”
3. The Great “Gun Lobby” Awakening
4. A Political Synopsis of the Great “Gun Lobby” Awakening
5. The Evolution of the NRA and Firearms Control Politics
6. 1968: Firearms Control Becomes an Election Issue
7. 1969–1970: The “No Compromise” Gun Rights Movement Arrives
8. 1971–1974: Firearms Control Politics and the Saturday Night Special
9. 1974–1980: The Gun Rights Reformation
Epilogue
Notes
Index
