Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control

A look at the NRA today examines such issues as the link between drugs and guns, the NRA's connection with gun manufacturers, its unsteady relationship with the police, and the growing schism within the organization. 15,000 first printing.

Neither an expose nor a polemic, this book bogs down in description while stinting on hard analysis. Davidson ( Broken Heartland: The Rise of America's Rural Ghetto ) intersperses several set pieces--on the 1988 schoolyard massacre in Stockton, Calif., the 1986 congressional debate over the McClure-Volkmer Bill and the workings of a Washington, D.C., emergency room--with a fair-minded history of the National Rifle Association. Davidson 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 superpatriotic 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). His conclusion that the epidemic of gun violence must be addressed demands a more rigorous foundation.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Beginning with the story of ``Eddie'' Purdy, who killed five children in a California schoolyard and then turned his AK-47 assault rifle on himself, Davidson (Broken Heartland, 1990) writes what at first seems an emotional antigun tract. In fact, it is something much more interesting: a detailed examination of political influence as wielded by perhaps the most powerful of special interests--the National Rifle Association. Davidson begins by sketching the NRA's beginnings as a group promoting military rifle-practice, and its gradual metamorphosis into an organization for hunters and civilian target-shooters. It was only in the 1970's, under the leadership of Harlon Carter--a controversial Texan who nearly tripled NRA membership during his tenure--that Second Amendment absolutism became the organization's raison d'ˆtre. Most of the text is a fascinating analysis of the origins of the gun lobby's legendary clout--in effect, a graduate course in real-world politics. Davidson follows the progress through Congress of various gun-control bills; details the NRA's response (from procedural fights to concerted efforts to oust unsympathetic legislators); examines the changing nature of the antigun movement; and records the split between the NRA and many law-enforcement professionals. And while the author believes in the necessity of some form of gun control, he points out distortions and loaded statistics used by gun-law advocates, as well as the NRA's readiness to demonize its opponents. Unlikely to change the minds of hard-liners on either side of the gun debate; but, still, a fascinating study of the practical application of political power. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This detailed history of that politically powerful and often feared lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), examines the organization's current troubles and its declining influence with elected officials and leadership in the police community. The publisher claims that the book is "nonpartisan" but also provides a statement of praise from gun control advocate Sarah Brady. Davison has carefully researched his topic. His book is journalistic in style yet compares favorably with the best on this subject, such as James D. Wright and Peter H. Rossi's Armed and Considered Dangerous (Aldine de Gruyter, 1986) and Franklin Zimring and Gordon Hawkins's The Citizen's Guide to Gun Control ( LJ 7/87). Davidson's study brings the debate up to date. Highly recommended for any collection that has either of the aforementioned books.
- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.