The Last Gun

Author and gun industry expert Tom Diaz contends that the United States’ powerful gun lobby – led by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and aided by underreporting in the media – promotes the concept that access to guns has little to do with gun violence. The gun industry sells increasingly militarized weapons as sporting items and characterizes attempts to restrict those sales as threats to the US Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms. Author and gun industry expert Tom Diaz maintains – in this factually reported but impassioned argument – that if US citizens knew the information behind the public health consequences of gun violence, they would support greater regulation. However, laws shield the gun industry from liability, and many elected leaders are afraid of the NRA’s clout. getAbstract never takes political sides, but Diaz does, skillfully. Unrepentantly pro-gun control, he makes a compelling, well-researched case for taking a public health and safety approach to gun violence in the US. getAbstract recommends his work to anyone who wants a comprehensive introduction to the issue of gun violence and possible solutions for it.