The Great Gun Conundrum - Episode 84 - The Oxford Comment by Oxford Academic (OUP) published on 2023-06-20T20:05:27Z With estimates of nearly 400 million privately-owned firearms in the United States and more than 40,000 deaths due to gun violence each year, guns and gun ownership have become polarizing issues. Forty-eight percent of Americans view gun violence as a major problem, with more than half of US citizens favouring stricter gun laws. The prevailing arguments, both for and against greater gun ownership restrictions, incorporate a range of issues, from party lines and political agendas to the influence of media coverage and the role of police in combatting violence—but what does recent scholarship reveal, and how might this scholarship inform policy for the better? On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we explore the history of gun ownership in the United States and practical solutions for resolving contemporary gun violence. First, we welcomed Robert J Spitzer, the author of "The Gun Dilemma: How History is Against Expanded Gun Rights," to share new historical research on America's gun law history as it informs modern gun policy disputes. We then interviewed Philip J Cook, the author of "Policing Gun Violence: Strategic Reforms for Controlling Our Most Pressing Crime Problem," who spoke with us about utilising the police as a strategic resource for reducing gun violence. For more information on "The Gun Dilemma," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-gun-dilemma-9780197643747 For more information on "Policing Gun Violence," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/policing-gun-violence-9780199929283 Please subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors: - Amazon Music: https://oxford.ly/3O8bPBH - Apple Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/2RuYMPa - Google Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/38UpF5h - iHeartRadio: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ - Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO - Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ - TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG - YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT The Oxford Comment Crew: Executive Producer: Steven Filippi Associate Producers: Aimee Britton and Meghan Schaffer Host: Aimee Britton Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. © Oxford University Press Genre Learning