Gun Control on Trial

January 15, 2009
The 2008 Supreme Court decision "District of Columbia" v. "Heller" interpreted the meaning of the Second Amendment's "right to bear arms" as an individual right but left it unclear the extent to which guns might be regulated. Doherty, an editor at "Reason" magazine, journalist, and commentator, was recruited by the libertarian Cato Institute to write this insider account of the case, with behind-the-scenes information on personalities and events and legal/historical context. He makes clear that he is an advocate for gun rights and that the five-to-four decision was, in his opinion, the only reasonable one. While there is considerable information here, Doherty clutters the book with his numerous gratuitous one-sided opinions and quotes from interviewees. This may be the first book to discuss "Heller", but libraries would do better to wait for a more carefully written, balanced work or rely on a pre-"Heller" legal discussion such as Mark V. Tushnet "'s Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can't End the Battle over Guns".Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs.

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