The collection can be used by high school and undergraduate students to analyze the seminal arguments for and against further restrictions on guns. Each document in the collection is preceded by an explanatory headnote to aid student researchers in understanding and appraising the primary source. The documents cover all aspects of the gun control debate, such as developing legal theories, the increased focus of criminologists on gun control, and the role played by public health and law enforcement communities. Documents are organized according to the following parts: historical background, modern views on the second amendment, court cases involving the second amendment, the National Rifle Association, legislative responses to gun violence, public attitudes toward gun control, law enforcement's role in gun control, the perspective of the public health community on gun control, guns as self-defense security, and the gun control debate in the 1990s. Appendixes provide additional information on the second amendment, State gun control laws, and Federal gun regulations and include a list of additional resources and statements of key organizations in the gun control debate.