ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors, who have different perspectives on key gun issues, discuss how the study of firearms policy has evolved over their careers. They shed light on their roles as public scholars and the diverse critical debates to which they have contributed. Research that would likely point to the hazards of gun ownership has been undercut by lack of funding. Pro-gun advocates were able to use their extraordinary influence with Congress to discourage federal research funding for investigation of the public health effects of private gun possession. Political conflict over guns endures in the modern era, but with profound changes. Although broad public support for stronger gun laws is one of the most consistent trends in public opinion, dating to the advent of modern polling in the 1930s, gun policy change has occurred on only a few occasions at the national level in the 20th century.
