Global Gun Epidemic

Wendy Cukier is Professor of Justice Studies and Information Technology Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. She is a cofounder of Canada's Coalition for Gun Control, a founding member of the International Action Network on Small Arms, and coordinates the Small Arms Firearms Education and Research Network. In 2000 she was awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service award, one of Canada's highest honors.Victor W. Sidel is Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, and Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is a former president of the American Public Health Association, and a cofounder and past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985).

• List of TablesList of FiguresForeword by Sarah BradyPrefaceAcknowledgments1 Guns:A Global Perspective2 The Firearm Epidemic3 More Guns Equal More Deaths4 The Global Gun Trade5 Globalization and Gun Running6 "Gun Culture" and the Demand for Firearms7 The Regulation of Firearms8 National Approaches to Regulation9 Global Action:The Rise of an International MovementConclusionNotesSelected ResourcesIndex

The authors apply a global public health perspective to the problem of gun-related violence. Their goal is to identify the causal chain leading to injuries, and the epidemiological approach is both the advantage and limitation of the study. It brings together cross-national data, shows how patterns of use differ among countries, compares alternative interventions, and tests some beliefs about cause and effect. In particular, the study documents the critical role of the US in producing and selling firearms that are used around the world….[t]he data provided is a useful addition to a debate that is far from finished. Recommended General readers, lower-division undergraduates through practitioners.