IFR-4 Recommended Resources
PPG Idaho Firearm Rights Center Page Links
- PPG Idaho Firearm Rights [IFR] Center
- IFR-1 Idaho State Firearm Rights and Regs
- IFR-2 Second Amendment Rights
- IFR-3 Social and Statistical Research
- IFR-4 Recommended Resources
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Overview
We’re just beginning to fill in key resources that we recommend, starting with our top recommendations on books. As time goes by, you’ll likely find we’ve added other sections and items, such as on documentaries, training videos, movies, TV programs, newsletters, magazines, etc.
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Books
Our Top Recommendations
Armed Response: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Firearms for Self-Defense, by David Kenik (Merrill Press, 2005). Considered a class introduction to the topic for newcomers, with short chapters on over 30 practical topics. [Not available at this time in either a Kindle or Nook edition.]
Armed: The Essential Guide to Concealed Carry, by Bruce N. Eimer (Krause Publications, 2012). An introductory guide to the essential mindset, knowledge, tools, and skills for self-defense and concealed carry. Also available in a Kindle edition and Nook edition.
The Essential Second Amendment Guide, by Wayne LaPierre (WND Books, 2nd Edition, 2009). “This indispensable book contains battle-tested arguments and an arsenal of facts, figures and anecdotes that freedom advocates can use every day.” It looks at the founders’ intent and the peoples’ right to keep and bear arms, congressional and court roles related to these rights, owning and carrying firearms for self-defense, and the United Nations Gun Ban Treaty. Includes sections on firearms rights in state constitutions, federal court cases, and law reviews on both the “individual right” and “collective right” approaches. [Not available at this time in either a Kindle or Nook edition.]
Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry, by Massad Ayoob (Gun Digest Books, 2nd Edition, 2012). A well-organized introduction to key legal and practical topics on concealed carry. Includes sections on mental attitude, where you can/can’t carry, Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws, firearm hardware selection, and a range of carry methods and accessories. Also available in a Kindle edition and a Nook edition.
Gun Facts 6.2, by Guy Smith (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012). Guy Smith began this book as a compilation of facts to counteract gun control myths. He updates it regularly and the most current version (6.2) was published in March 2013. His book is well documented: “Each chapter lists common gun control myths, then lists a number of documented and cited facts (with nearly 500 detailed footnotes). Thus when a neighbor, editor or politician repeats some sound bite about firearm control policy, you can quickly find that myth then rebuke with real information.” This makes it a great “reference guide for journalists, activists, politicians, and other people interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment.”
It includes chapters on just about every imaginable topic related to guns and controls: assault weapons, gun availability, children and guns, accidental deaths, concealed carry, crimes, crime prevention, social costs of gun control, police and guns, ballistic “fingerprinting,” guns in other countries, licensing and registration, microstamping, .50-caliber rifles, assorted other myths, public opinion, gun control proponents and opponents, the Second Amendment, and gun confiscation. Available on Amazon as a paperback book. For a free downloadable PDF or screen version in English or Spanish, see Guy Smith’s Gun Facts website. Not available at this time in either a Kindle or Nook edition.] Be sure to see Guy’s other book, Shooting the Bull, described below.
Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment, by Craig Whitney (PublicAffairs, 2012). From the publisher’s summary: “Trying to restrict gun ownership doesn’t effectively deter crime—we need to get serious about what actually works. Whitney shows that, if we focus on controlling violence rather than guns themselves, the Second Amendment may not be so lethal as the left would like to think.” Whitney unravels the history of the Second Amendment rights, attempts at regulations, and the background of today’s political environment on gun control. Also available in a Kindle edition and a Nook edition.
More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Third Edition (Studies in Law and Economics), by John R. Lott, Jr. (University of Chicago Press, 3rd Edition, 2010). Lott is a professor of economics. He has been doing statistical research and analysis on gun control issues since the mid-1990s. This is a college-level textbook with clear but technical descriptions of his methodology, statistics, and findings. He also responds to his critics from his approach of economics research into what deters crime. (His basic finding is the same as the title: To reduce crime, increase the number of guns among law-abiding citizens.) This is not a constitutional law and rights approach – but is important to have as a response to gun rights opponents who use research and statistics to make their case for control. Also available in a Kindle edition and a Nook edition. Check this link for a publisher’s interview with John Lott, done at the time of the first edition (1998) of this ground-breaking book. See the Resource Center page that summarizes the important research of Professor Lott.
Personal Defense for Women, by Gila Hayes (Gun Digest Books, 2009). There are a few books on self-defense (including concealed carry), designed specifically for women. This is considered one of the best. Gila Hayes and her husband Marty operate The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc., and manage the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network. Also available in a Kindle edition and a Nook edition.
Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis, edited by Daniel W. Webster and Jon S. Vernick (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013). “The staggering toll of gun violence—which claims 31,000 U.S. lives each year—is an urgent public health issue that demands an effective evidence-based policy response. The Johns Hopkins University convened more than 20 of the world’s leading experts on gun violence and policy to summarize relevant research and recommend policies that are both constitutional and have broad public support.” The experts represented the fields of law, medicine, public health, advocacy and public safety.
Includes empirical research and legal analysis. Also includes policy recommendations on: background checks, high-risk individuals, mental health, trafficking and dealer licensing, personalized guns, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and research funds. This resource is both very current and important for its research elements, even if one doesn’t agree with aspects of the recommendations. Also available in a Kindle edition and a Nook edition. If you are interested in the background of this event and book, check out the publisher’s website page. It gives a list of links to related articles and interviews.
Shooting the Bull, by Guy Smith (Free Thinkers Media, 2011). “In politics, everyone lies. Voters distrust everything they are told by politicians, the media and even their neighbors. Despite universal suspicion of news and opinion makers, very few people understand how political lies are created and thus most folk are unable to dissect spin and discover truth. Shooting the Bull details how all political falsehoods are created, why they work and how to detect them.”
This book “teaches you to spot political lies in real time while exposing the long and lying history of the gun control industry.” In it, Smith uses real-world examples of how gun-control advocates use these various ways of slanting truth – or just plain lying – to support their supposed arguments. So, this is a key book for the essential “critical thinking skills” needed to counteract bull and bullies about gun control. (For an intriguing essay on how this upsets some in the academic community, see the Foreword to the book, written by Brian Patrick, a professor of communications. There’s a sample of it on the Amazon page.) Also available in a Kindle edition. [Not available at this time in a Nook edition.]
User’s Guide to the Second Amendment: History, Meaning, and Effects of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, by Robert Dittmer (Kindle Edition, 2012). The UNABRIDGED Kindle edition is advertised as “The most comprehensive collection of source documents from the founders, constitutional law scholars, and the courts on the U.S. constitution’s Second Amendment. Explains point-by-point exactly how and why the Second Amendment protects the individual human right of each and every civilian to keep arms and bear arms for self-defense, hunting, etc. inside and outside the home. Explains exactly how and why the tenth amendment limits the government’s powers to those mentioned in article one, section eight, i.e. explains why the government’s power to regulate interstate commerce does not include the power to disarm individuals.” The estimated length is over 2200 pages.
The User’s Guide to the Second Amendment is also available in an ABRIDGED print edition of about 400 pages. “This version does not include the chapter on lower court follow-up decisions or the chapters on the tenth amendment and the interstate commerce clause.”
Other Sources
TV Series
Top Shot is a History Channel competition series that features all types of weaponry, including historical and contemporary firearms.
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Other Media Resources and Websites
Gun Digest offers a huge amount of firearms information on their site and in their products, whether your interests are self-defense, hunting, collecting, marksmanship, and/or more.
