Guns, Fear, the Constitution, and the Public's Health


 

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: The New England Journal of Medicine

Author(s): Garen J. Wintemute

Research Area: Law and ethics; Social conditions

Keywords: District of Columbia v. Heller; handgun control

Type: Report

Coverage: District of Colombia United States

Abstract:

In March 2008, just prior to the publication of this essay, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, a case challenging handgun control statutes adopted in 1976. Dr. Wintemute argues in this article that the overturning of gun control statutes could weaken the framework of ordered liberty that makes civil society possible.