NCJ Number
141914
Date Published
1993
Length
268 pages
Annotation
This book has three major objectives: to analyze the mounting incidence of violent crime, especially the increase in violent home intruders; to assess moral dimensions of self-defense against home intruders; and to evaluate the ongoing debate over gun control.
Abstract
The issue of using lethal force in self-defense has moral and religious dimensions, and Protestants and Catholics can be found on both sides of the issue. The acceptance of personal armed defense means acquiring a deadly force mindset and a weapon to implement it. Gun possession implies a readiness to kill in the defense of innocent life, and the question of armed defense against home intruders highlights the controversy over pacificism versus nonpacificism. Self-defense is a particularly disturbing ethical issue in light of the biblical commandment that prohibits killing. Two major social orientations prevail with respect to the current gun control controversy: those who believe society will be better off with the elimination of all privately owned firearms; and those who believe that firearms should be kept out of the hands of certain citizens, such as juveniles, convicted felons, mentally impaired individuals, and drug users. Moderates, however, generally concede that a sensible compromise is desirable between individual and societal rights and see crime control as a far larger issue than gun control. The book looks at violence portrayal in the media, characteristics of violent individuals, rapists, whether the public perceives it can count on law enforcement protection, religion and pacificism issues, and social policy issues related to self-defense against home intruders (gun control and the National Rifle Association). References