Recommended Reading: Glock

I have never owned a gun. When I was a kid my dad told me about his neighbor, a young boy, who accidentally shot and killed his little sister with their family gun.  I have been too scared to have one in my house ever since.  Although, I can understand why people would want to own a gun and if they knew how to use it, feel comfortable with one.

I heard about this book, Glock, on NPR.  They have interviewed the author, Paul Barrett, a couple times. Sadly, each time has been after a mass shooting.  I found the story of the gun's inventor interesting, albeit disappointing. It provided me with a closer view of the NRA, which made me dislike them. And it reinforced my personal feeling that gun ownership is not the whole problem. The book presents some interesting data about lower total numbers of guns available in Europe and much lower homicide rates. Here in the US more bad guys have guns and more good guys too.
This book provides lots of thoughtful data on all sides of the debate. I recommend it. Definitely worth reading.
Also worth reading is this study from Johns Hopkins about guns and gun violence: The Case for Gun Policy Reforms.