Annotated Bibliography on Law: School Shooters

Mash, Kenneth M. "Guns on Campus: A Chilling Effect." Thought & Action (2013): 57.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Authority: At the time of writing the article, Kenneth M. Mash was already a distinguished professor of political science at East Stroudsburg University. His strong professional background in constitutional law and political theory afforded him the relevant information to argue facts on gun possession. He is a renowned scholar being the president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.

Relevance: The author contends that much information exist about the issue of safety pertaining to allowing guns in colleges and campuses. However, he observes that not so much has been explored about the chilling effect of permitting the possession of dreaded weapons in academic institutions. In this article, the author shows how various universities in the US have reassessed their policies relating to dangerous weapons. He uses case laws such as the Supreme Court's decision in "District of Columbia v. Heller, which intended to allay the speculation on the scope of the second amendment regarding arms possession.

The author uses constitutional clauses and amendments such as the first and second amendments respectively to assert the fact that the exercise of any democratic right must be subject to strong regulations. In essence, he painstakingly tries to provide a retrospective application of laws. He rejects the concept that gun ownership should not be controlled. In essence, he advocates for regulated within various settings such as the schools and colleges. For instance, he argues that despite the fact that First Amendment provides for the freedom of speech, it is subject to regulation. Though he accepts the fact that gun ownership in academic institutions has a chilling effect on people in such places, the lack of a regulatory framework for its control limits the legal protection for organizations that may wish to redefine the weapon law. The author ponders about the fear that comes with the presence of guns in schools not only to the faculty and students but also on people known to publish controversial topics.

Hall, Ryan Chaloner Winton, and Susan Hatters Friedman. "Guns, schools, and mental illness: potential concerns for physicians and mental health professionals." Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Vol. 88. No. 11. Elsevier, 2013.

Authority: Susan Hatters Friedman is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. Apart from that, she works as an Associate Professor of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland; New Zealand. She studied criminal psychology which is crucial in understanding the effects of gun presence in schools. Friedmans co-author; Dr. Ryan Hall is a clinical psychiatrist who attends to both patients and their families. He is also a forensic psychiatrist at the local, state, national and international levels. This academic background gives him a strong background to write on exposure of psychiatric students, teachers and other people to wrongfully use guns in schools.

Relevance: The authors delve into a critical exploration of various cases of illegal shootings in different parts of the US including Tucson, Arizona; Aurora, Colorado; and Newtown, Connecticut. They reignite the debate on the need to control gun possession and use in the country characterized by liberal gun policies. They demonstrate that in all the three cases of mass shootings, the assailants committed the crimes in college. They present pertinent issues that make the presence of guns in schools a threat to human life including their use by mentally ill people to commit felonies and mass killings.

They assess the feasibility of the arguments presented by both the pro-gun control and both anti-gun controls. The information provided in the article affirms that gun violence committed by mentally ill people can be monitored through proactive medical interventions. The authors further interrogate the ability of physicians in determining the propensity of an individual suffering from psychological illnesses to commit gun-related offenses. The co-writers further assert that though doctors are held overly accountable for gun crimes, there should be regulations to prevent gun ownership, especially among the mentally ill population to prevent their exposure to committing criminal shootings. The due provide examples of potential complicated legislation and proposals on the things that can be done to improve mentally ill patients and the public from illegal use of guns.

Lott, John R. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-Control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Internet Resource.

Authority: Susan Hatters Friedman is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. Apart from that, she works as an Associate Professor of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland; New Zealand. She studied criminal psychology which is crucial in understanding the effects of gun presence in schools. Friedmans co-author; Dr. Ryan Hall is a clinical psychiatrist who attends to both patients and their families. He is also a forensic psychiatrist at the local, state, national and international levels. This academic background gives him a strong background to write on exposure of psychiatric students, teachers and other people to wrongfully use guns in schools.

Relevance: The authors delve into a critical exploration of various cases of illegal shootings in different parts of the US including Tucson, Arizona; Aurora, Colorado; and Newtown, Connecticut. They reignite the debate on the need to control gun possession and use in the country characterized by liberal gun policies. They demonstrate that in all the three cases of mass shootings, the assailants committed the crimes in college. They present pertinent issues that make the presence of guns in schools a threat to human life including their use by mentally ill people to commit felonies and mass killings.

They assess the feasibility of the arguments presented by both the pro-gun control and both anti-gun controls. The information provided in the article affirms that gun violence committed by mentally ill people can be monitored through proactive medical interventions. The authors further interrogate the ability of physicians in determining the propensity of an individual suffering from psychological illnesses to commit gun-related offenses. The co-writers further asserts that though doctors are held overly accountable for gun crimes, there should be regulations to prevent gun ownership, especially among the mentally ill population to prevent their exposure to committing criminal shootings. The due provide examples of potential complicated legislation and proposals on the things that can do to improve mentally ill patients and the public from illegal use of guns.

Redding, Richard E., and Sarah M. Shalf. "The legal context of school violence: The effectiveness of federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts to reduce gun violence in schools." (2001).

Authority: Richard E. Redding is a Professor of Law and Psychology at the Chapman University at the time of writing the journal. His perspectives on the legal and psychological imperatives of gun ownership in schools improve the understanding on the issue. On the other hand, Sarah was the Administrative Professor for Field Placement at the Emory University Law School. Her experience in jurisprudence is important in understanding the legal implications of gun control in school environments.

Relevance: The article acknowledges the fact that there are increased cases of school shootings. These cases of violence have resulted in community and legislative processes intended to solve this epidemic of school violence. It provides a variety of legal frameworks that have been proposed to control the effects of gun availability in schools. Some of these suggestion elucidated in the literature include enactment of tougher gun control laws and stricter federal and local enforcement current gun control laws. The other proposals are;

Promulgation of legislations that impose civil or criminal liability on parents in case their childrens engage in a gun-related violent behavior.

Strengthen the capacity of juvenile courts to handle cases of teenagers convicted of weapons offenses

Advocate for the enforcement of school disciplinary codes

Establish reformation in the legislations dealing with people having disabilities to make it easier for approved schools to expel students in possession of weapons.

The authors also submit proposals and recommendations for legal reforms. The article provides both legal and empirical analysis of proposed controls on school gun ownership. Its assertions are expressly informed by;

Social science research on the prevailing trends of school violence

Gun acquisition by school going teens and