"Behind the Passionate debate over gun control and armed crime lie assumptions about the link between guns and violence, including the belief that more guns in private hands mean higher rates of armed crime. But are these assumptions valid?".

"Investigating the real relationship between guns and violence, Joyce Lee Malcolm focuses on England, whose strict gun laws and low rates of violent crime are often cited as proof that gun control works. To place the private ownership of guns in context, Malcolm surveys changing attitudes toward crime and punishment, and the impact of war, economic shifts, and legal codes on violence from the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century.

Looking at the level of armed crime in England before and after restrictive gun legislation, Malcolm evaluates the success of those measures in reducing the rate of armed crime."--BOOK JACKET.