The Case for Substantial Gun Control

This talk will make the case that the U.S. needs stronger gun control measures. We need tighter restrictions concerning who may acquire and use guns, restrictions on the types of weaponry that are available, and the involvement by the federal government in promoting gun safety, among other measures. The lecture will make a consequentialist argument that appeals to public safety as well as a rights-based argument that takes on the strongest gun rights case. It will also address some of the leading objections to gun control and sketch some policy implications for the future.

Bio: Dr. David DeGrazia is Elton Professor of Philosophy, George Washington University and a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. DeGrazia did his undergraduate work at the University of Chicago and his graduate work at Oxford University (M.St.) Georgetown University (Ph.D.). He is the author of many articles in animal ethics, bioethics, gun control, and other topics, and the author or editor of eight books, including most recently, Debating Gun Control (written with Lester Hunt; Oxford 2016) and Principles of Animal Research Ethics (written with Tom Beauchamp; forthcoming from Oxford, 2019).

UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors. If you would like to request accommodations (e.g., ASL interpreters, captioning, wheelchair access, etc.) for this event due to a disability, please notify us at least two weeks prior to the event. Requests received after that time cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to make arrangements for program access. Please contact us at dreshercenter@umbc.edu with your specific request and be sure to include the event title, date, and time.