The Toughest Gun Control Law in the Nation

James B. Jacobs, legal scholar and sociologist, was Warren E. Burger Professor of Law and Director, Center for Research in Crime and Justice, NYU School of Law. Among his books are Mobsters, Unions & Fed: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement, Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime, Busting the Mob: United States v. Cosa Nostra, and Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry, all published by NYU Press. Zoe Fuhr is a New Zealand-based criminal lawyer and a fellow at New York University's Center for Research in Crime & Justice.

"The great lesson here is that in gun policy, as in other areas, good intentions are not enough. James B. Jacobs and Zoe Fuhr provide a thorough account of how New York State's SAFE Act, the 'toughest gun law in the nation,' has come up short in implementation and enforcement. This book serves as a well-informed guide to exploring the gap between aspiration and practice, and makes painfully clear that for advocates of gun violence prevention, enacting sensible regulations is just the first step." -- Philip J. Cook, co-author of The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know "This masterful, penetrating study of the nation's strongest gun control statute does what legal sociology aspires, but often fails, to accomplish: demonstrate the gap-here, a chasm-between the law on the books and the law in action, between policymaking and policy implementation. Anyone concerned with reducing gun violence needs to absorb and act upon its wisdom." -- Peter H. Schuck, author of One Nation Divided: Clear Thinking about Five Hard Issues That Divide Us "Opens up numerous questions of interest to political scientists. ... Students of public policy have a great basis for theory development in this realistic portrayal of the major limitations of our gun regulatory system." * Political Science Quarterly *