Self-Quiz 4.17: Jeff McMahan, Why Gun "Control" Is Not Enough

Which of the following best summarizes McMahan's conclusion(s)?

The United States should ban private gun ownership entirely or almost entirely.

The United States should make it illegal to shoot a gun.

The United States should ban hunting.

All of the above

McMahan claims that if gun ownership had robust deterrent effects, we should expect

the United states to have more crime than other developed societies.

the United States to have less crime than other developed societies.

the United States to have no crime at all.

to see no evidence of it.

According to McMahan, what is the best means of constraining government overreach in the United States?

democratic procedures

armed insurrection

bribery

None of the above (there's no way to stop government overreach)

McMahan compares the logic of private gun possession to

the nuclear arms race.

health insurance.

the tragedy of the commons.

All of the above

What, according to McMahan, is the primary barrier to prohibiting gun ownership in the United States?

The number of guns that are already owned

The fact that gun advocates oppose it

The high crime rate

A feckless Congress

In what way are guns different from alcohol and drugs, according to McMahan?

You can ingest alcohol and drugs, but you cannot ingest a gun.

Alcohol and drugs cannot be effectively eliminated, but guns can be.

The desire for alcohol and drugs does not depend on what others do, but the desire for a gun does depend on what others do.

Using alcohol and drugs is safer than using guns.

Per capita homicide rates in the United States are _______ homicide rates in other Western countries.

higher than

lower than

about equal to

not comparable to

Which of the following is not cited by McMahan as a possible explanation of the crime rates in the United States?

Permissive gun laws

Sheer coincidence

Americans' inherent violence

Americans' mental derangement

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