Robert Spitzer (political scientist)

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This article is about the political scientist. For other people with the same name, see Robert Spitzer.

Robert J. Spitzer is an American political scientist. He is Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York at Cortland. He graduated from New Hartford High School in 1971, and holds a 1975 B.A. summa cum laude from SUNY Fredonia, a 1978 M.A. from Cornell University, and a 1980 Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Spitzer is the author of twelve books and hundreds of articles, essays, and papers on many topics related to American government. His areas of specialty include the American Presidency and gun control. His most recent book is "Saving the Constitution from Lawyers: How Legal Education and Law Reviews Distort Constitutional Meaning" (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Among other works, he is the author of The Politics of Gun Control (ISBN 978-0-87289-417-4), a book which analyzes the political antecdents and consequences of the controversial issue of gun control. The book's analysis includes the history of gun control, the Second Amendment, criminological consequences of guns, the role of interest groups, public opinion, Congress, Presidency, the courts, and the major legislative acts pertaining to gun control, including the Gun Control Act of 1968, the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, the Brady Act of 1993, the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005.

Spitzer views the Brady Act as a notable piece of legislation because it prevented about 600,000 handgun purchases nationwide (representing about 2.5 percent of all handgun purchases)to those with criminal records or mental problems in its first six years of implementation. The measure's enactment was politically significant because it represented a defeat for the politically powerful National Rifle Association. The law was also significant because the higher fees imposed by the act led to the reduction of number of licensed gun dealers from 300,000 to 100,000. [1]

Spitzer argues against the individualist interpretation of the Second Amendment, and instead holds with the court view that "the Second Amendment pertains only to citizen service in a government-organized and regulated militia". [2]