Episode 20: Ian Ayres and Frederick E. Vars

On our last episode of Season 2, Ian Ayres, professor of law and of professor of management at Yale University, and Frederick E. Vars, professor of law at the University of Alabama, join us to discuss their new book Weapon of Choice: Fighting Gun Violence While Respecting Gun Rights. In the book, Ayres and Vars outline decentralized and voluntary policies that can be immediately adopted at the state or federal level to prevent gun-related deaths. We discuss the benefit and the possible downside of presuming second amendment rights and pursuing a neoliberal approach to the issue. We also discuss the politics of the proposal, including the professors’ lobbying efforts.

Additional Readings:

• Ian Ayres and Frederick E. Vars, A New Way to Reduce Gun Suicides, and Maybe Mass Shootings Too, L.A. Times (March 12, 2018).