How Economic History Can Solve the Gun Control Stalemate : Lessons from Labor Law

Recent tragedies in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX have renewed and intensified the demand for greater firearms regulation in the United States. Yet meaningful reform has been mired in political impasse for decades. I use a simple game-theoretic model to show that the impasse is not the product of a polarized Congress or a particularly vocal minority, but actually the result of a three-sided commitment problem rooted in a uniquely American context. Remarkably, labor law concerning unions in the early 20th century overcame very similar obstacles and now poses a masterful rhyme to modern day gun law. Lessons from economic history thus indicate a strategic path forward