Maxwell School News and Commentary

As public concerns about crime mounted in the 1980s and 1990s, AR-15 marketers started to adjust their depiction of what was on the receiving end of the barrel. “People, rather than animals, were the target,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “That allows it to be sold more as a self-defense weapon, particularly inside the home.”

"For a lot of activists and organizers on the ground, when we talk about abolishing, our idea of abolishing police stems from the idea that there has to be different forms of service and care that allow for communities to take care of themselves and not rely on the police for the whole host of services that they currently provide," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science. 

"Here we have yet one more opportunity to fully flesh out and understand what went wrong with the drug war in Mexico and why it could arguably be considered to be a colossal failure," says Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.

Capturing Ovidio Guzmán could be a way for López Obrador to show the U.S. that he is “in control of the armed forces and Mexico’s security situation,” Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, tells CNN. “It also defuses the power behind any ask from the Biden administration to stem the tide of fentanyl and other narcotics across the border,” she adds.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science says the bills sound like they make sense and they could not only help lower some of the expensive costs of incarceration, but also help with some social issues. “But politically, the timing of these things couldn’t be worse,” Reeher says.

”It was the partnership with Maxwell and CSIS that took me over top as far as picking a graduate program. It is in person, working in conjunction with a well-respected think tank, and it’s nonpartisan,” says Ashan Benedict, executive assistant chief of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, weighs in on Visa Inc.'s announcement that it will separately categorize sales at gun shops—a move gun control advocates say could help flag suspicious sales ahead of a mass shooting.

Research on the relationship between lead poisoning and community violence by Robert Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, and Sandra Lane, professor of anthropology by courtesy appointment, was featured on the CNY Central segment, "Could Syracuse's lead paint problem be causing more youth violence? Researchers think so."

Professor Grant Reeher appeared on the CNBC segment "Why even more Americans are arming up with AR-15 guns."

Professor Grant Reeher was quoted in the Press-Republican article, "Crime rates dominate NY election conversation."