Gun Violence in America

Overview

Few Social Issues Have produced more exaggerated claims and contention among Americans than the struggle to control gun violence. Fueling the emotional fire in debates between firearm groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun control advocates is the dispute over the importance of guns in American culture. Is the fondness for firearms truly part of a venerable American tradition, one to be observed with very few limits? In this fascinating inquiry, Alexander DeConde delves into the myths and politics regarding gun keeping, as well as the controversies over gun use, crime, and policing from the early days of the republic to the present. The fact that the second amendment to the constitution appears to protect the right of the citizenry to keep and bear arms has led many Americans to assume that our forebears were uniformly a gun-loving people. By the early 1900s, the image of the American pioneer building the nation with gun in hand had become a widely recognized symbol of virtue, self-reliance, and the fight against tyranny. This glorified perspective of civilian gun keeping, maintains DeConde, offered an appealing reason for allowing private citizens easy access

Details

Publisher

Northeastern University Press

Published

2001

Pages

394

Language

EN

Categories

History / General, History / Military / Weapons, Law / General, Political Science / Law Enforcement, Political Science / Public Policy / Gun & Firearm Policy, Social Science / Criminology, Social Science / Violence in Society, Sports & Recreation / Shooting

ISBN-13

9781555534868