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"In this in-depth and systematic look at gun carriers, Jennifer Carlson draws on her fieldwork attending guns shows and training courses, becoming an NRA certified instructor, and carrying a firearm to unpack the everyday politics of guns. Carlson arguesthat guns are taken up to address practical problems of policing and protection-in effect to manage social insecurities and suspicions surrounding state disinvestment and the efficacy of state institutions, especially law enforcement. In this context, guns carrying becomes a means of practicing good citizenship by producing social order amidst disorder. This understanding helps to clarify why Americans cling to their guns as both practical and symbolically charged tools of policing and protection, but italso sheds light on the NRA's hidden power as the primary organization that certifies Americans to carry guns. Rather than focus simply on how to handle a firearm responsibly, these training courses primarily cultivate the disposition, capacity, and desire to use guns in self-defense as well as teach the idea that carrying guns is a part of responsible citizenship"--
Sommario
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1: American Dreams, American Nightmares
- Chapter 2: Criminal Insecurities
- Chapter 3: NRA Training and the Everyday Politics of Gun Carry
- Chapter 4: The Right to Self-Defense, the Duty to Protect
- Chapter 5: Policing Guns, Profiling People
- Chapter 6: Jumping the Gun
- Conclusion: We Hope for Better Things; It Shall Rise from the Ashes
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Info autore
Jennifer Carlson is an American sociologist at the University of Toronto. She is an authority on the issue of guns, and has written widely on the topic, including in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Christian Science Monitor.
Riassunto
In this compelling portrait of gun carriers, Jennifer Carlson draws on her fieldwork attending guns shows and training courses, becoming an NRA certified instructor, and carrying a firearm to unpack the everyday politics of guns.
Testo aggiuntivo
"In Citizen-Protectors, Jennifer Carlson explores Americansâ love for firearms. During her research for this book, Jennifer Carlson took part in firearms training sessions, attended pro-arm gatherings, and carried a gun herself. With the help of the stories of gun-carriers, Jennifer Carlson opens a window into the complexities of American gun culture and the dramatic changes it has undergone over the past several decades." - The Washington Book Review
