Description
Book SynopsisFrom TheConversation.com, an exploration of the devastating gun violence in the United Statesand possible ways to stop it. In The Conversation on Guns, editor James Densley brings together a group of expert scholars to explore the role of guns in US society and the tragic impacts of gun violence. From the many forms of gun violence, to effective and innovative public health and community-led initiatives to curb it, the authors discuss how and why guns are deeply rooted in American history and culture by examining both the politics and policies around gun safety. Grounded in the latest research, these short and accessible articles written by experts in criminal justice, law, sociology, public health, history, and education explain how the United States became so saturated with guns and what the prevalence of guns is doing to our society. The Critical Conversations series collects essays from top scholars on timely topics, including water, biotechnology, gender diversity, and more, ori
Table of ContentsSeries Editor's Foreword
Preface
Part I. Why America Is a Gun Country
1. Five Types of Gun Laws the Founding Fathers Loved
2. Three Enduring Stories Americans Tell about Guns
3. How the "Good Guy with a Gun" Became a Deadly American Fantasy
4. American Gun Culture Is Based on Frontier Mythology but Ignores How Common Gun Restrictions Were in the Old West
5. How the NRA Evolved from Backing a 1934 Ban on Machine Guns to Blocking Nearly All Firearm Restrictions Today
6. The Key Role Firearms Makers Play in America's Gun Culture
7. Hollywood's Love of Guns Increases the Risk of Shootings—Both on and off Set
8. If You Give a Man a Gun: The Evolutionary Psychology of Mass Shootings
9. Want to Understand Gun Owners? Watch Their Videos
10. Why Were Medieval Weapons Laws at the Center of a US Supreme Court Case?
Part II. The Many Forms of Gun Violence
11. Norway and Finland Have Similar Levels of Gun Ownership as the US but Far Less Gun Crime
12. The Facts on US Children and Teens Killed by Firearms
13. How Easy Access to Guns at Home Contributes to America's Youth Suicide Problem
14. How Dangerous People Get Their Weapons in America
15. Gun Violence in the US Kills More Black People and Urban Dwellers
16. Why Do American Cops Kill So Many Compared to European Cops?
17. Police Are More Likely to Kill Men and Women of Color
18. Don't Shoot: When Dallas Police Draw Their Guns, They Usually Choose Not to Fire
19. Are Mass Shootings an American Epidemic?
Part III. The Trauma of School Shootings
20. Why There's So Much Inconsistency in School Shooting Data
21. School Shootings Are at a Record High—but They Can Be Prevented
22. Five Ways to Reduce School Shootings
23. Most School Shooters Get Their Guns from Home—and during the Pandemic, the Number of Firearms in Households with Teenagers Went Up
24. Arming Teachers: An Effective Security Measure or a False Sense of Security?
Part IV. The Effects of Gun Violence
25. The Lasting Consequences of School Shootings on the Students Who Survive Them
26. Mass Shootings Leave Behind Collective Despair, Anguish, and Trauma at Many Societal Levels
27. Gun Violence Has Fueled Enduring Trust Issues for Many Americans
28. Why Americans Bought More Guns Than Ever during the Pandemic
29. Are Looser Gun Laws Changing the Social Fabric of Missouri?
Part V. The Politics and Policies of Gun Control
30. How US Gun Control Compares to the Rest of the World
31. Public Database Reveals Striking Differences in How Guns Are Regulated from State to State
32. US Tragedies from Guns Have Often—but Not Always—Spurred Political Responses
33. Supreme Court Swept Aside New York's Limits on Carrying a Gun, Raising Second Amendment Rights to New Heights
34. Red Flag Laws Saved 7,300 Americans from Gun Deaths in 2020 Alone and Could Have Saved 11,400 More
35. Would Closing the "Boyfriend Loophole" in Gun Legislation Save Lives? Here's What the Research Says
36. Why the Legal Age for Purchasing Assault Weapons Does Not Make Sense
37. Did the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 Bring Down Mass Shootings? Here's What the Data Tells Us
38. Why Is There So Little Research on Guns in the US?
39. Public Health Research Reduced Smoking Deaths—It Could Do the Same for Gun Violence
40. Indianapolis Is Trying Programs Ranging from Job Skills to Therapy to Reduce Gun Violence
Part VI. Technology and the Future of Gun Ownership
41. Why Do Gun-Makers Get Special Economic Protection?
42. World's Deadliest Inventor: Mikhail Kalashnikov and His AK-47
43. What Are "Ghost Guns"?
44. 3D-Printed Guns May Be More Dangerous to Their Users Than to Targets
45. What Makes a "Smart Gun" Smart?
Contributors
Index
