Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline

By Jennifer Carlson

Book Overview

From gang- and drug-related shootings to mass shootings in schools, shopping centers, and movie theatres, reports of gun crimes fill the headlines of newspapers and nightly news programs. At the same time, a different kind of headline has captured public attention: a steady surge in pro-gun sentiment among Americans. In Citizen-Protectors, Jennifer Carlson offers a compelling portrait of gun carriers, shedding light on Americans' complex relationship with guns. Delving headlong into the world of guns, Carlson participated in firearms training classes, attending pro-gun events, and carried a firearm herself. Through these experiences, she explores the role guns play in the lives of Americans who carry them and shows how, against a backdrop of economic insecurity and social instability, gun carrying becomes a means of being a good citizen. A much-needed counterpoint to the rhetorical battles over gun control, Citizen-Protectors is a captivating and revealing look at gun culture in America, and a must-read for anyone with a stake in this heated debate.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199347557
• ISBN13: 9780199347551
• Release Date: May 2015
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"