Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think ...
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Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think and feel about their guns. Through conversations—with cowboy action shooters at a regional match, sport shooters, hunters, with shooters of all ages and races—we hear of the “savage beauty” of a beautifully crafted long gun, of the powerful historical import owners attach to their guns, of the sense of empowerment that comes with shooting skill, and the visceral thrill of discharging a dangerous weapon. Cutting through the clichés that link gun ownership with violent, criminal subcultures and portray shooters as “gun nuts” or potential terrorists, the book provides us with a lively and untainted portrait of American gun enthusiasts.Less
Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think and feel about their guns. Through conversations—with cowboy action shooters at a regional match, sport shooters, hunters, with shooters of all ages and races—we hear of the “savage beauty” of a beautifully crafted long gun, of the powerful historical import owners attach to their guns, of the sense of empowerment that comes with shooting skill, and the visceral thrill of discharging a dangerous weapon. Cutting through the clichés that link gun ownership with violent, criminal subcultures and portray shooters as “gun nuts” or potential terrorists, the book provides us with a lively and untainted portrait of American gun enthusiasts.
Lisa L. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331684
- eISBN:
- 9780199867967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331684.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Drawing on three datasets of congressional hearings on crime, this chapter offers a picture of the interest group environment at the national level that is decidedly skewed toward government ...
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Drawing on three datasets of congressional hearings on crime, this chapter offers a picture of the interest group environment at the national level that is decidedly skewed toward government bureaucracies, particularly criminal justice agents, and narrow, highly mobilized single-issue citizen groups, for example gun rights advocates and opponents, the National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union. The interest group environment is highly delocalized in character and voice, with very few groups representing low-income minorities or the urban poor. This chapter pays particular attention to drugs, crime prevention, juvenile delinquency, and policing as key crime and justice issues that are of particular importance to those most at risk of victimization and finds that urban minorities are largely absent from these policy debates, replaced by police and prosecutors and narrow single-issue citizen groups.Less
Drawing on three datasets of congressional hearings on crime, this chapter offers a picture of the interest group environment at the national level that is decidedly skewed toward government bureaucracies, particularly criminal justice agents, and narrow, highly mobilized single-issue citizen groups, for example gun rights advocates and opponents, the National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union. The interest group environment is highly delocalized in character and voice, with very few groups representing low-income minorities or the urban poor. This chapter pays particular attention to drugs, crime prevention, juvenile delinquency, and policing as key crime and justice issues that are of particular importance to those most at risk of victimization and finds that urban minorities are largely absent from these policy debates, replaced by police and prosecutors and narrow single-issue citizen groups.
Ted Gest
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195103434
- eISBN:
- 9780199833887
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195103432.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Gun control has stirred intense emotions in the war on crime, even though many controls have only a marginal impact on firearms violence. Laws and their enforcement have been influenced most ...
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Gun control has stirred intense emotions in the war on crime, even though many controls have only a marginal impact on firearms violence. Laws and their enforcement have been influenced most dramatically by assassinations and mass killings rather than by careful study. The first major modern federal gun regulations were approved by Congress in 1968 after the Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinations. The National Rifle Association (NRA) worked hard to ease what it considered overly aggressive enforcement, finally succeeding with a 1986 law known as McClure‐Volkmer. The NRA offended many law enforcement leaders in the process. The combination of police support and a federal executive branch and Congress, both controlled by Democrats, helped enact two major gun control measures in 1993 and 1994: the Brady Act, which required a waiting period for handgun purchasers to enable checks of potential buyers’ records, and a ban on assault‐style weapons blamed in the deaths of police officers and others. Yet “copycat” assault weapons were manufactured, blunting the law's impact. Congress failed to enact proposed laws that would require trigger locks on handguns or to regulate gun shows, where firearms were sold with minimal regulation. The NRA argued for more enforcement of existing antigun laws, pointing to a federal program in Richmond, VA, called ‘Project Exile’.Less
Gun control has stirred intense emotions in the war on crime, even though many controls have only a marginal impact on firearms violence. Laws and their enforcement have been influenced most dramatically by assassinations and mass killings rather than by careful study. The first major modern federal gun regulations were approved by Congress in 1968 after the Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinations. The National Rifle Association (NRA) worked hard to ease what it considered overly aggressive enforcement, finally succeeding with a 1986 law known as McClure‐Volkmer. The NRA offended many law enforcement leaders in the process. The combination of police support and a federal executive branch and Congress, both controlled by Democrats, helped enact two major gun control measures in 1993 and 1994: the Brady Act, which required a waiting period for handgun purchasers to enable checks of potential buyers’ records, and a ban on assault‐style weapons blamed in the deaths of police officers and others. Yet “copycat” assault weapons were manufactured, blunting the law's impact. Congress failed to enact proposed laws that would require trigger locks on handguns or to regulate gun shows, where firearms were sold with minimal regulation. The NRA argued for more enforcement of existing antigun laws, pointing to a federal program in Richmond, VA, called ‘Project Exile’.
Anne Marie Oliver and Paul F. Steinberg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195305593
- eISBN:
- 9780199850815
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305593.003.0025
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Relatively few shabab possessed real guns during the first intifada. They made do instead with fake ones fashioned out of wood or nails or even banana stalks. They studied diagrams of Ak-47s and ...
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Relatively few shabab possessed real guns during the first intifada. They made do instead with fake ones fashioned out of wood or nails or even banana stalks. They studied diagrams of Ak-47s and argued over the make and capacity of various weapons featured in Hamas videotapes. Almost no one thought of the gun as a mere tool for revolt. Rather, it was an object worthy of reverence in its own right. It was the ultimate power fetish, able to confer on its owner an aura of mastery, even identity.Less
Relatively few shabab possessed real guns during the first intifada. They made do instead with fake ones fashioned out of wood or nails or even banana stalks. They studied diagrams of Ak-47s and argued over the make and capacity of various weapons featured in Hamas videotapes. Almost no one thought of the gun as a mere tool for revolt. Rather, it was an object worthy of reverence in its own right. It was the ultimate power fetish, able to confer on its owner an aura of mastery, even identity.
Ted Gest
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195103434
- eISBN:
- 9780199833887
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195103432.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The crime rate in the US has exploded since 1960. Despite decreases in recent years, reported violence in 2001 exceeded the levels of the late 1970s. Government at all levels has tried to address the ...
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The crime rate in the US has exploded since 1960. Despite decreases in recent years, reported violence in 2001 exceeded the levels of the late 1970s. Government at all levels has tried to address the crime problem, with mixed success. Police forces that formerly focused on patrol cars’ responding to citizen calls embraced the proactive approach of community policing; courts set up specialized branches, hearing cases relating to narcotics, guns, and domestic violence; criminal sentences sharply increased, filling prisons and jails with more than 2 million people. Yet, crime rates continue to rise and fall, seemingly without regard to government programs. Strikingly, little evidence has been collected about which anticrime activities are truly effective and which are not. Instead, members of Congress and state legislators, who set the tone for the fight against crime, tend to base their actions on what sounds good in political advertisements rather than what has proved to work through scientific experiment. Still, there are a number of promising ideas in law enforcement, juvenile crime, corrections, and other areas that could help prevent crime if they could obtain adequate financial support.Less
The crime rate in the US has exploded since 1960. Despite decreases in recent years, reported violence in 2001 exceeded the levels of the late 1970s. Government at all levels has tried to address the crime problem, with mixed success. Police forces that formerly focused on patrol cars’ responding to citizen calls embraced the proactive approach of community policing; courts set up specialized branches, hearing cases relating to narcotics, guns, and domestic violence; criminal sentences sharply increased, filling prisons and jails with more than 2 million people. Yet, crime rates continue to rise and fall, seemingly without regard to government programs. Strikingly, little evidence has been collected about which anticrime activities are truly effective and which are not. Instead, members of Congress and state legislators, who set the tone for the fight against crime, tend to base their actions on what sounds good in political advertisements rather than what has proved to work through scientific experiment. Still, there are a number of promising ideas in law enforcement, juvenile crime, corrections, and other areas that could help prevent crime if they could obtain adequate financial support.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the myths and realities of gun culture in the U.S. This volume features interviews with three different types of shooters, ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the myths and realities of gun culture in the U.S. This volume features interviews with three different types of shooters, including the general enthusiasts, shooters involved in cowboy action shooting, and the so-called Generation X shooters. It uses ethnography to study gun enthusiasm and suggests that the gun debate in the U.S. not only has cultural concerns but also cultural conflicts. It argues that we can only begin to have a constructive conversation about the role of guns in contemporary society by directly asking what gun ownership really means to gun enthusiasts and by recognizing and exploring the attraction that so many Americans have to guns.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the myths and realities of gun culture in the U.S. This volume features interviews with three different types of shooters, including the general enthusiasts, shooters involved in cowboy action shooting, and the so-called Generation X shooters. It uses ethnography to study gun enthusiasm and suggests that the gun debate in the U.S. not only has cultural concerns but also cultural conflicts. It argues that we can only begin to have a constructive conversation about the role of guns in contemporary society by directly asking what gun ownership really means to gun enthusiasts and by recognizing and exploring the attraction that so many Americans have to guns.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0017
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter offers suggestions on how to advance the gun debate in the U.S. It discusses how the gun control movement has latched onto the public health field to make its case for stronger gun ...
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This chapter offers suggestions on how to advance the gun debate in the U.S. It discusses how the gun control movement has latched onto the public health field to make its case for stronger gun controls. It analyzes what both gun control supporters and gun enthusiasts assume when they enter into the gun debate. It calls for the continuation of the gun debate because moving the debate forward can potentially produce better violence-reducing public policy.Less
This chapter offers suggestions on how to advance the gun debate in the U.S. It discusses how the gun control movement has latched onto the public health field to make its case for stronger gun controls. It analyzes what both gun control supporters and gun enthusiasts assume when they enter into the gun debate. It calls for the continuation of the gun debate because moving the debate forward can potentially produce better violence-reducing public policy.
Saul Cornell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195147865
- eISBN:
- 9780199788644
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195147865.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter focuses on the change in the nature of American gun culture during the early decades of the next century. Americans began carrying weapons primarily for personal self-defense. The ...
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This chapter focuses on the change in the nature of American gun culture during the early decades of the next century. Americans began carrying weapons primarily for personal self-defense. The expanding economy of this century also resulted in a staggering array of these personal weapons being made readily available to consumers. America's first gun control movement, judging the right to bear arms, and the Second Amendment in Antebellum constitutional commentaries, the abolitionist theory of the right to bear arms, and the right to bear arms mid-century are discussed.Less
This chapter focuses on the change in the nature of American gun culture during the early decades of the next century. Americans began carrying weapons primarily for personal self-defense. The expanding economy of this century also resulted in a staggering array of these personal weapons being made readily available to consumers. America's first gun control movement, judging the right to bear arms, and the Second Amendment in Antebellum constitutional commentaries, the abolitionist theory of the right to bear arms, and the right to bear arms mid-century are discussed.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter describes the world of gun enthusiasm and shooting sports in the Northern California area. It describes a number of people who have made guns integral to their lives and discusses the ...
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This chapter describes the world of gun enthusiasm and shooting sports in the Northern California area. It describes a number of people who have made guns integral to their lives and discusses the kinds of social practices that are most meaningful to shooters in relation to guns. It analyzes the ways by which gun enthusiasm as a social practice has reflected and constituted some of the main issues and concerns that face Americans in their everyday lives.Less
This chapter describes the world of gun enthusiasm and shooting sports in the Northern California area. It describes a number of people who have made guns integral to their lives and discusses the kinds of social practices that are most meaningful to shooters in relation to guns. It analyzes the ways by which gun enthusiasm as a social practice has reflected and constituted some of the main issues and concerns that face Americans in their everyday lives.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0014
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial ...
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This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial governments to arm themselves and form citizen militias. The arming of citizens in turn gave birth to a new and strongly held vision of civic responsibility and the colonial governments recognized that guns in the wrong hands could present dangers to the larger imperialist project. Thus, the government started to regulate existing gun ownership and use. The colonial governments also used laws relating to guns to help structure and maintain and patriarchal social structures.Less
This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial governments to arm themselves and form citizen militias. The arming of citizens in turn gave birth to a new and strongly held vision of civic responsibility and the colonial governments recognized that guns in the wrong hands could present dangers to the larger imperialist project. Thus, the government started to regulate existing gun ownership and use. The colonial governments also used laws relating to guns to help structure and maintain and patriarchal social structures.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0016
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines the role of toughness in gun culture in the U.S. Americans have long prided themselves on their toughness. Tough men in American history and characters of fiction and film all ...
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This chapter examines the role of toughness in gun culture in the U.S. Americans have long prided themselves on their toughness. Tough men in American history and characters of fiction and film all invoke images of an American character that included strength and determination. This chapter suggests that it is not surprising that guns should be linked to these values, as guns have long been associated with all of those characteristics in American history and its contemporary mythic rendering.Less
This chapter examines the role of toughness in gun culture in the U.S. Americans have long prided themselves on their toughness. Tough men in American history and characters of fiction and film all invoke images of an American character that included strength and determination. This chapter suggests that it is not surprising that guns should be linked to these values, as guns have long been associated with all of those characteristics in American history and its contemporary mythic rendering.
Gordon W. Russell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189599
- eISBN:
- 9780199868445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189599.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter highlights environmental factors that include crowding, temperature, noise, color, and lunar effects in an examination of their role in facilitating interpersonal aggression. A number of ...
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This chapter highlights environmental factors that include crowding, temperature, noise, color, and lunar effects in an examination of their role in facilitating interpersonal aggression. A number of commonly used drugs, for example alcohol, marijuana, and diazepam, were also evaluated with respect to their effects on aggression. The effects of alcohol on aggression and the extent of its usage by fans versus nonfans and gender were outlined. The most central and hallowed concept in sports, “competition,” is carefully defined and shown to all too easily lead to hostility. Studies on the effects of the mere presence of guns and other weapons on the aggression of bystanders were reviewed. A preliminary examination of where on the field of play aggression occurs was undertaken. While there may be a home field performance advantage, is their a corresponding home field aggression advantage?Less
This chapter highlights environmental factors that include crowding, temperature, noise, color, and lunar effects in an examination of their role in facilitating interpersonal aggression. A number of commonly used drugs, for example alcohol, marijuana, and diazepam, were also evaluated with respect to their effects on aggression. The effects of alcohol on aggression and the extent of its usage by fans versus nonfans and gender were outlined. The most central and hallowed concept in sports, “competition,” is carefully defined and shown to all too easily lead to hostility. Studies on the effects of the mere presence of guns and other weapons on the aggression of bystanders were reviewed. A preliminary examination of where on the field of play aggression occurs was undertaken. While there may be a home field performance advantage, is their a corresponding home field aggression advantage?
Franklin E. Zimring
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195181166
- eISBN:
- 9780199943302
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181166.003.0056
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter provides a strategic context for thinking about adolescent gun use as a public policy problem. The first section considers the justification of age-specific prohibitions. The second ...
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This chapter provides a strategic context for thinking about adolescent gun use as a public policy problem. The first section considers the justification of age-specific prohibitions. The second section discusses the potential and limits of partial or age-specific prohibition as a gun control strategy. The third section examines the practical problems of prohibiting gun access to the young by examining the record of parallel efforts to restrict access to tobacco, alcohol, and pornography. The final section discusses a more particularized topic: whether juvenile courts or criminal courts are better suited to handle adolescents charged with the violation of age-specific gun prohibitions.Less
This chapter provides a strategic context for thinking about adolescent gun use as a public policy problem. The first section considers the justification of age-specific prohibitions. The second section discusses the potential and limits of partial or age-specific prohibition as a gun control strategy. The third section examines the practical problems of prohibiting gun access to the young by examining the record of parallel efforts to restrict access to tobacco, alcohol, and pornography. The final section discusses a more particularized topic: whether juvenile courts or criminal courts are better suited to handle adolescents charged with the violation of age-specific gun prohibitions.
C. Neal Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195157451
- eISBN:
- 9780199790388
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195157451.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Biotechnology
Transgenic plant technology is possible because of the conservation of gene expression mechanisms among diverse organisms, in which the flow of information goes from DNA to RNA to protein. The ...
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Transgenic plant technology is possible because of the conservation of gene expression mechanisms among diverse organisms, in which the flow of information goes from DNA to RNA to protein. The genetic code in DNA is recognized and processed similarly in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, thus enabling the transfer of genes from any organism to plants. Plants are transformed with new genes, called transgenes, in the genetically engineered plant by two general methods. The first method uses a natural plant genetic engineer, a bacterium named Agrobacterium tumefaciens, to transfer DNA. This bacterium naturally causes crown gall disease in plants, but researchers have rendered it non-pathogenic so that it merely transfers the DNA of interest into the plant genome. The second method uses a “gene gun” to blast gold particles coated with DNA into plant cells, where the DNA comes off and gets integrated into the plant genome. Both these technologies were developed in the 1980s and has since improved.Less
Transgenic plant technology is possible because of the conservation of gene expression mechanisms among diverse organisms, in which the flow of information goes from DNA to RNA to protein. The genetic code in DNA is recognized and processed similarly in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, thus enabling the transfer of genes from any organism to plants. Plants are transformed with new genes, called transgenes, in the genetically engineered plant by two general methods. The first method uses a natural plant genetic engineer, a bacterium named Agrobacterium tumefaciens, to transfer DNA. This bacterium naturally causes crown gall disease in plants, but researchers have rendered it non-pathogenic so that it merely transfers the DNA of interest into the plant genome. The second method uses a “gene gun” to blast gold particles coated with DNA into plant cells, where the DNA comes off and gets integrated into the plant genome. Both these technologies were developed in the 1980s and has since improved.
Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195153842
- eISBN:
- 9780199849208
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195153842.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Until now researchers have assessed the burden imposed by gunshot injuries and deaths in terms of medical costs and lost productivity. Here, the chapters widen the lens, developing a framework to ...
More
Until now researchers have assessed the burden imposed by gunshot injuries and deaths in terms of medical costs and lost productivity. Here, the chapters widen the lens, developing a framework to calculate the full costs borne by Americans in a society where both gun violence and its ever-present threat mandate responses that touch every aspect of our lives. All Americans share the costs of gun violence. Whether waiting in line to pass through airport security or paying taxes for the protection of public officials; whether buying a transparent book-bag for their children to meet their school's post-Columbine regulations or subsidizing an urban trauma center, the steps taken are many and the expenditures enormous. The chapters reveal that investments in prevention, avoidance, and harm reduction, both public and private, constitute a far greater share of the gun-violence burden than previously recognized. They also employ extensive survey data to measure the subjective costs of living in a society where there is risk of being shot or losing a loved one or neighbor to gunfire. At the same time, they demonstrate that the problem of gun violence is not intractable. The review of the available evidence suggests that there are both additional gun regulations and targeted law enforcement measures that will help. This book moves the debate over gun violence past symbolic politics to a direct engagement with the costs and benefits of policies that hold promise for reducing gun violence and may even pay for themselves.Less
Until now researchers have assessed the burden imposed by gunshot injuries and deaths in terms of medical costs and lost productivity. Here, the chapters widen the lens, developing a framework to calculate the full costs borne by Americans in a society where both gun violence and its ever-present threat mandate responses that touch every aspect of our lives. All Americans share the costs of gun violence. Whether waiting in line to pass through airport security or paying taxes for the protection of public officials; whether buying a transparent book-bag for their children to meet their school's post-Columbine regulations or subsidizing an urban trauma center, the steps taken are many and the expenditures enormous. The chapters reveal that investments in prevention, avoidance, and harm reduction, both public and private, constitute a far greater share of the gun-violence burden than previously recognized. They also employ extensive survey data to measure the subjective costs of living in a society where there is risk of being shot or losing a loved one or neighbor to gunfire. At the same time, they demonstrate that the problem of gun violence is not intractable. The review of the available evidence suggests that there are both additional gun regulations and targeted law enforcement measures that will help. This book moves the debate over gun violence past symbolic politics to a direct engagement with the costs and benefits of policies that hold promise for reducing gun violence and may even pay for themselves.
Charlotte Greenspan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195111101
- eISBN:
- 9780199865703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111101.003.0014
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Annie Get Your Gun, for which Herbert and Dorothy Fields wrote the book, became the most popular and successful stage work Dorothy ever worked on. A number of famous people ...
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Annie Get Your Gun, for which Herbert and Dorothy Fields wrote the book, became the most popular and successful stage work Dorothy ever worked on. A number of famous people associated with the show have, in interviews, disclosed their own point of view on the making and meaning of this musical. This chapter, more than the others, is larded with quotations, not all taken at face value, in an attempt to get a multidimensional view of the work.Less
Annie Get Your Gun, for which Herbert and Dorothy Fields wrote the book, became the most popular and successful stage work Dorothy ever worked on. A number of famous people associated with the show have, in interviews, disclosed their own point of view on the making and meaning of this musical. This chapter, more than the others, is larded with quotations, not all taken at face value, in an attempt to get a multidimensional view of the work.
Eric Dorn Brose
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195143355
- eISBN:
- 9780199872015
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195143355.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This volume covers a fascinating period in the history of the German army, a time in which machine guns, airplanes, and weapons of mass destruction were first developed and used. The author traces ...
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This volume covers a fascinating period in the history of the German army, a time in which machine guns, airplanes, and weapons of mass destruction were first developed and used. The author traces the industrial development of machinery and its application to infantry, cavalry, and artillery tactics. He examines the modernity versus anti-modernity debate that raged after the Franco-Prussian war, arguing that the residue of years of resistance to technological change seriously undermined the German army during World War I.Less
This volume covers a fascinating period in the history of the German army, a time in which machine guns, airplanes, and weapons of mass destruction were first developed and used. The author traces the industrial development of machinery and its application to infantry, cavalry, and artillery tactics. He examines the modernity versus anti-modernity debate that raged after the Franco-Prussian war, arguing that the residue of years of resistance to technological change seriously undermined the German army during World War I.
Angela Stroud
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469627892
- eISBN:
- 9781469627915
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469627892.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Ethical Issues and Debates
Although the rate of gun ownership in U.S. households has declined from an estimated 50 percent in 1970 to approximately 32 percent today, Americans' propensity for carrying concealed firearms has ...
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Although the rate of gun ownership in U.S. households has declined from an estimated 50 percent in 1970 to approximately 32 percent today, Americans' propensity for carrying concealed firearms has risen sharply in recent years. Today, more than 11 million Americans hold concealed handgun licenses, an increase from 4.5 million in 2007. Yet, despite increasing numbers of firearms and expanding opportunities for gun owners to carry concealed firearms in public places, we know little about the reasons for obtaining a concealed carry permit or what a publicly armed citizenry means for society. Angela Stroud draws on in-depth interviews with permit holders and on field observations at licensing courses to understand how social and cultural factors shape the practice of obtaining a permit to carry a concealed firearm. Stroud's subjects usually first insist that a gun is simply a tool for protection, but she shows how much more the license represents: possessing a concealed firearm is a practice shaped by race, class, gender, and cultural definitions that separate "good guys" from those who represent threats. This work goes beyond the existing literature on guns in American culture, most of which concentrates on the effects of the gun lobby on public policy and perception. Focusing on how respondents view the world around them, this book demonstrates that the value gun owners place on their firearms is an expression of their sense of self and how they see their social environment.Less
Although the rate of gun ownership in U.S. households has declined from an estimated 50 percent in 1970 to approximately 32 percent today, Americans' propensity for carrying concealed firearms has risen sharply in recent years. Today, more than 11 million Americans hold concealed handgun licenses, an increase from 4.5 million in 2007. Yet, despite increasing numbers of firearms and expanding opportunities for gun owners to carry concealed firearms in public places, we know little about the reasons for obtaining a concealed carry permit or what a publicly armed citizenry means for society. Angela Stroud draws on in-depth interviews with permit holders and on field observations at licensing courses to understand how social and cultural factors shape the practice of obtaining a permit to carry a concealed firearm. Stroud's subjects usually first insist that a gun is simply a tool for protection, but she shows how much more the license represents: possessing a concealed firearm is a practice shaped by race, class, gender, and cultural definitions that separate "good guys" from those who represent threats. This work goes beyond the existing literature on guns in American culture, most of which concentrates on the effects of the gun lobby on public policy and perception. Focusing on how respondents view the world around them, this book demonstrates that the value gun owners place on their firearms is an expression of their sense of self and how they see their social environment.
Saul Cornell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195147865
- eISBN:
- 9780199788644
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195147865.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to ...
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Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. This book gives a history of this bitter controversy. It shows that the Founders understood the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but as a civic right — an obligation citizens owed to the state to arm themselves so that they could participate in a well regulated militia. The book shows how the modern “collective right” view of the Second Amendment, the one federal courts have accepted for over a hundred years, owes more to Anti-Federalists than the Founders. Likewise, the modern “individual right” view emerged only in the 19th century. The modern debate, the book argues, has its roots in the 19th century, during America's first and now largely forgotten gun violence crisis, when the earliest gun control laws were passed and the first cases on the right to bear arms came before the courts. Equally important, it describes how the gun control battle took on a new urgency during Reconstruction, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over the meaning of the right to bear arms and its connection to the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Democrats defeated the Republicans, it elevated the “collective rights” theory to preeminence and set the terms for constitutional debate for the next century. The book aims to provide a clear historical road map that charts how America has arrived at its current impasse over guns.Less
Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. This book gives a history of this bitter controversy. It shows that the Founders understood the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but as a civic right — an obligation citizens owed to the state to arm themselves so that they could participate in a well regulated militia. The book shows how the modern “collective right” view of the Second Amendment, the one federal courts have accepted for over a hundred years, owes more to Anti-Federalists than the Founders. Likewise, the modern “individual right” view emerged only in the 19th century. The modern debate, the book argues, has its roots in the 19th century, during America's first and now largely forgotten gun violence crisis, when the earliest gun control laws were passed and the first cases on the right to bear arms came before the courts. Equally important, it describes how the gun control battle took on a new urgency during Reconstruction, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over the meaning of the right to bear arms and its connection to the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Democrats defeated the Republicans, it elevated the “collective rights” theory to preeminence and set the terms for constitutional debate for the next century. The book aims to provide a clear historical road map that charts how America has arrived at its current impasse over guns.
Matthew J. Lacombe
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691207445
- eISBN:
- 9780691207469
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691207445.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations — even despite widespread public ...
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The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations — even despite widespread public support for stricter laws and the prevalence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths. This book provides an unprecedented look at how this controversial organization built its political power and deploys it on behalf of its pro-gun agenda. Taking readers from the 1930s to the age of Donald Trump, the book traces how the NRA's immense influence on national politics arises from its ability to shape the political outlooks and actions of its followers. The book draws on nearly a century of archival records and surveys to show how the organization has fashioned a distinct worldview around gun ownership and has used it to mobilize its supporters. It reveals how the NRA's cultivation of a large, unified, and active base has enabled it to build a resilient alliance with the Republican Party, and examines why the NRA and its members formed an important constituency that helped fuel Trump's unlikely political rise. The book sheds vital new light on how the NRA has grown powerful by mobilizing average Americans, and how it uses its GOP alliance to advance its objectives and shape the national agenda.Less
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations — even despite widespread public support for stricter laws and the prevalence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths. This book provides an unprecedented look at how this controversial organization built its political power and deploys it on behalf of its pro-gun agenda. Taking readers from the 1930s to the age of Donald Trump, the book traces how the NRA's immense influence on national politics arises from its ability to shape the political outlooks and actions of its followers. The book draws on nearly a century of archival records and surveys to show how the organization has fashioned a distinct worldview around gun ownership and has used it to mobilize its supporters. It reveals how the NRA's cultivation of a large, unified, and active base has enabled it to build a resilient alliance with the Republican Party, and examines why the NRA and its members formed an important constituency that helped fuel Trump's unlikely political rise. The book sheds vital new light on how the NRA has grown powerful by mobilizing average Americans, and how it uses its GOP alliance to advance its objectives and shape the national agenda.
