THE CONCEALED CARRY REVOLUTION We continue again with the first part of James Wright’s fourth observation in his 1995 essay, “Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America”: Observation 4: Many guns are also owned for self-defense against crime. Central to the rise of Gun Culture 2.0 is a revolution in concealed carry permitting beginning inContinueContinue reading “Sociology of Guns Webinar Module 3”
Tag Archives: Gun Culture 2.0
Sociology of Guns Webinar Module 2
GUN CULTURE 2.0 We continue with James Wright’s next two observations in his 1995 essay, “Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America”: Observation 3: Most of those 200 million guns are owned for socially innocuous sport and recreational purposes. Observation 4: Many guns are also owned for self-defense against crime, and some are indeed usedContinueContinue reading “Sociology of Guns Webinar Module 2”
“The Sociology of U.S. Gun Culture” Article Published and Available Free Online
In case you missed the announcement on my Gun Culture 2.0 blog, I am very happy to report that my second academic article on gun culture was published recently in the journal Sociology Compass (my first was on religion and gun ownership). Thanks to a generous grant from Wake Forest University’s ZSR Library and theContinueContinue reading ““The Sociology of U.S. Gun Culture” Article Published and Available Free Online”
The Problem with Averages in Understanding Guns, Violence, and Crime: No One Lives in “The United States”
The problem with averages is that there is no “United States of America” when it comes to guns, violence, and crime, but many Americas. Some of these Americas – like my neighborhood in Winston-Salem – are more like our first world counterparts in the OECD, and some of them are more like the third worldContinueContinue reading “The Problem with Averages in Understanding Guns, Violence, and Crime: No One Lives in “The United States””
On the Ideal of Ethical Neutrality in Research on America’s Culture Wars
I am not sure what it says about me, but in my career as a sociologist, I have been drawn to some of the more controversial issues of my time. What James Davison Hunter way back in 1991 called “culture wars.” Culture wars, according to Hunter, are “struggles to define America,” and have been foughtContinueContinue reading “On the Ideal of Ethical Neutrality in Research on America’s Culture Wars”
A Letter to My Future Students
I am participating in a faculty Writing Associates Seminar, in which we are learning to integrate writing more intelligently and productively into our courses. For an upcoming retreat, our seminar leader asked us to write a letter to our future students about what we hope they will get out of our class. I wrote theContinueContinue reading “A Letter to My Future Students”
Official Catholic View of Use of Lethal Force in Self-Defense
Miguel at the Gun Free Zone blog posted recently about a new book by a Texas police officer called Jesus Christ on Killing. I expect to see evangelical Christians taking this position, but Miguel brings to light some interesting passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that I had not previously read: The seldomContinueContinue reading “Official Catholic View of Use of Lethal Force in Self-Defense”
Gun Digest Magazine Shows How NOT to Create a Pie Chart
Thumbing through the February 13, 2014 issue of Gun Digest magazine, I was excited to see data on a recent survey of first-time gun buyers, attributed to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry. Two pie charts, shown below, describe (1) the percentage of new shootersContinueContinue reading “Gun Digest Magazine Shows How NOT to Create a Pie Chart”
Reflections on My Reflections on Gun Culture Based on Site Statistics
Since November 2012, when I first started working in earnest on a new research project on American gun culture, I have tried to blog regularly at Gun Culture 2.0. I have been averaging about 5 posts a month since then, which is pretty good compared to my previous attempts at blogging (like on this blog).ContinueContinue reading “Reflections on My Reflections on Gun Culture Based on Site Statistics”
Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America by James D. Wright
In my introduction to sociology class this week, I am discussing sociologist James D. Wright’s classic essay, “Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America” (from Society March/April 1995, reprinted in Guns in America: A Reader). Among his points: “There are 200 million guns already in circulation in the United States. . . . firearms areContinueContinue reading “Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America by James D. Wright”