The Conversation On Guns

"James Densley collects articles from non-profit, independent news organization, The Conversation, to present an important primer on how the U.S. became so saturated with guns and its impact on American life"--

From Pulitzer Prize–winning reporters: Can complete strangers representing every point along the political divide engage in civil and productive discourse on the topic of gun control? As Americans, we spend a lot of time talking about guns. With the political division in the country, evidenced by the Capitol insurrection and voter fraud protests, it’s not surprising that we rarely have real conversations with people whose ideas don’t align with ours about gun ownership. Democrats and liberals usually talk with other Democrats and liberals, not Republicans and conservatives. That is, perhaps, why the country is so divided when it comes to reducing gun violence. Guns, an American Conversation features the results of a fascinating nationwide conversation about guns. A group of 150 strangers were brought together in a month-long moderated Facebook group chat. They featured teachers, Second Amendment advocates, hunters, police officers, and mothers and fathers from across the political spectrum and the fifty states. Together, they participated in a project meant to foster civil, yet honest, dialogue between people whose backgrounds and beliefs led them to have opposing views on the issue of gun control. Guns attempts to map out common territory in a nation driven by profound divides. It includes real information about gun laws in the United States, providing the reader with tools to continue the discussion in their own lives. With sidebars, charts, and graphics that are clear and easy to navigate, Guns might not change your mind about gun control, but it will help you learn to cross divides in conversation as America navigates the way forward on this difficult issue.

From Pulitzer Prize–winning reporters: Can complete strangers representing every point along the political divide engage in civil and productive discourse on the topic of gun control? As Americans, we spend a lot of time talking about guns. With the political division in the country, evidenced by the Capitol insurrection and voter fraud protests, it’s not surprising that we rarely have real conversations with people whose ideas don’t align with ours about gun ownership. Democrats and liberals usually talk with other Democrats and liberals, not Republicans and conservatives. That is, perhaps, why the country is so divided when it comes to reducing gun violence. Guns, an American Conversation features the results of a fascinating nationwide conversation about guns. A group of 150 strangers were brought together in a month-long moderated Facebook group chat. They featured teachers, Second Amendment advocates, hunters, police officers, and mothers and fathers from across the political spectrum and the fifty states. Together, they participated in a project meant to foster civil, yet honest, dialogue between people whose backgrounds and beliefs led them to have opposing views on the issue of gun control. Guns attempts to map out common territory in a nation driven by profound divides. It includes real information about gun laws in the United States, providing the reader with tools to continue the discussion in their own lives. With sidebars, charts, and graphics that are clear and easy to navigate, Guns might not change your mind about gun control, but it will help you learn to cross divides in conversation as America navigates the way forward on this difficult issue.

"No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades. The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know. delves into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the effectiveness of gun control, the connection between mental illness and violent crime, the question of whether more guns make us safer, and ways that video games and the media might contribute to gun violence. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements. Written in question-and-answer format, this updated edition brings the debate up-to-date for the current political climate under Trump and will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America"--

No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades. The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know® delves into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the effectiveness of gun control, the connection between mental illness and violent crime, the question of whether more guns make us safer, and ways that video games and the media might contribute to gun violence. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements. Written in question-and-answer format, the book will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

The majority of gun deaths in the United States are suicide deaths, and the majority of suicide deaths are gun deaths. Most people are unaware that suicide, at nearly 43,000 deaths per year, is more common than homicide and other widely publicized tragedies. And yet, suicide is typically absent from discussions of gun violence. As such, the national conversation on gun violence is inadequate and unrelated to the majority of gun deaths in this country. In Guns and Suicide, Michael Anestis reframes our perspective on gun violence by shifting the focus to suicide. Guns play a uniquely profound role in American suicide, and Anestis explains how they have this effect-not by making otherwise non-suicidal people want to die, but by facilitating suicide attempts among suicidal individuals. He reviews the evidence - in suicide and other public health concerns - that focusing on specific means for contracting an unwanted outcome (e.g., HIV) can successfully reduce the frequency of that outcome. With suicide, this could mean the passage of legislation related to firearm ownership and storage, non-legislative encouragement of safe storage of private firearms, voluntary and temporary removal of firearms from the home during times of distress, or a combination of these factors. Importantly, this is not a book about gun control. Anestis does not argue in favor of tighter restrictions on ownership, assault weapon bans, or longer waiting periods for purchase because these will not substantially reduce the staggering gun suicide rate. Rather, Anestis aims for a cultural shift towards suicide-specific safe gun ownership and puts forth unemotional suggestions in hopes of leveraging common ground in the pursuit of a lower suicide rate.

In the 1990s, the New Orleans murder rate exploded. In 1996, 350 people were killed—the highest number in the city’s history, and the highest rate in the nation. In response to this crisis, gallery owner and artist Jonathan Ferrara and artist Brian Borrello, launched a powerful project: Guns in the Hands of Artists. Over sixty artists, including painters, glass artists, sculptors, photographers, and poets, used decommissioned guns taken off the city streets via a gun buyback program to express a thought, make a statement, open a discussion, and to stimulate thinking about guns and gun violence in America. As gun violence continues to devastate the nation on a daily basis, Guns in the Hands of Artists reemerged in 2012 as a community-based social activist art project that has since traveled to six cities across the US. Using art as a mirror for life and interweaving the works of thirty diverse artists with the voices of seventeen national thought leaders, this book is an important outgrowth of the exhibition and an extension of its efforts to employ art as a vehicle for dialogue, as a call to action, and—ultimately—as an agent of change. Essays by: Walter Isaacson, Senator Tim Kaine, Lupe Fiasco, Richard Ford, Joe Nocera, Trymaine Lee, Lolis Eric Elie, John M. Barry, Dan Cameron, Lucia McBath, Harry Shearer, Jonathan Ferrara, Brian Borrello, Maria Cuomo Cole, Michael Waldman, E. Ethelbert Miller, Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly.

Using the Bible as the foundational source and guide, while also bringing contemporary sociological data to the conversation, seven biblical scholars and theologians construct a powerful dialogue about gun violence in America, concluding that guns are incompatible with the God of Christian Scripture. God and Guns is the first book to argue against gun culture from a biblical studies perspective. Bringing the Bible into conversation with contemporary sociological data, the volume breaks new exegetical and critical ground and lays the foundations for further theological work. The scholars assembled in this volume construct a powerful argument against gun violence, concluding that a self-identity based on guns is incompatible with Christian identity. Drawing on their expertise in the Bible's ancient origins and modern usage, they present striking new insights involving psychology, ethics, race, gender, and culture. This collection, carefully edited for clarity and readability, will change conversations—and our culture. Contributors include: T. M. Lemos David Lincicum Shelly Matthews Yolanda Norton Brent A. Strawn