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. A Gallup poll conducted just a month after the Newtown school shootings found that 74% of Americans oppose a ban on hand-guns, and at least 11 million people now have licenses to carry concealed weapons as part of their everyday lives. Why do so many Americans not only own guns but also carry them?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 gun carriers, Carlson spent time participating in firearms training classes, attending pro-gun events, and carrying 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, an idea that not only pervades the NRA''s public literature and statements, but its training courses as well. 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 is a must-read for anyone with a stake in this heated debate.
Industry Reviews
"In this insightful, often eye-popping study, Jennifer Carlson describes how millions of Americans have come to view carrying of concealed guns in public as a civic obligation - and to regard killing in self-defense as a moral act. Whether you embrace these views or find them repugnant, the study will force you to grapple with uncomfortable questions about the role of the state vs. the individual in maintaining public order." --Kristin A. Goss, Duke University,
and co-author of The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know®
"Carlson's study is the first to take gun carriers seriously as social subjects, a breakthrough in our national discussion of guns, law, and society." --Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley
"In this riveting and reflexive ethnography, Jennifer Carlson locks, loads, and fires a nuanced argument about how guns are used to address problems of social, economic, and physical insecurities in the United States. The findings compel the reader to reflect on the ubiquitous and embodied American culture of self-reliance, racialized criminalization, and vigilantism." --Victor Rios, University of California, Santa Barbara and author of Punished
"... a timely, well-written, jargon-free, nuanced book on why millions of Americans carry guns and view themselves as models of good citizenship... Gun supporters and gun opponents will be challenged by this sophisticated work." --CHOICE
"I recommend this book. Carlson serves to enhance this body of literature, pursuing the menacing and challenging questions central to the most relevant concerns and social issues today. This book is not just for academics. Anyone with a general interest in gun culture and related debates should find this book to be of value. It's a worthwhile read." --Jim D. Taylor, Ohio University Zanesville, American Journal of Sociology
"Citizen-Protectors is a well-researched book that takes gun-carriers as important social subjects in the gun-related debate. Jennifer Carlson is not politically correct and does not hesitate to ask and try to answer difficult questions. And she does it in a timely, nuanced and easy-to-understand manner. This book is for every American." --The Washington Bookreview
"In Citizen-Protectors, Jennifer Carlson explores Americans' love for firearms. During her research for this book, Jennifer Carlson took part in firearms training sessions, attended pro-arm gatherings, and carried a gun herself. With the help of the stories of gun-carriers, Jennifer Carlson opens a window into the complexities of American gun culture and the dramatic changes it has undergone over the past several decades." - The Washington Book Review
