
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War
Embodied Fantasies of the Ethical Warrior in Contemporary Gun Culture
Joe Anderson(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 23. February 2024
Book
Hardback
138 pages
978-1-032-56002-1 (ISBN)
Description
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War is a political anthropology book which explores how firearms can become associated with processes of identity formation, as well as acting as symbols of national belonging and embodied safety.
In the years following Donald Trump's election an increasingly polarised population is taking up arms against each other more often than ever before. Based on 12 months of participant observation at gun ranges, activist meetings, handgun courses, and political events, as well as interviews with gun rights activists in San Diego County, this book argues that US conservative identity is saturated with concerns about ethics, gender, and who can wield violence legitimately. The book focuses on two gun rights organisations; the first a conservative, predominantly white and male political action committee; the second a pro-LGBTQ+ firearms training group run by trans women. This book demonstrates how gun ownership gives Americans the perceived means to enact their political will through the threat of, or actual, organized violence, and that this perceived capacity explains why guns remain objects that continue to inspire such devotion and debate.
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War will be of interest to scholars and students in anthropology, gender studies, ethnic studies, sociology, and politics, as well as a general audience of narrative non-fiction readers.
In the years following Donald Trump's election an increasingly polarised population is taking up arms against each other more often than ever before. Based on 12 months of participant observation at gun ranges, activist meetings, handgun courses, and political events, as well as interviews with gun rights activists in San Diego County, this book argues that US conservative identity is saturated with concerns about ethics, gender, and who can wield violence legitimately. The book focuses on two gun rights organisations; the first a conservative, predominantly white and male political action committee; the second a pro-LGBTQ+ firearms training group run by trans women. This book demonstrates how gun ownership gives Americans the perceived means to enact their political will through the threat of, or actual, organized violence, and that this perceived capacity explains why guns remain objects that continue to inspire such devotion and debate.
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War will be of interest to scholars and students in anthropology, gender studies, ethnic studies, sociology, and politics, as well as a general audience of narrative non-fiction readers.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Undergraduate Advanced
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
381 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-56002-1 (9781032560021)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Joe Anderson
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War
Embodied Fantasies of the Ethical Warrior in Contemporary Gun Culture
Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€62.60
Shipment within 10-20 days

Joe Anderson
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War
Embodied Fantasies of the Ethical Warrior in Contemporary Gun Culture
E-Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Taylor & Francis
€55.49
Available for download

Joe Anderson
Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War
Embodied Fantasies of the Ethical Warrior in Contemporary Gun Culture
E-Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Taylor & Francis
€55.49
Available for download
Person
Joe Anderson received his PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh and is now a research fellow in the School of Health in Social Science at Edinburgh. His research has focused on the gun rights movement in the United States and the issue of suicide in Scotland.
Content
Prologue: First Encounters; Introduction: An Anthropological Approach to US Gun Culture; Chapter. 1: The Myth of the Ethical Warrior; Chapter. 2: Gun Rights, Vulnerability Politics, and Gun Violence; Chapter. 3: "Gun Rights Are Civil Rights"; Chapter. 4: Fear, Loathing, and Defensive Shooting in Las Vegas; Chapter. 5: Do Guns or People Kill People?; Conclusion