Citizen-Protectors

Reviews / Votes

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 KnowRG * 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 * "In Citizen-Protectors, Jennifer Carlson explores Americansa 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