Good Guys with Guns
The Appeal and Consequences of Concealed Carry
Angela Stroud
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 06/2016
Pages: 200
Subject: Social Science
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9780000000000
eBook ISBN: 9781469627915
DESCRIPTION
Although the rate of gun ownership in U.S. households has declined
from an estimated 50 percent in 1970 to approximately 32 percent
today, Americans' propensity for carrying concealed firearms has
risen sharply in recent years. Today, more than 11 million
Americans hold concealed handgun licenses, an increase from 4.5
million in 2007. Yet, despite increasing numbers of firearms and
expanding opportunities for gun owners to carry concealed firearms
in public places, we know little about the reasons for obtaining a
concealed carry permit or what a publicly armed citizenry means for
society. Angela Stroud draws on in-depth interviews with permit
holders and on field observations at licensing courses to
understand how social and cultural factors shape the practice of
obtaining a permit to carry a concealed firearm. Stroud's subjects
usually first insist that a gun is simply a tool for protection,
but she shows how much more the license represents: possessing a
concealed firearm is a practice shaped by race, class, gender, and
cultural definitions that separate "good guys" from those who
represent threats.
Stroud's work goes beyond the existing literature on guns in
American culture, most of which concentrates on the effects of the
gun lobby on public policy and perception. Focusing on how
respondents view the world around them, this book demonstrates that
the value gun owners place on their firearms is an expression of
their sense of self and how they see their social environment.