My 5th Blog-iversary (22 May 2012 to 2017)

5 years ago this week, I began this blog. My first post reflected on how I got into guns and came to realize that my experience was not unique, but was part of a larger cultural movement that Michael Bane and others have called Gun Culture 2.0.

Since then, I have learned alot about guns and gun culture, developed a course on the “Sociology of Guns,” met alot of interesting people (including Michael Bane!), written some scholarly papers on guns, and made some progress on my book called Gun Culture 2.0.

5 years ago, I would not have thought that anyone other than my wife and I would read this blog. The fact that over 100,000 visitors have viewed over 200,000 pages here is astonishing. Of course, not all of those visitors are unique, and I am privileged to have some regular readers from whose comments I learn alot. I am fortunate to have all sorts of support in this work.

I am looking forward to another 5 years of blogging, which could be how long it will take for me to write, revise, edit, and publish my book!

For the record, my top 10 blog posts of all time in terms of page views are as follows:

1. The History of Concealed Weapons Laws in the United States, Part 3: The Rise of the Shall-Issue (Right-to-Carry) Era of Concealed Carry

2. Gary Kleck on the Effect of Large-Capacity Magazines on the Casualty Counts in Mass Shootings

3. North Carolina Concealed Permit Course/Training Requirements Compared to Virginia

4. “Skirting” the North Carolina Concealed Carry Permit Course/Training Requirements via the Virginia Non-Resident Permit

5. Shooting the MAG-40 Qualification Course

6. Assessing Risk in the Decision to Carry a Gun

7. Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40 Course – A Humanitarian Approach to Armed Citizenship

8. Tactical Schmatical

9. The Problem with Averages in Understanding Guns, Violence, and Crime (Take 2)

10. Best Gersh Kuntzman Memes