I had not heard the story of the Florida man (or is it another case of #FloridaMan?) who died in Queens recently after being punched in the head. At least not until his alleged assailant was identified as an assistant basketball coach at my school, Wake Forest University. Somehow in response to drunken Florida Man … Continue reading
Earlier this week I recorded segments for a future episode of Dr. Celine Gounder’s “In Sickness and In Health” podcast. Her third season in production is on gun violence as a public health problem. I made clear to her that my scholarly expertise is on American gun culture not gun violence, and she welcomed me … Continue reading
I haven’t had time to write this up yet, but an underlying theme in academic studies of guns is that carrying a concealed firearm (and in some cases even owning one) is not a rational decision for most Americans under most circumstances. “Rational” here understood in the classical economic sense of maximizing benefits and minimizing … Continue reading
In my Introduction to Sociology class we usually read an excerpt from the late, great Peter Berger’s book, Invitation to Sociology. I literally do a call and response with the students to highlight Berger’s fundamental view of the sociological perspective. Me (quoting Berger): “It can be said that the first wisdom of sociology is this–“ … Continue reading
For a possible research project on church/congregational security, I am hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of the World Wide Web. PLEASE HELP (see request below)! Also, I appreciate any re-blogging, re-posting/sharing on Facebook, re-Tweeting, or otherwise publicizing this request so I can cast as wide a net as possible. Thank you! If you … Continue reading
Last fall I was invited to contribute a short essay to the newsletter of the Medical Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. The editors asked me to write anything I wanted to about guns that would be helpful to medical sociologists studying the issue. While some sociologists call for a shift in the national … Continue reading
As I have done for my posts on the civilian gun training industry, Col. Jeff Cooper/Gunsite, the USCCA Concealed Carry Expo, the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits, gun ownership statistics, and Rob Pincus, this page provides convenient access to continually updated links to all my posts about Gabe Suarez. Links below are in reverse chronological … Continue reading
