Although it was published earlier this year, I recently came across an interesting post on Dr. Sherman House’s “Revolver Science” blog called Becoming the Civilian Defender. “Civilian defender” is House’s term for the regular people who take responsibility for their self-defense along the lines of tactical trainer Patrick McNamara’s “Sentinel” or sociologist Jennifer Carlson’s “citizen-protector.” … Continue reading
I used ţo live in South Bend, Indiana and visited Elkhart often so this recent news story caught my eye. Like Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, who is now being charged with a misdemeanor for firing shots at a fleeing shoplifter in suburban Detroit, this person obviously did not attend the law of self defense university. ELKHART — … Continue reading
I have written a couple of times previously (here and here) about the idea that some who have licenses to carry concealed weapons today extend their role beyond the right of self-defense to a DUTY TO PROTECT others, including strangers. Even if those with concealed carry permits (by design) are less likely in general to … Continue reading
Continuing my response to a commenter about the potential downsides of gun carriers as sheepdogs. . . In her study of gun carriers in Michigan, Jennifer Carlson develops the concept of the “citizen-protector” to describe how “the everyday practice of gun carry sustains a model of citizenship . . . that celebrates the protection of … Continue reading
A reader of my previous post on Jennifer Carlson’s work on “citizen-protectors” wrote: “Of the millions of people who ‘carry’ I wonder how many of them think of themselves as the sheepdogs. In the ’60s when I was growing up we heard the term ‘ego trip’. Perhaps I should have said how many people who … Continue reading
“Embedded into everyday life, guns become commonplace objects to be worn and carried with purpose – rather than taboo ‘killing machines’ that should be kept out of sight and out of mind.” – Jennifer Carlson, Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline (p. 83). In my previous post, I highlighted Jennifer Carlson’s … Continue reading
Chapter 3 of Jennifer Carlson’s book on legal gun carriers in Michigan explores the role of National Rifle Association trainers and training courses in the construction and dissemination of the ideal of armed citizenship she calls the “citizen-protector.” Put briefly, the “citizen-protector” accepts the responsibility of using lethal force in defense of innocent life as … Continue reading
