In a comment on my recent post on the dawn of the era of permitless carry, reader Matthew Carberry makes the astute observation that calling permitless carry in states which issue carry permits “Vermont Carry” is a misnomer. The modern system of “permitless carry with permit for reciprocity,” therefore, is more properly called “Alaska Carry.” … Continue reading
When I began this blog nearly 5 years ago, I had no idea that I would be talking about the dawn of a new era of concealed carry in the United States. But developments in the past couple of years have forced my hand. Before highlighting those developments, I will review the broad pattern of … Continue reading
I randomly pulled a back issue of The American Rifleman from my stack earlier this week to do a little night time reading. This one was from 1967, which makes is close to 50 years old now. Like most things 50 years old, alot of interesting curiosities caught my eye, like this story about the … Continue reading
The Michael Bloomberg backed gun reporting source “The Trace” recently ran a story dramatically titled, “25 States Will Let You Carry a Concealed Gun Without Making Sure You Know How to Shoot One.” Researched and written by Jennifer Mascia, the story notes that only 24 states require range time or live fire in order to … Continue reading
Although I am certainly no expert on “gun violence” (recognizing the term itself it problematic, as I will discuss in my next post), I was asked to serve as a “discussant” for a panel on the topic at the recent meeting of the American Society of Criminology (see session #292 in the on-line program of … Continue reading
I love looking at old gun magazines, catalogs, and other publications. They give us a direct window onto the past in a way that written histories do not. Of course we need to understand that magazines are published by particular people for particular purposes and so are not simply mirrors of reality. But looking at … Continue reading
Here is a third student reflection on the normative question of the role guns should play in (American) society, from my Sociology of Guns seminar. The first reflection can be found here, and the second here. By Ashley Hamati The role of guns in our society is multifaceted. Thus, it is difficult to determine one … Continue reading
