Drawing on a wide variety of disciplines and presenting perspectives on both sides of the gun debate, Understanding America’s Gun Culture offers a fresh look at the issues surrounding guns in the U.S. today. The book moves past polarization to invite thoughtful, nuanced and innovative exploration of this important topic.

Understanding America's Gun Culture focuses on building understanding of some of the issues associated with U.S. gun culture and the contemporary debate about the availability and use of guns. This edited volume is unique in that it draws on a wide variety of disciplines and presents perspectives on both sides of the debate. Contributors hail from the academic disciplines of history, social work, criminal justice, sociology, religion, and theological ethics as well as policy agencies. Some chapters examine the issues social-psychologically to help readers better understand dynamics within the debate. Others pose important ethical and philosophical questions about gun culture. Still others address practical policy solutions for enhancing gun safety and minimizing gun violence, even bringing in international perspectives. This second edition includes literature published in the last two years and two new chapters, one focusing on gender within gun culture and another that features a conversation between the editors and an ethnographic researcher with broad expertise in gun culture and research and policy trends. Together, the chapters create a thought-provoking compilation that offers insightful findings, considers theoretical and practical implications, and invites further exploration of the topic.

1. The Social Construction of Polarization in the Discourse of Gun Rights vs. Gun Control – by Lisa Fisher
2. American Gun Culture Encounters Christian Ethics: A Clash of Narratives – by Mark Ryan
3. Social Violence: The Role of Gun Culture – by Binod Kumar
4. Gender Differences in Youth Gun Culture: A Discussion of Caribbean Findings using the lens of U.S. Gun Culture – by Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, Jangmin Kim, and Corinne C. Renguette
5. A Woman’s Place in Gun Advertisements: The American Rifleman, 1920-2019 – by David Yamane, Riley Satterwhite, and Paul Yamane
6. Christians for Gun Rights? An Investigation of the Discrepancy between the Gun Rights View and Christian Faith – by Matt Stolick
7. The American Gun Culture: Potential Impact on K-12 School Violence – by Gordon Arthur Crews and Garrison Allen Crews
8. A Conversation on Gun Culture Research Trends – by Jim D. Taylor, Craig Hovey, and Lisa Fisher
9. Understanding and Misunderstanding America’s Gun Culture – by David Yamane