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Do Guns Make Us Free?: Democracy and the Armed Society, by Firmin DeBrabander
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An essential examination of the political and philosophical arguments of the contemporary gun rights movement in the United States
Possibly the most emotionally charged debate taking place in the United States today centers on the Second Amendment to the Constitution and the rights of citizens to bear arms. In the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut, the gun rights movement, headed by the National Rifle Association, appears more intractable than ever in its fight against gun control laws. The core argument of Second Amendment advocates is that the proliferation of firearms is essential to maintaining freedom in America, providing private citizens with a defense against possible government tyranny, and thus safeguarding all our other rights. But is this argument valid? Do guns indeed make us free?
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In this insightful and eye-opening analysis, the first philosophical examination of every aspect of the contentious and uniquely American debate over guns, Firmin DeBrabander examines the claims offered in favor of unchecked gun ownership. By exposing the contradictions and misinterpretations inherent in the case presented by gun rights supporters, this provocative volume demonstrates that an armed society is not a free society but one that actively hinders democratic participation.
- Sales Rank: #709412 in Books
- Published on: 2015-05-19
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x 1.00" w x 5.70" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 296 pages
Review
“DeBrabander’s arguments are novel, powerful, and compelling. He�turns the arguments of gun advocates against them, showing that a society in which a high proportion of citizens are armed must become a society in which individual freedoms are eroded and democratic procedures are continuously threatened.”—Jeff McMahan, author of The Ethics of Killing, and White’s Chair of Moral Philosophy, University of Oxford (Jeff McMahan)
“Firmin DeBrabander does us all a substantial service by reminding us that the gun rights movement, though cloaked in self-righteousness, is a threat to democracy rather than its protector.”—Stephen Teret, Founding Director, The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research (Stephen Teret)
“A provocative philosophical argument that an armed populace is a Machiavellian idea, not the�guarantee of freedom the NRA insists it is—because�only agreement on the rule of law ensures that.”—Craig R. Whitney, author of�Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment (Craig R. Whitney)
“This book makes a very simple point very well: guns make us less free. Therefore, the less guns, the more freedom. DeBrabander gives an eminently sane and rational argument against the armed society that the United States has become and allows us to imagine how we might escape it and recover the true life of democracy.”—Simon Critchley, The New School for Social Research (Simon Critchley)
“It is a novel concept to examine the debate over gun control from a philosophical perspective….I believe the book is on to something.”—John Donohue, Stanford University (John Donohue)
“Essential . . . sophisticated . . . eminently readable and persuasive . . . brilliant.”—Jeremy D. Mayer, The American Interest (Jeremy D. Mayer The American Interest)
"A timely examination of the politics of the pro-gun movement and our gun culture. . . . This sharply written book challenges prevailing arguments about the relationship between guns and freedom, answering its titular inquiry—Do Guns Make Us Free? — with a resounding 'no.'”—Harvard Law Review (Harvard Law Review)
“Highly interesting . . . exposing elements of American culture and detailing the relations between different historical and philosophical positions in a way that [is] lucid and engaging.”—Adam Organi Henschke, Journal of Applied Philosophy (Adam Organi Henschke Journal of Applied Philosophy)
“DeBrabander convincingly argues that guns are restricting freedom rather than expanding it. . . . This is life in America. Where my loved ones, all of our loved ones . . . are all moments away from becoming another statistic. . . . DeBrabander’s central thesis rings true: this is not real freedom.”—Zac Davis, America: The National Catholic Review (Zac Davis America: The National Catholic Review)
About the Author
Firmin DeBrabander, an associate professor of philosophy at Maryland Institute College of Art, has written social and political commentary for numerous publications, including the Baltimore Sun, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, and the New York Times. He lives in Baltimore, MD.
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
like in Sandy Hook
By Wilfried Ver Eecke,PhD
In his book “Do Guns Make Us Free?”Firmin DeBrander addresses the puzzling fact that after several mass killings by guns, like in Sandy Hook, more states introduced legislation favorable to gun ownership than for gun control. According to the New York Times 70 measures expanded gun rights and only 39 imposed more control. The “gun show loophole” which does not require background checks for buying guns from gun show vendors, was not closed. The “Stand Your Ground” laws, used in Florida by George Zimmerman for his defense against manslaughter, had a moment of appeal. Two Democratic state senators from Colorado were recalled in 2013 . They had supported more gun control legislation. DeBrabander clarifies the puzzle by pointing out that gun ownership is part of our cultural imagination (the gun using cowboy) and our national identity (the War of Independence was started by the Minutemen). Furthermore, DeBrabander shows that gun control people face a philosophical challenge created by the fact that Americans love the idea of personal freedom while gun control requires regulation and thus imposes limits on personal freedom. The argument presented by DeBrabander is that the society envisioned by the defenders of gun rights will lead to a society where guns will be needed in every school, where schools will increasingly look like bunkers, and where people feeling threatened, even during oral arguments, will have the right to shoot opponents with the help of “Stand Your Ground” laws. Such a society, so argues DeBrabander, will not be a society where differences in opinion are discussed and debated, but a society, who under the weight of fear, will use guns to make a point. Hence pushing for less gun control is not promoting the freedom inherent in a democratic society. We need measures which create more room for peaceful debate and discussion.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Unique Take on the Gun Debate, But Insufficient Engagement with the Scholarly Literature
By Tim
I received a review copy of this book from Yale University Press for review in the Journal of Value Inquiry. Parts of my review are reproduced here.
The book is divided into five chapters, each criticizing common arguments made by the gun rights movement. Although DeBrabander’s book provides a very unique approach to the question of gun rights, it is not without problems. I shall briefly outline five issues that cast doubt on the strength of his arguments.
1. One serious problem that is evident throughout DeBrabander’s book is his failure to consider crucial background issues regarding the nature of rights, their scope, and the relationship between different types of rights (e.g. basic vs. derived rights, and natural vs, positive rights). Rights-talk is used throughout the book without any situating background or explication of what is meant! An overview of these preliminary issues is absolutely necessary for any serious philosophical treatment of gun ownership, for we cannot talk about the right to own a gun unless we first know what rights are and what type of right this would be. Recognizing this, both pro-gun and anti-gun philosophers alike have put forth detailed accounts of the nature, scope, and justification of gun rights. DeBrabander doesn't.
2. One would expect an academic treatment of gun ownership from a philosophical point of view to address the arguments of actual philosophers who defend gun ownership in their professional work. Yet DeBrabander does none of this. Of the more than ten articles published by professional philosophers on the ethics of gun ownership, DeBrabander cites none of them (This includes articles that favor his own position)! Instead, the bulk of his critique of the gun rights movement is directed more towards its popular side. This might be fine for a popular level critique of popular level arguments, but it is utterly unacceptable for a scholarly work.
3. DeBrabander’s treatment of the relevant empirical issues is seriously deficient. While empirical considerations do not exhaust the philosophical side of the gun control debate, any philosophically rigorous treatment of the issue must seriously consider the empirical data. DeBrabander's interaction with the criminological literature is limited to a few pages where he criticizes John Lott’s claim that right-to-carry laws decrease crime. Even here, his critiques are superficial and mostly one-sided. He seems unfamiliar with numerous other studies corroborating Lott’s findings, as well as replies by Lott and others. One gets the impression that DeBrabander simply searched for criticisms of Lott’s work while ignoring the other side of the debate. DeBrabander also ignores an entire category of empirical considerations that are very relevant to the debate: the prevalence of defensive gun uses and the efficacy of resistance with a gun. Together, these two considerations form a key component of the self-defense argument for gun ownership, so an omission of this level is simply inexcusable.
4. The lack of engagement with the literature manifests itself in the quality of DeBrabander’s arguments. Most of his critiques of gun ownership are entirely speculative, supported by nothing more than a series of quotations or naive psychoanalysis. We are told, for instance, that guns are a sign of “insecurity” that generate “distrust” and that gun owners are “disproportionately suspicious” people who “decide they will live under the influence of fear". Where exactly is the evidence for such a bold and disparaging claim about the psychology of gun owners? We are given none.
5. Finally, while DeBrabander clearly thinks that widespread gun ownership is bad public policy, he affirms in the preface that he is “not averse to others owning guns, provided ownership is wisely regulated". But he does not tell us what “wisely regulated” means! If gun ownership is sometimes permissible, then under what circumstances may individuals own a gun? And how are we to balance this admission with the later claim that gun ownership threatens democracy, freedom, and the rule of law? The lack of clarification on these seemingly contradictory statements makes it very unclear what DeBrabander is trying to accomplish. He seems more concerned with preaching the evils of gun ownership in vague and fiery terms than with providing actual solutions to the problems they pose, solutions aimed at balancing the interests of both sides.
Needless to say, I did not find the book to be very persuasive. The value of this book is limited to its critique of popular arguments for gun ownership. Those interested in the philosophy and ethics of gun ownership are better served by looking at the existing journal literature on the topic.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
A question worth asking
By Forrest Mason
A thoughtful, relevant book. I suppose that the gun lobby may attempt to drown it in a sea of curt, negative reviews, but if they do they will only be illustrating the book's central contention: that guns intimidate by restricting the public arena, and limiting free discourse. In any event, this book stands on its own; it's well-written, pensive, and provocative, and a valuable addition to an important conversation.
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