Full Description
Shooting Down Gun Violence Misinformation"Don't tell me there's no such thing as gun violence. It happened in Parkland." --Fred Guttenberg
#1 New Release in School Safety
Fred Guttenberg, who lost his beloved daughter Jaime in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, and International gun policy consultant Thomas Gabor team up in American Carnage to dismantle some of the most common myths about guns and gun violence.
A national disgrace. Over 40,000 die each year as a result of gun violence in America. Relative to other advanced countries, the U.S. has a dismal gun violence record. Gun law reforms could reduce the number of gun deaths per year, but many political challenges stand in the way. A widespread multi-year misinformation campaign and assault on truth by the gun lobby and gun-extremists sows doubt about the dangers posed by pervasive gun ownership and gun carrying, as well as the potential effectiveness of gun laws.
Debunking popular gun myths. Countering with strong evidence-based research the many slogans and myths repeated incessantly by spokespersons for the gun lobby and its surrogates is essential if we are to have a society in which kids can attend school safely and people can work and enjoy life without fear of being shot. Over the last 30 years, the NRA's campaign to achieve an armed society has succeeded in persuading many Americans that having a gun in the home or carrying a gun makes them safer. The evidence is overwhelming this is not the case. Guns in the home are far more likely to be used against a family member or in a suicide attempt than against an intruder. Tackling this and other myths is critical.
Myths and slogans exposed as false in American Carnage include:
Gun owners frequently use firearms to fend off attackers
An armed society is a safer society
Guns don't kill people, people kill people
If you have read Trigger Points, The Violence Project, Warning Signs, or Fred Guttenberg's Find the Helpers, American Carnage is a must read.
Contents
Contents
Chapter 1: Combatting Misinformation on Gun Violence
Chapter 2: The Truth About Guns in US History and Culture
Myth: Gun Laws are a Recent Development
Myth: An Increasing Percentage of Americans Are Buying Guns
Myth: America Has An All-Encompassing Gun Culture
Myth: Most Americans Support an Expansive View of Gun Rights and Generally Oppose Restrictions on Gun Ownership
Chapter 3: The Truth About Guns and Public Safety
Myth: An Armed Society is a Polite Society
Myth: The Only Consequences of Gun Violence are Murders
Myth: Gun Violence Numbers are Inflated Because they Include Suicides
Myth: Guns Make Women Safer
Myth: Arming Teachers Will Make Schools Safer
Myth: Gun Violence is Just a Problem in the Inner Cities
Chapter 4: The Truth About Guns and Assault Weapons
Myth: Guns Don't Kill People, People Kill People
Myth: An AR-15-Style Rifle Is a Sporting Gun
Chapter 5: The Truth About Guns and Self-Defense
Myth: Guns Provide a Net Benefit to Society in That They Are More Likely to be Used for Protection Than to Commit Crimes
Myth: There are 2.5 Million Defensive Gun Uses Per Year in the US
Myth: Right-to-Carry Laws Reduce Crime
Myth: Training Required of Concealed Weapons Permit Holders Prepares Them for Effective Defensive Gun Use
Myth: All Concealed Weapons Permit Holders are "Good Guys"
Myth: Stand Your Ground Laws Save Lives
Myth: Most Mass Shootings Occur in Gun-Free Zones
Chapter 6: The Truth About the Causes of Gun Violence
Myth: The US has More Gun Deaths Than Other Countries Because It Is More Violent and Not Due to Higher Gun Ownership or Weaker Gun Laws
Myth: Mass Shootings and Gun Violence are Primarily Due to the Mental Illness of the Perpetrator
Chapter 7: The Truth about Guns and the Constitution
Myth: The Second Amendment Grants Americans the Right to Carry Any Firearm into Any Setting
Chapter 8: The Truth about Guns and Freedom
Myth: Widespread Gun Ownership and Gun Carrying Increases Our Freedom
Myth: We Must Choose Between Public Safety and the Freedom to Own Guns
Myth: Gun Violence is the Price We Pay for Our Freedoms
Chapter 9: The Truth As to Why Guns Ought to be Regulated
Myth: We Need to Tackle the Root Causes of Violence and Stop Blaming Guns
Myth: Why Ban Guns When People Can Also be Killed with Knives, a Frozen Ham, or Die in a Car or Pool?
Myth: Guns Don't Matter Because People Will Find a Way to Kill Others or Themselves Regardless of Gun Availability
Chapter 10: The Truth About Gun Laws and Gun Violence Prevention
Myth: Gun Violence Prevention Always Involves Changes to Laws and Public Money
Myth: Switzerland and Israel have Relaxed Gun Laws and Low Murder Rates
Myth: Hitler Introduced Strict Gun Control to Repress the Population
Myth: We Don't Need More Gun Laws; We Just Need to Enforce the Laws We Have
Myth: Gun Control Doesn't Work. Chicago has Very Strict Laws and a Huge Gun Violence Problem
Myth: Gun Owners and Nonowners Disagree on Every Form of Regulation
Myth: Bans and Restrictions Don't Work as Criminals Don't Obey the Law and Can Buy Guns on the Illegal Market
Myth: Banning Firearms is Futile When So Many Weapons Are Already in Civilian Hands
Myth: Gun Laws Are a First Step to the Complete Disarmament of the Population (the Slippery Slope Argument)
Chapter 11: How to Combat Misinformation and Change the Focus from Gun Rights to Public Safety
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Appendix A: A Declaration of the Right to Live Free from Gun Violence
Notes
