The Progressive magazine asked a few, uh, distinguished scholars what can be done about “gun violence” in America. Here’s the response of one historian, activist and author . . .
In brief: a reckoning with U.S. history. The elephant in the room is the Second Amendment.
U.S. citizens, not only white men or members of the National Rifle Association, accept the notion of sanctity associated with the Second Amendment, as with the Constitution as a whole. The lobbying efforts of the NRA are the designated culprits in most arguments for gun regulations, but their success is due to a larger ideological hegemony: white nationalism.
Across the United States, the Pew Research Center found, 39 percent of men and 22 percent of women own a gun; half of all white men are gun owners, compared to a quarter of men of color, a quarter of white women, and 16 percent of women of color. Only a third of the population owns a gun, and those who do own guns, possess an average of eight.
— Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz in One Question: What Can We Do to Curb Gun Violence?
