Launching August 30th: Guns Unpacked with Dr. Andrew McKevitt on Thinking Globally about American Gun Markets & Gun Politics
Join Guns Unpacked on August 30th for a conversation with Dr. Andrew McKevitt as we discuss Dr. McKevitt’s journey into gun research and his new book Gun Country.
The conversation starts with how Dr. McKevitt’s interest in American gun politics was sparked by the 1992 shooting of Japanese exchange student Yoshi in Baton Rouge, which led him to explore the connections between guns, consumerism, and geopolitics.
"I started thinking about gun history from the start as a kind of international story, or atleast trying to understand American gun culture and politics and consumerism eventually in a global context."
While he initially began his focus on Louisiana, through his research, he ended up starting with the national and geopolitical context of the social and political environment following WWII and its impact on gun culture in the US.
In his book, Dr. McKevitt discusses how the market for surplus firearms in the post-WWII US helped balloon the number of firearms in circulation. He also explains how the interaction between the federal government and gun industry during this time helped link up firearms ownership with the “law-abiding citizen”--and also created the conditions for the emergence of the gun control movement. During our conversation (as well as in his book), he shares some fascinating historical details that are often overlooked–including role of Laura Fermi’s Civic Disarmament Committee in the modern movement for gun restrictions–and also examines the racial, gender and class politics of gun control.
In doing so, Dr. McKevitt highlights the “missing” alternative histories of marginalized groups involved in the “gun debate,” noting how these groups have focused on addressing the root causes of gun violence and thus providing a more holistic framework that includes the context in which people live.
"Gun violence is a symptom of a problem, and it's easier for wealthier white activists to say, 'Well, gun violence is the problem.'"
With this perspective in mind, Dr. McKevitt emphasizes the long-haul for change will necessarily go beyond placing all hopes on laws.