Guns and Values: Individualism in the American Gun Debate

Contents
1 Introducing the Gun Fight and Values
	Values Motivate the Gun Fight
	Plan of the Book
	Our Aim, and the Limits of Our Scope
	References
2 Gun Battles and Cultural Warfare
	Gun Control in the U.S.
		Gun Policy Overview
		Public Opinion on Gun Control
		Political Parties & Gun Control
		Race & Gun Control
		Gun Control Interest Groups
	Explaining the Politics of Gun Control in the U.S.
		Second Amendment
		Political Institutions
		The Challenges of Social Regulation?
		Culture
			Political Culture as One Factor
			Distinct American Political Culture Is Comparatively Central
			Gun Control Debate as a Cultural Proxy War
	Guns and Values
		American Gun Culture & American Values
		Gun Controllers: Searching for Cultural Resonance
		Framing Their Debate
	American Political Culture
		Lockean Consensus?
		Individualism(s)
		Communitarian Challenge
		Individualism: How It Influences Our Debates
		Cultural Conclusion: Private Rights, Public Goods
	Theory: Gun Battles, Cultural Warfare
	References
3 Activists at the Grass Roots of Gun Politics
	The Activists
		Gun Rights Activists and Guns
		Gun Control Activists and Guns
	Policy Advocacy
		Fearing Lenient Gun Control and Defending New York’s Restrictive Laws
		Attacking New York’s Restrictive Gun Control and Longing for the Policies of “Free States”
		The Car Analogy: Driving with Freedom, Punishment, and the Common Good
	Tools or Values? Gun Use Versus Meaning
		Guns as Cherished Symbols of Core American Political Values
		Guns: Objects to Regulate
	Contrasting Worldviews
		Rugged Individualists—Powerful Citizens and Weak Government
		Members of Society
		Cultural Warfare
	The Consequences of Cultural Contrasts
	References
4 Gun Politics in Our Federal Political Institutions
	The Kennedy and Johnson Era: Rise of Restrictive Policy and the Gun Control Act of 1968
	The Nixon Years: Restrictive Roll-Back and Punitive Individual Accountability
	Stalemate: Punitive-Lenient Ford and Restrictive Congress
	The Carter Years: Gun Control Cease Fire?
	Reagan and the Era of Individual Responsibility
	President George H.W. Bush: Consistently Inconsistent
	Clinton: Bans and Background Checks, for Our Children
	Individualism in the Courts and Congress Under Bush II
	Obama: Calling for Commonsense
	References
5 Conclusion: Controversial Values, Controversial Policies