WHERE GUN ISSUES AND CULTURE INTERSECT
OPINION & PRESS ARTICLES
Published a number of years ago in a Westcliffe, Colorado newspaper, I wrote these commentaries while still working on Guns in America: Examining the Facts. That book highlights a series of significant questions about guns and gun control, and examines empirical evidence to resolve each question. The two pieces here also examine significant societal issues about guns and gun culture, but being inherently values-oriented in nature, these issues are not as open to empirical assessment.
(1) Lethal Self-Defense and the Second Amendment
This article focuses on the use of potentially lethal self-defense. The paper explores two contrasting legal views surrounding the concept. One view – Duty-to-Retreat – is anchored in English jurisprudence. The other view – Stand-Your-Ground – reflects American jurisprudence. The paper notes the distinct societal cultures these rival concepts foster, and also considers their different Second Amendment implications.
(2) Police Work, Crime Control & Justice
This article similarly examines a contrast between two significant cultural orientations, but centered in this instance on the type of policing that a society endorses. The paper delves into the tension existing between “results-oriented” policing and “rights-oriented” policing. The first approach emphasizes citizen protection and safety, and the quick removal of criminal violators from society. The second places a citizen’s constitutional safeguards above all else. It stresses the presumption of innocence and the need to insure that potential injustice is kept to a minimum. The paper examines the societal implications of these two policing cultures.