Description
Fraga traces Americas history from the days of Bleeding Kansas to the long tradition of political assassination; exploring the ways that American gun culture has become more radical over time. Related issues of racism; police violence; mental health; and suicide are discussed; as are the numerous ways that efforts to legislate gun control have been stymied at all levels of government. Fraga is a skilled writer; and his matter-of-fact prose captures the mundane terror of these stories . . . -Kirkus Reviews
New Zealand reined in gun violence; why cant the US? Fraga explains how rural voters in the US have more clout than their counterparts in New Zealand; and they are the fiercest advocates of gun rights. Not long ago; a Texas congressman evaded a metal detector in the Capitol. He was reported to have sneered; You cant stop me. Another congressman told police who tried to scan him after he set off the machine; Nah; Im not going to do that. And a third member of Congress refused to let the police search her handbag after she bragged that she was going to carry a loaded Glock to Congress.
Many in rural states believe you fight guns with guns. Fraga examines the Heartland; specifically Kansas. Bleeding Kansas he reminds the reader; is home to Dodge City; the cow town so beset by violence that it invited Wyatt Earp to be its Marshall. The City Council instituted a Deadline along Front Street, separating the north end of town where guns were prohibited-cowboys packing heat there were arrested and immediately packed off to jail-from the free-wheeling south end where pretty much any behavior went unchecked. Unpacking the right to bear arms and the 2nd Amendment; Fraga exposes the history of the NRA up to and including the Russian Maria Butinas involvement in the NRA in 2016.
Robert Fraga wrote The Greening of Oz (2012); about the town of Greensburg in western Kansas, that came back green after a tornado almost wiped it out; and The Road through San Judas (2020), about the struggle between landless farmers and the wealthy Mexican family who wanted them gone. His latest, A Parade of Grief, is an important read.
Author: Robert Fraga
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Anamcara Press LLC
Published: 04/27/2024
Pages: 244
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9781941237991
Language: English
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