Policing the Second Amendment

An urgent lookat the relationship between the politics of guns, race, and policing in America today

The United States is steeped in debates about guns. As discussions rage on, one issue has been overlooked—Americans who support gun control turn to the police as enforcers of their preferred policies, but the police themselves disproportionately support gun rights over gun control. How does this perspective shape what is considered lawful force? Who can engage in legitimate violence and who is punished for it? Linking the politics of guns with the politics of policing, Policing the Second Amendment unravels the complex relationship between public law enforcement, legitimate violence, and race. Jennifer Carlson shows how racial dynamics shape police thinking about gun laws, and, on a wider level, she examines how racial ideologies of violence profoundly influence arguments about gun use, whether by the police or civilians.

Drawing on local...