A gun culture

The excerpt understudy is an extract from the controversial book, published in 2000 and written by the American professor of colonial and legal history, Michael Bellesiles. The book was awarded the prestigious Bancroft Prize of Columbia University.. The theme of the extract is interesting since over the last several decades, the debate has been characterized by a political stalemate opposing advocates for an individual's right to own firearms relying on the Constitution and those focusing on the duty of government to prevent crime and maintain order. The author aims at convincing the reader of the danger of the American Constitution second amendment.

The text can be divided into 3 parts. ✓ L 1 to 25. In this part, Bellesiles tells the story of two young boys who were responsible of a murderous ambush in Arkansas, US, illustrating the easy accessibility of firearms as well as the lack of parental guidance and role modelling. ✓ L 26 to 43. From the example of the Golden brothers, the author starts up the debate concerning “ the gun culture” in the US, he wonders how did gun violence managed to reach such an important place in the American society, then he illustrates the gun culture presenting several figures and drawing parallels with other countries. ✓ L 44 to the end of the extract. In this part, after laying stress on the social aspects of the gun culture, notably showing its influence on young Americans entertainment, Bellesiles tries to focus on the causes of the phenomenon and finger-points the government inexistent control of arm carrying. ✓
SCHOOL SHOOTING: ➢ A school shooting is an incident in which gun violence occurs at an educational institution. School shooting is a topic of intense interest in the United States. As stated in the text, American schools started taking special measures such as metal detectors to prevent their happening. ➢ According to polls, there is no specific profile that