In 2011, David Yamane, a liberal sociology professor from the San Francisco Bay Area, stood at a firing range with a gun in his hand for the first time. That single moment sparked a journey that would take him deep into the heart of America’s gun culture, a world he had never imagined entering. Now, … Read more
They promise fairness and compassion in telling the story of the AR-15, but I don’t think gun owners get it here. We see this McCloskey guy who confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with his Colt AR-15 on his front steps of his mansion in St. Louis. We meet Kyle Rittenhouse. We meet a white … Read more
As remarkable as it sounds, I learned something important on Twitter recently. I’m writing up this “teachable moment” in the hope that others can benefit from it as well. On Tuesday I spoke with my occasional writing coach, Brendan O’Meara of the CNF Podcast, and he said something offhand that is surely going to be in … Read more
By David Yamane, Wake Forest University I grew up in the liberal culture of the San Francisco Bay Area and never touched a firearm until I was 42 years old, living in North Carolina and teaching sociology at Wake Forest University. For the past 10-plus years I have been deeply immersed in American gun culture … Read more
A recent video provides a great summary of what makes most anti-gun arguments tick these days. Sociology Professor David Yamane of Wake Forest University is already well-known for his work on Gun Culture 2.0, or the shift in motivations behind gun ownership in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In his latest video, The … Read more
Before going on this [range] trip, I mentioned it to a few of my friends and family. Most of them either didn’t believe me or thought I was joking. When I told them it was true and I was really going to a shooting range, I got a nearly identical response across the board; “You … Read more
In the acknowledgements [to Empire of Guns], the author, who’s a history professor at Stanford University writes, “Like everything I write, this book is for my children. In 2010 when Amman was four, she asked a Policeman who was sitting at our local taqueria why he had a gun. The policeman explained he had it … Read more
Wake Forest sociology professor David Yamane is an active analyst of America’s gun culture and runs the Gun Curious blog. He also teaches a course in the sociology of guns. In his latest Light Over Heat video, Dr. Yamane calls attention to a survey done last year by Georgetown Professor William English. From the … Read more
Many times people ask me, “Are you a golfer?” And my typical response is, “No, but I play golf.” To embrace the identity of ‘golfer’ is to take on some attributes that I really don’t want to take on. It sort of raises certain expectations for me when I get on the golf course. … Read more
The Truth About Guns provides news, reviews, and insights to help you stay informed on the latest trends in gun culture, legislation, and industry developments.