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{{See also|Gun politics in the United States}} {{See also|Gun politics in the United States}}
The term "gun culture" in the United States has historical and political connotations. In 1970, historian ] used the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's long-held affection for guns, embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage.<ref name=HofstadterAGC>{{cite journal |last=Hofstadter |first=Richard |date=October 1970 |title=America as a Gun Culture |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/america-gun-culture |journal=American Heritage Magazine |publisher=American Heritage Publishing |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages= |doi= |accessdate=January 25, 2014}}</ref> In 1995, ] said that the modern American gun culture is founded on three factors: the proliferation of firearms since the earliest days of the nation, the connection between personal ownership of weapons and the country's revolutionary and frontier history, and the cultural mythology regarding the gun in the frontier and in modern life.<ref name=SpitzerPGC1995>{{cite book |last=Spitzer |first=Robert J. |year=1995 |title=The Politics of Gun Control |url= |location= |publisher=Chatham House Publishers |isbn= |accessdate= }}</ref> The term "gun culture" in the United States has historical and political connotations. In 1970, historian ] used the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's long-held affection for guns, embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage.<ref name=HofstadterAGC>{{cite journal |last=Hofstadter |first=Richard |date=October 1970 |title=America as a Gun Culture |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/america-gun-culture |journal=American Heritage Magazine |publisher=American Heritage Publishing |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages= |doi= |accessdate=January 25, 2014}}</ref> In 1995, ] said that the modern American gun culture is founded on three factors: the proliferation of firearms since the earliest days of the nation, the connection between personal ownership of weapons and the country's revolutionary and frontier history, and the cultural mythology regarding the gun in the frontier and in modern life.<ref name=SpitzerPGC1995>{{cite book |last=Spitzer |first=Robert J. |year=1995 |title=The Politics of Gun Control |url= |location= |publisher=Chatham House Publishers |isbn= |accessdate= }}</ref>

American attitudes on gun ownership date back to the ], and find an origin also in the hunting/sporting ], and the militia/frontier ethos that draw from the country's early history,<ref name="SpitzerCh1">{{cite book|last=Spitzer|first=Robert J.|title=The Politics of Gun Control|year=1995|publisher=Chatham House|isbn=9781566430227}}</ref> Proponents of individuals' gun rights such as ] place it in a larger, even ancient context, arguing that the right to bear arms derives from the rights of ] under ] and of the citizens of a republic described as early as the time of ] and ].<ref name=halbrook1984>{{cite book |last=Halbrook |first=Stephen P. |authorlink=Stephen Halbrook|title=That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right |year=1984 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=0-945999-28-3}}</ref>

According to Halbrook, common law construction came to establish the right of freemen to be armed, both before and after the ] of 1688, and were further enshrined in the ], and through long-standing ]. These English rights, says Halbrook, formed the basis for the belief shared by many Americans that common law guaranteed citizens the right to keep and carry arms.<ref name=halbrook1984/><!-- Halbrook, 1984, p. 37-54 -->

], notable pioneer frontierswoman and scout, at age 43. Photo by ].]]
The American hunting/sporting passion comes from a time when the United States was an agrarian, subsistence nation where hunting was a profession for some, an auxiliary source of food for some settlers, and also a deterrence to animal predators. A connection between shooting skills and survival among rural American men was in many cases a necessity and a ']' for those entering manhood. Today, hunting survives as a central sentimental component of a gun culture as a way to control animal populations across the country, regardless of modern trends away from subsistence hunting and rural living.<ref name = "SpitzerCh1"/>

The militia/frontiersman spirit derives from an early American dependence on arms to protect themselves from foreign armies and hostile Native Americans. Survival depended upon everyone being capable of using a weapon. Prior to the ] there was neither budget nor manpower nor government desire to maintain a full-time army. Therefore, the armed citizen-soldier carried the responsibility. Service in militia, including providing one's own ammunition and weapons, was mandatory for all men—just as registering for military service upon turning eighteen is today. Yet, as early as the 1790s, the mandatory universal militia duty gave way to voluntary militia units and a reliance on a ]. Throughout the 19th century the institution of the civilian militia began to decline.<ref name = "SpitzerCh1"/>

Closely related to the militia tradition was the frontier tradition with the need for a means of self-protection closely associated with the nineteenth century westward expansion and the ]. There remains a powerful central elevation of the gun associated with the hunting/sporting and militia/frontier ethos among the American Gun Culture.<ref name="SpitzerCh1" /> Though it has not been a necessary part of daily survival for over a century, generations of Americans have continued to embrace and glorify it as a living inheritance&mdash;a permanent element of the nation's style and culture.<ref>JERVIS ANDERSON, GUNS IN AMERICA 10 (1984), page 21</ref>

The gun has long been a symbol of power and masculinity.<ref name="isbn0-275-98256-4">{{cite book
|author=Sidel, Victor W.; Wendy Cukier |title=The Global Gun Epidemic: From Saturday Night Specials to AK-47s |publisher=Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth |year=2005 |page=130
|isbn=0-275-98256-4}}</ref> In popular literature, frontier adventure was most famously told by ], who is credited by Petri Liukkonen with creating the archetype of an 18th-century frontiersman through such novels as "]" (1826) and "]" (1840).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jfcooper.htm |title=James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) |publisher=Kirjasto.sci.fi |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref>

]

In the late 19th century, cowboy and ] imagery entered the collective imagination. The first American female superstar, ], was a ] who toured the country starting in 1885, performing in ]'s Wild West show. The cowboy archetype of individualist hero was established largely by ] in stories and novels, most notably ''The Virginian'' (1902), following close on the heels of ]'s ''The Winning of the West'' (1889–1895), a history of the early frontier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Literature: Prose, MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564847_8/American_Literature_Prose.html |work= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5kwqNkxgD |archivedate=2009-10-31 |postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/roosevelt.htm |title=New Perspectives on the West: Theodore Roosevelt, PBS, 2001 |publisher=Pbs.org |date=1919-01-06 |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/owister.htm |title="Owen Wister (1860-1938)", Petri Liukkonen, Authors' Calendar, 2002 |publisher=Kirjasto.sci.fi |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref> Cowboys were also popularized in turn of the 20th century cinema, notably through such early classics as '']'' (1903) and ''A California Hold Up'' (1906) -- the most commercially successful film of the pre-nickelodeon era.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html |title="Western Films", Tim Dirks, Filmsite, 1996-2007 |publisher=Filmsite.org |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref>

Gangster films began appearing as early as 1910, but became popular only with the advent of sound in film in the 1930s. The genre was boosted by the events of the ] era, such as bootlegging and the ] of 1929, the existence of real-life gangsters (e.g., ]) and the rise of contemporary ] and escalation of urban violence. These movies flaunted the archetypal exploits of "swaggering, cruel, wily, tough, and law-defying bootleggers and urban gangsters."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html |title="Crime and Gangster Films", Tim Dirks, Filmsite, 1996-2007 |publisher=Filmsite.org |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref>

With the arrival of ], Hollywood produced many morale boosting movies, patriotic rallying cries that affirmed a sense of national purpose. The image of the lone cowboy was replaced in these combat films by stories that emphasized group efforts and the value of individual sacrifices for a larger cause, often featuring a group of men from diverse ethnic backgrounds who were thrown together, tested on the battlefield, and molded into a dedicated fighting unit.<ref>{{cite web|author=Digital History, Steven Mintz |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood_history.cfm#wartime |title=Hollywood as History: Wartime Hollywood, Digital History |publisher=Digitalhistory.uh.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref>

Guns frequently accompanied famous heroes and villains in late 20th-century American films, from the outlaws of '']'' (1967) and '']'' (1972), to the fictitious law and order avengers like '']'' (1971) and '']'' (1987). In the 1970s, films portrayed fictitious and exaggerated characters, madmen ostensibly produced by the ] in films like '']'' (1976) and '']'' (1979), while other films told stories of fictitious veterans who were supposedly victims of the war and in need of rehabilitation ('']'' and '']'', both 1978).<ref>{{cite web|author=Digital History, Steven Mintz |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood_history.cfm#new |title=Hollywood as History: The "New" Hollywood, Digital History |publisher=Digitalhistory.uh.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref> Many action films continue to celebrate the gun toting hero in fantastical settings. At the same time, the negative role of the gun in fictionalized modern urban violence has been explored in films like '']'' (1991) and '']'' (1993).


==Gun cultures in Europe== ==Gun cultures in Europe==

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Global gun cultures are found in places such as the United States, Honduras, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Germany, and Switzerland. "Gun culture" is defined as the attitudes, feelings, values, and behavior of a society, or any social group, in which guns are used. Among the most discussed - according to some, unique - global gun cultures is that of the United States.

Gun cultures in North and Central America

Gun cultures in the United States

See also: Gun politics in the United States

The term "gun culture" in the United States has historical and political connotations. In 1970, historian Richard Hofstadter used the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's long-held affection for guns, embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage. In 1995, Robert Spitzer (political scientist) said that the modern American gun culture is founded on three factors: the proliferation of firearms since the earliest days of the nation, the connection between personal ownership of weapons and the country's revolutionary and frontier history, and the cultural mythology regarding the gun in the frontier and in modern life.

American attitudes on gun ownership date back to the American Revolutionary War, and find an origin also in the hunting/sporting ethos, and the militia/frontier ethos that draw from the country's early history, Proponents of individuals' gun rights such as Stephen Halbrook place it in a larger, even ancient context, arguing that the right to bear arms derives from the rights of freemen under English Common Law and of the citizens of a republic described as early as the time of Plato and Aristotle.

According to Halbrook, common law construction came to establish the right of freemen to be armed, both before and after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were further enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights, and through long-standing judicial construction. These English rights, says Halbrook, formed the basis for the belief shared by many Americans that common law guaranteed citizens the right to keep and carry arms.

Calamity Jane, notable pioneer frontierswoman and scout, at age 43. Photo by H.R. Locke.

The American hunting/sporting passion comes from a time when the United States was an agrarian, subsistence nation where hunting was a profession for some, an auxiliary source of food for some settlers, and also a deterrence to animal predators. A connection between shooting skills and survival among rural American men was in many cases a necessity and a 'rite of passage' for those entering manhood. Today, hunting survives as a central sentimental component of a gun culture as a way to control animal populations across the country, regardless of modern trends away from subsistence hunting and rural living.

The militia/frontiersman spirit derives from an early American dependence on arms to protect themselves from foreign armies and hostile Native Americans. Survival depended upon everyone being capable of using a weapon. Prior to the American Revolution there was neither budget nor manpower nor government desire to maintain a full-time army. Therefore, the armed citizen-soldier carried the responsibility. Service in militia, including providing one's own ammunition and weapons, was mandatory for all men—just as registering for military service upon turning eighteen is today. Yet, as early as the 1790s, the mandatory universal militia duty gave way to voluntary militia units and a reliance on a regular army. Throughout the 19th century the institution of the civilian militia began to decline.

Closely related to the militia tradition was the frontier tradition with the need for a means of self-protection closely associated with the nineteenth century westward expansion and the American frontier. There remains a powerful central elevation of the gun associated with the hunting/sporting and militia/frontier ethos among the American Gun Culture. Though it has not been a necessary part of daily survival for over a century, generations of Americans have continued to embrace and glorify it as a living inheritance—a permanent element of the nation's style and culture.

The gun has long been a symbol of power and masculinity. In popular literature, frontier adventure was most famously told by James Fenimore Cooper, who is credited by Petri Liukkonen with creating the archetype of an 18th-century frontiersman through such novels as "The Last of the Mohicans" (1826) and "The Deerslayer" (1840).

A handbill for Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World

In the late 19th century, cowboy and "Wild West" imagery entered the collective imagination. The first American female superstar, Annie Oakley, was a sharpshooter who toured the country starting in 1885, performing in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. The cowboy archetype of individualist hero was established largely by Owen Wister in stories and novels, most notably The Virginian (1902), following close on the heels of Theodore Roosevelt's The Winning of the West (1889–1895), a history of the early frontier. Cowboys were also popularized in turn of the 20th century cinema, notably through such early classics as The Great Train Robbery (1903) and A California Hold Up (1906) -- the most commercially successful film of the pre-nickelodeon era.

Gangster films began appearing as early as 1910, but became popular only with the advent of sound in film in the 1930s. The genre was boosted by the events of the prohibition era, such as bootlegging and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, the existence of real-life gangsters (e.g., Al Capone) and the rise of contemporary organized crime and escalation of urban violence. These movies flaunted the archetypal exploits of "swaggering, cruel, wily, tough, and law-defying bootleggers and urban gangsters."

With the arrival of World War II, Hollywood produced many morale boosting movies, patriotic rallying cries that affirmed a sense of national purpose. The image of the lone cowboy was replaced in these combat films by stories that emphasized group efforts and the value of individual sacrifices for a larger cause, often featuring a group of men from diverse ethnic backgrounds who were thrown together, tested on the battlefield, and molded into a dedicated fighting unit.

Guns frequently accompanied famous heroes and villains in late 20th-century American films, from the outlaws of Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Godfather (1972), to the fictitious law and order avengers like Dirty Harry (1971) and RoboCop (1987). In the 1970s, films portrayed fictitious and exaggerated characters, madmen ostensibly produced by the Vietnam War in films like Taxi Driver (1976) and Apocalypse Now (1979), while other films told stories of fictitious veterans who were supposedly victims of the war and in need of rehabilitation (Coming Home and The Deer Hunter, both 1978). Many action films continue to celebrate the gun toting hero in fantastical settings. At the same time, the negative role of the gun in fictionalized modern urban violence has been explored in films like Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Menace 2 Society (1993).

Gun cultures in Europe

Switzerland

See also: Gun politics in Switzerland

The Swiss gun culture was born of its diminutive size and geopolitical location. Historians say Switzerland avoided German invasion during World War II because its men were armed and trained. In Switzerland compulsory militia conscription and rifles (but not ammunition) in the home of all militia members reflect a relatively positive view of firearms. Although Swiss firearm restriction laws are on par with many other European countries in terms of requiring a legally valid reason for owning firearms, and although open carry is generally disallowed, militiamen carrying their small arms to and from military bases is not an unfamiliar sight.

United Kingdom

See also: Gun politics in the United Kingdom

There is no gun culture in the United Kingdom in the American (U.S.) sense. The civilian, U.K. gun culture is represented by shooting sports.

Gun cultures in Oceania

Australia

See also: Gun politics in Australia

Although anglo settlers used guns to defeat Indigenous Australians in 19th century, much as westward-bound pioneers did to defeat Native Americans, the similarities end there, according to journalist Phillip Knightley. Land grabs pitted Americans not only against natives, but against each other. "In contrast," says Knightley, "Australians are basically a social people and have developed a car culture rather than a gun one." He says guns in Australia are traditionally farmers' tools.

New Zealand

See also: Gun politics in New Zealand

In New Zealand, the minimum age for possessing a firearms or gun license is 16. At this age, one may legally own a gun. New Zealanders can also own fully automatic weapons with a license, though this is restricted to collectors and security personnel.

Gun cultures in Asia

Japan

A gun culture in the Western sense never developed in Japan. According to David Kopel, weapons there "always were, and remain today, the mark of the rulers, not the ruled." He wrote: "In short, while many persons may admire Japan's near prohibition of gun ownership, it is not necessarily true that other nations, such as the United States, could easily replicate the Japanese model. Japan's gun laws grow out of a culture premised on voluntary submission to authority, a cultural norm that is not necessarily replicated in Western democracies."

Pakistan

See also: Gun politics in Pakistan

Gun ownership, especially in the mountainous northwest, is part of traditional Pakistani culture. Rifles are handed down from generation to generation for hunting and for celebratory fire. In the 21st century, increases in terrorist threats, and particularly in urban kidnappings, extortions, and robberies, has lead to an increase in civilian demand for guns for self-protection.

Gun cultures in Africa

Gun cultures in South America

References

  1. "Global Gun Cultures". Thomson Reuters. 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  2. Collins English Dictionary. Collins. 2014 http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/gun-culture. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. Fisher, Max (December 15, 2012). "What makes America's gun culture totally unique in the world, in four charts". Washington Post. Washington D.C. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  4. Hofstadter, Richard (October 1970). "America as a Gun Culture". American Heritage Magazine. 21 (6). American Heritage Publishing. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. Spitzer, Robert J. (1995). The Politics of Gun Control. Chatham House Publishers.
  6. ^ Spitzer, Robert J. (1995). The Politics of Gun Control. Chatham House. ISBN 9781566430227.
  7. ^ Halbrook, Stephen P. (1984). That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-945999-28-3.
  8. JERVIS ANDERSON, GUNS IN AMERICA 10 (1984), page 21
  9. Sidel, Victor W.; Wendy Cukier (2005). The Global Gun Epidemic: From Saturday Night Specials to AK-47s. Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth. p. 130. ISBN 0-275-98256-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)". Kirjasto.sci.fi. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  11. "American Literature: Prose, MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  12. "New Perspectives on the West: Theodore Roosevelt, PBS, 2001". Pbs.org. 1919-01-06. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  13. ""Owen Wister (1860-1938)", Petri Liukkonen, Authors' Calendar, 2002". Kirjasto.sci.fi. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  14. ""Western Films", Tim Dirks, Filmsite, 1996-2007". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  15. ""Crime and Gangster Films", Tim Dirks, Filmsite, 1996-2007". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  16. Digital History, Steven Mintz. "Hollywood as History: Wartime Hollywood, Digital History". Digitalhistory.uh.edu. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  17. Digital History, Steven Mintz. "Hollywood as History: The "New" Hollywood, Digital History". Digitalhistory.uh.edu. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  18. Bachmann, Helena (December 20, 2012). "The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works". Time. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  19. "The British Association for Shooting & Conservation". BASC. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  20. Knightley, Phillip (January 1, 2000). "Gun culture" (blog). Retrieved January 26, 2014. Knightley also says that the mythic Australian western, Mad Max, is about cars more than guns.
  21. Kopel, David B. (1993). "Japanese Gun Control". guncite.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  22. Wonacott, Peter (January 6, 2009). "For Middle-Class Pakistanis, a Gun Is a Must-Have Accessory: With Kidnappings and Violence on the Rise, Demand for Weapons Permits Grows". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

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