A Christian Critique of the Gun Movement
The core argument of Second Amendment advocates is that the proliferation of firearms is essential to maintaining freedom and safeguarding our rights in America, but is this argument valid? With his 2015 publication Do Guns Make Us Free?, Firmin DeBrabander tackles this question with an essential examination of the political and philosophical arguments of the contemporary gun rights movement in the United States. By exposing the contradictions and misinterpretations inherent in the case presented by gun rights supporters, he demonstrates that an armed society is not a free society but one that actively hinders democratic participation.
Drawing on this work, DeBrabander will deliver two guest presentations at the University of Virginia on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 to discuss the “Christian” critique of the gun movement based on the Catholic social teachings.
Following a class discussion and book signing at 2:00 pm, he will lead a public seminar with interested students and other area practitioners at 5:00 pm. Both events are free, and the public is invited to attend. More details will be announced closer to the event.
Find more information on DeBrabander’s publication here.
Firmin DeBrabander is professor of philosophy at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. He completed his graduate studies at the Katholieke Universities Leuven in Belgium, and at Emory University in Atlanta. His publications include Spinoza and the Stoics (Continuum Press, 2007) and Do Guns Make us Free? (Yale University Press, 2015). He has written articles on social and political commentary (notably on the gun debate) in a variety of national publications, including The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New Republic and Salon.