When we talk about America’s gun culture and self-defense, one line of reasoning we hear a lot is that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
As President Donald Trump put it at a campaign event in January of last year: “You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That’s bait. That’s like gun-free zone and then they walk in with whatever the hell they’re carrying...I will get rid of gun-free zones in schools, and on military bases...my first day it gets signed. There’s no more gun-free zones.”
The origins of our self-defense attitudes and laws — and who actually benefits from them — is the subject of Caroline Light’s new book "Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense." Light will be at the Harvard Bookstore tonight at 7:00.
To hear her interview, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
