After gun violence: deliberation and memory in an age of political gridlock

201 Pages·2019·1.099 MB·English

by  Rood, Craig

A F T E R
DELIBER ATION AND MEMORY IN
G U N
AN AGE OF POLITICAL GRIDLOCK
V I O L E N C E
C R A I G R O O D
AFTER GUN VIOLENCE
RDD
RHETORICANDDEMOCRATICDELIBERATION
.
edited by cheryl glenn and stephen browne
the pennsylvania state university
Cofounding Editor: J. Michael Hogan
Editorial Board:
Robert Asen (University of Wisconsin– Madison)
Debra Hawhee (The Pennsylvania State University)
J. Michael Hogan (The Pennsylvania State University)
Peter Levine (Tufts University)
Steven J. Mailloux (University of California, Irvine)
Krista Ratcliffe (Arizona State University)
Karen Tracy (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Kirt Wilson (The Pennsylvania State University)
David Zarefsky (Northwestern University)
Rhetoric and Democratic Deliberation focuses on the
interplay of public discourse, politics, and democratic action.
Engaging with diverse theoretical, cultural, and critical
perspectives, books published in this series offer fresh
perspectives on rhetoric as it relates to education, social
movements, and governments throughout the world.
A complete list of books in this series is located at the back
of this volume.
AFTER GUN VIOLENCE
Deliberation anD MeMory in an age of
Political griDlock
craig rood
The Pennsylvania State University Press | University Park, Pennsylvania
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Rood, Craig, 1985– author.
Title: After gun violence : deliberation and memory in
an age of political gridlock / Craig Rood.
Other titles: Rhetoric and democratic deliberation.
Description: University Park, Pennsylvania :
The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2019] |
Series: Rhetoric and democratic deliberation |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “A rhetorical study of the American
political debate on gun violence and gun policy.
Examines the role of public memory in shaping
this discourse and its eventual policy outcomes”—
Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019005851 | ISBN 9780271083834
(cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Firearms and crime— United States. |
Violent crimes— United States. | Mass shootings—
United States. | Firearms— Government policy—
United States. | Collective memory— United States. |
Rhetoric— United States.
Classification: LCC HV7436.R66 2019 |
DDC 364.150973— dc23
LC record available at:
https://lccn.loc.gov/2019005851
Copyright © 2019 Craig Rood
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802- 1003
The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member
of the Association of University Presses.
It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University
Press to use acid- free paper. Publications on
uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information
Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Material, ansi z39.48- 1992.
focus too on all the planes that do not crash
all the spaces that are indeed safe
all the vehicles that do not collide
all the hugs exchanged
all the love that does indeed pass between persons
remember that because “it can happen anywhere” doesn’t mean it is
going to happen anywhere in particular— where you and your loved ones
are— at any particular time
love and reason
and a steady hand
— Rosa a. EbERly, TowERs of RhEToRic

conTEnTs
Acknowledgments | ix
Introduction: Deliberating Gun Violence | 1
1 Deliberation and Memory | 22
2 The Weight of the Past: Memory and the Second Amendment | 48
3 The Fleeting Past: Memory and Our Obligations to the Dead | 73
4 The Implicit Past: Memory and Racism | 98
5 Conclusions for Moving Beyond Gridlock | 121
Epilogue | 142
Notes | 149
Bibliography | 163
Index | 179

acknowlEdgmEnTs
I gratefully acknowledge permission to use revised versions of two previ-
ously published essays. Chapter 3 has been adapted from “‘Our Tears Are Not
Enough’: The Warrant of the Dead in the Rhetoric of Gun Control,” Quarterly
Journal of Speech 104, no. 1 (2018): 47–7 0. This essay is reprinted by permis-
sion of Taylor and Francis Ltd. (http://w ww .tandfonline. com) on behalf of the
National Communication Association. Chapter 4 has been adapted from
“The Racial Politics of Gun Violence: A Brief Rhetorical History,” in Was Blind
but Now I See: Rhetoric, Race, Religion, and the Charleston Shootings, ed. Sean
Patrick O’Rourke and Melody Lehn (Lanham, MD: Lexington, forthcoming).
Crafting this book has been a long process, and I am grateful to the many
people who have helped at different stages. Thanks to everyone involved with the
Rhetoric and Democratic Deliberation series at Pennsylvania State University
Press, including press editors Kendra Boileau and Ryan Peterson, series editors
Cheryl Glenn and Stephen Browne, and the two peer reviewers (who elected
to disclose their names), Robert Asen and Kendall Phillips. Their thoughtful
readings and encouragement have helped make this a better book. Thanks as
well to the team at Scribe Inc. for their excellent work during the final stages of
preparing this manuscript (copyediting, proofreading, creating an index).
Thanks to everyone in the Department of English and Program in Speech
Communication at Iowa State University. Ben Crosby (now at Brigham Young
University) helped me get this project off the ground. During our periodic
lunches around Ames, we puzzled through the process of writing any book, and
he helped me test out ideas for how to write this one. Near the end of this pro-
cess, Lori Peterson, editor extraordinaire, provided a close reading of the
entire manuscript. And throughout the process, I have been inspired by my
colleagues and buoyed by their questions, suggestions, and encouragement.
Special thanks to Lesley Bartlett, Barbara Ching, Abby Dubisar, Sean Grass,
Charlie Kostelnick, Anne Kretsinger-H arries (and Mark!), Maggie LaWare,
Prashant Rajan, Brandon Sams, Matt Sivils, and Jeremy Withers. Finally, the
department, college, and university deserve praise for their efforts to support
and mentor junior faculty. In particular, the College of Liberal Arts and Sci-
ences’s Humanities Scholarship Enhancement Initiative freed up time in fall