Thom Hartmann / The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment

Berkeley Arts & Letters presents Thom Hartmann for his new book The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment.

With mass shootings continually on the rise, the call for gun control at a fever pitch, and the House recently passing what could be the biggest change to federal gun laws in decades, The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment is the kind of brief and brilliant analysis for which syndicated talk show host and New York Times bestselling author Thom Hartmann is justly renowned.

Offering an in-depth, historically informed view, Hartmann examines how guns have played important roles throughout American history, from early European settlement to the Revolutionary War and Manifest Destiny, through the use of Slave Patrols in the Deep South (which became the “well-regulated militias” so debated in 1787), to the recent school massacres. He explores the brutal role of guns, including in the enforcement of slavery and the racist post-Civil War social order, and documents how inequality in America and the number of people killed in mass shootings have grown together over the last fifty years.

He shows how the NRA and conservative Supreme Court justices used specious logic to invent a virtually unlimited individual right to own guns, which has enabled the ever-growing number of mass shootings in the United States.

Hartmann identifies common-sense and powerful solutions that would break the power of the gun lobby and restore the understanding of the Second Amendment that the Framers of the Constitution intended, such as:

* getting money out of politics to get the National Rifle Association out of lobbying
* passing laws that would treat gun ownership like car ownership (title, license, insurance)
* addressing the social despair and economic inequality that drive violent crime and mass shootings

A timely examination of the real history of guns in America, The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment shows what we can do to limit both their lethal impact and the power of the gun lobby.

Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host. Talkers magazine named him America’s most important progressive host and has named his show one of the top ten talk radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. A four-time recipient of the Project Censored Award, Hartmann is also a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four books, translated into multiple languages.

Please note:

–  Duration of event is subject to author’s preference.

–  Signing and additional details coming soon.

–  This event is all ages. Accessibility is important to us! If you have special needs of any kind, please write events AT booksmith DOT com and we will do our best to accommodate you.

–  If you cannot attend the event but would like to request a signed copy of The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment, and/or any of Thom’s books, order below and put your request in the comments field.

–  RSVP appreciated but not required.