Gun Violence and Gun Control: Critical Engagements





Price: $39.95

Page Count: 235

Publication Date: June 2022

ISBN: 978-1-77258-377-9

This interdisciplinary anthology explores a wide range of intersecting issues contributing to and arising from gun violence. Millions of people are hurt and killed by gun violence globally, and the traumatic realities of these events are navigated by individuals and communities widely. In this context, gun violence fundamentally threatens social functioning in significant ways, and profoundly test the resilience of families. The resulting transformations carry social, political, legal and economic implications for mothering, family dynamics, and community engagement. This collaborative volume brings together diverse perspectives intended to deconstruct perceptions, realities, risks and impacts of gun violence, as seen by researchers, educators, community advocates, public health/health care experts, criminologists, social workers, field-based practitioners, and victims/survivors of gun violence. The distinct and broad range of contributions in this volume critically unpacks representations, stress and trauma, resilience, advocacy/activism, policymaking, family functioning, social justice and equity, governmentality and the criminal justice system, public health/health care, and community programs/interventions. Ultimately, the work is a unique contribution to the literature in which there is a lack of wide academic consideration of gun violence and a demonstrably unsatisfactory political response stretching back decades.

"Gun Violence and Gun Control is a gripping yet telling anthology of the realities and tragedies too often experienced in the everyday lives of marginalized, racialized communities. Empirically and empathetically driven, it is a stark reminder that the crisis of gun violence does not stop when one is killed. While mainstream discussions of gun violence and gun control seem to swirl around or glaze over identity politics, racism, implicit bias and stigma, among others, this anthology, in different ways, brings these challenging topics to the fore and makes them centre stage for interrogation. Gun Violence and Gun Control is a provocative book - a must read for anyone concerned about keeping conversations about gun violence and gun control alive."

- James Gacek, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina

And the Phone Rang Under the Yellow Blanket 5
Renee Bailey and Annette Bailey 5
Introduction 7
Chapter 1 16
The Transactional Relationship Between Structural Inequities and Homicide 16
Tanya L. Sharpe, Kendra Van de Water, and Jheanelle Anderson 16
Homicide Victims and Trauma 23
Homicide Survivors and Victim Services 26
A Pathway Forward 30
Chapter 2 43
Using Critical Race and Anti-Colonial Theories to Reframe the Conversation on Youth Violence 43
Paul Banahene Adjei, Delores V. Mullings, and Sulaimon Giwa 43
Critical Race and Anti-Colonial Theoretical Readings of Youth Violence 46
1) Structural Racism and Manifestations of Violence 56
2) Violence creates the dehumanization of self and the sub-humanity of Other 63
3) Violence as a resistant response to ‘inferiority complex’ syndrome. 66
Chapter 3 86
Gun Violence: The Lyrics of the Street 86
Santana Stallberg 86
The Evolution of Gangsta Rap 87
The East –West Rivalry 88
Gang Formation 91
Guns, Gangs and the Street Code 93
Learned Behaviour 96
Rap Music and Gang Culture 100
Idolized Mentors 101
Shared Identity, Shared set of Codes to the Streets 102
How to use gangsta rap for change 104
Conclusion 105
Chapter 4 114
Commentary: 114
A public health approach to Toronto’s Black homicide victimization is long overdue 114
Akwatu Khenti 114
Stark numbers in Toronto Homicide 116
The problem of gun homicide 118
Conclusion 120
Chapter 5 131
Race, Trauma, and Gun Violence: A Case for Public Health 131
Annette Bailey, Renee Bailey, Divine Velasco, and Michelle Jubin 131
Introduction 131
Race and Gun Violence 133
Trauma and Gun Violence 135
The Policing of Gun Violence 142
A Public Health Approach to Gun Violence. 144
Conclusion 148
Chapter 6 157
“A Tale of Two Justice Systems: Competing Narratives About Gun Crime and Links with Social Engagement and Access to Justice” 157
Thomas S. Harrison 157
Perceptions of Crime and Gun Violence 158
Background - Social Violence, the Justice System and Rights 159
Today’s Reality – The ‘Great Crime Decline’ in Canada 161
Guns and Public Policy in Canada 164
News Narratives and Social Media 166
Politics of Distrust and Access to Justice 167
Conclusion 170
Chapter 7 183
Figures of the 2014 Parliament Hill Attacker: A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Media Configurations of Michel Zehaf-Bibeau 183
Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich 183
The Shootings 184
The Analysis 185
Findings 187
Conclusion 193
Chapter 8 200
Gun Ownership and Mental Health 200
Alisha Chohan 200
Gun Regulations and Statistics in Canada 200
Legal Definitions 203
Facts of R. v. Day 204
Issues on Appeal 205
Analysis of R. v. Day 206
Future Steps Through an Obama-Era Procedure 215
Conclusion 217
Clermont, Yvan. “Firearm-related crime in Canada”. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Statistics Canada. 18 Feb 2019. Web. 220
R. v. H.C., 2009 ONCA 56 (CanLII) 221
R. v. Peters, 2015 SKQB 151 (CanLII) 221
Chapter 9 222
Dog Whistles, Coded Language, and the Gun-Range Debate 222
Lynn M. Eckert and Joanne A. Myers 222
The Proposal 222
The Problematic Law 224
The Public Speaks 225
Analysis 233
Conclusion 239
Chapter 10 247
Legacy of Endearment: The O.K. Tournament and Festival 247
Sky Starr 247
Maternal Grief and Gun Violence Loss 248
Out of Bounds (OOB) Grief Support 251
The O.K. Tournament: Creation and Implementation 252
Benefits from the O.K. Tournament - Community 258
Benefits from the O.K. Tournament - Mothers 260
Discussion 261
The Devil in the Details – why Trudeau’s ban on assault weapons might not be effective to reduce gun crime after Canada’s largest mass shooting in Nova Scotia 269

Thomas S. Harrison

Annette Bailey, PhD, RN: Annette Bailey is a nurse, a public health practitioner and a mother of three. She is currently Associate Professor with the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University. Her research work has primarily focused on trauma and resilience among survivors of gun violence.

Thomas S. Harrison, PhD, MPPA, LLB: Thomas Harrison is a farmer, teacher and lawyer. He earned his doctorate in law in 2016 at Queen’s University in Kingston, looking at judicial and lawyer independence. He currently resides, with a menagerie of rescued animals, on his farm in beautiful Prince Edward County, Ontario and teaches animal law at Durham College.

Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich, PhD, LLM, LLB: Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich is a lawyer, legal scholar, mother of four, and fiction writer. She lives in Ottawa and works in management at a large, international law firm