When gun enthusiasts talk about constitutional liberties guaranteed by the Second Amendment, they are referring to freedom in a general sense, but they also have something more specific in mind—freedom from government oppression. They argue that the only way to keep federal authority in check is to arm individual citizens who can, if necessary, defend themselves from an aggressive government. In Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea, Joshua Horwitz and Casey Anderson challenge the proposition that more guns equal more freedom and expose Insurrectionism as a true threat to freedom in the United States today.
Reviews
- "Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea recasts the gun debate by showing its importance to the future of democracy and the modern regulatory state. Until now, gun rights advocates had effectively co-opted the language of liberty and democracy and made it their own. This book is an important first step in demonstrating how reasonable gun control is essential to the survival of democracy and ordered liberty."
- Saul Cornell, author of A Well Regulated Militia
"This well-written book is the first to examine from an historical perspective the idea that wide spread private gun ownership is crucial for us to maintain our democracy ... They argue persuasively that the insurrection movement is far more of a threat to our freedoms than a protector of them."
- David Hemenway, author of Private Guns, Public Health
Law and Politics Book Review
Washington Post Short Stack Blog
Blogs
- Guns and Democracy
- Gunning for the President
Thomas Jefferson and "The Blood of Tyrants"
"Resistance Efforts," Guns and the Constitution
Handguns and Health Care Reform
The Insurrectionists are Coming!
Anarchy and Vigilantism
"The WAR wWIL start on the stepes of the Oklahoma State Capitol"
The Threat from Within
Insurrectionism Goes "Mainstream"
The Duty of Every Individual
The Lessons of Algiers Point - From the Ballot to the Bullet
Insurrectionist Talk
- "We are aware that stepping off into secession may in fact be a bloody war."
"There's going to be an uprising that's going to make the Boston Tea Party look like a picnic."
Radio interview with Chris Broughton, who carried AR-15 assault rifle at health care rally in Phoenix
Video interview with Chris Broughton, who carried AR-15 assault rifle at health care rally in Phoenix
Interview with Scott Oskay, who told Americans to bring concealed handguns to town hall meetings
It is Getting Very Serious Now
"Sipsey Street Irregulars" Blog
Glenn Beck wargames 2014 insurrectionist uprising, "The Bubba Effect"
Rep. Michelle Bachman wants her consituents to be "armed and dangerous"
NRA Spokesman Chuck Norris advocates for "second American Revolution" - Monopoly (or, Slouching Toward ‘Nut Cuttin' Time.’)
- Kill All They Send…
- Time for a New American Revolution?
Book Events
- View a debate between Josh Horwitz, co-author of Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea, and Robert Churchill, author of To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant's Face, from June 17, 2009, in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Media Coverage
- Militia Movement Resurfaces in Alaska
Josh Horwitz Interview with The Young Turks
Using the Second Amendment to Attack Democracy - Man with Guns Arrested Near Capitol During Obama Speech
Ban Guns from Public Political Events
Message in a Barrel
Leave the Guns at Home
Gunning for Health Care
Who Was That Gun-Toting Anti-Obama Protester?
"Bullet Box" Has No Place in U.S. Democracy
Josh Horwitz and Casey Anderson interviewed on Culture Shocks
Anti-Health Care Reform Protestor Encourages Physical Violence, Use of Firearms
Insurrectionist Ed Brown Takes the Stand in His Own Defense
FBI Arrests White Supremacist Blogger for Threatening to Kill Federal Judges
When Fear and Fury Drive Gun Sales
What's Triggering Gun Sales?
A Threat We Can't Ignore
Blogger Encourages Catholics to Shoot and Kill Connecticut Lawmakers
Me, von Brunn, and The Gun
Suspect in Murder of Dr. Tiller was an Insurrectionist
"Gun Show Nation" Video
Oklahoma Man Arrested for Twittering Tea Party Death Threats
Fox News' Militia Media: Mainstreaming the Fringe
Revolutionary Goad: Has the Anti-Government Rhetoric Gone Too Far?
Glenn Beck and the Rise of Fox News' Militia Media
Learn More
- Insurrectionism Timeline
April 2009 Department of Homeland Security report on right wing extremism
"Guns, Democracy & Freedom" page at CSGV website - "Guns at Political Events" page at CSGV website
- Ed Fund Amicus Brief in D.C. v Heller case
- Heller and Insurrectionism
- Taking Gun Rights Seriously: The Insurrectionist Idea and its Consequences
Joshua Horwitz received a law degree from George Washington University and is currently a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. He has spent nearly two decades working on gun violence prevention issues. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Casey Anderson holds a law degree from Georgetown University and is currently a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C. He has served in senior staff positions with the U.S. Congress, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and Americans for Gun Safety. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.
