Collective Security/Fear and Loathing

Liqun Cao

Collective security and fear and loathing are two intertwined theses that frequently appeared in the study of protective gun ownership in the United States. David McDowall and Colin Loftin's 1983 collective security thesis argues that there is an inverse relationship between protective gun ownership and confidence in the collective institution of justice and security: Protective ownership of guns will increase when confidence in the collective security declines. James Wright, Peter Rossi, and Kathleen Daly's 1983 fear and loathing thesis proposes that the purchase of guns and carrying of guns for protection are related to fear of crime in general and fear of racially different criminals in particular. Those who are fearful of crime and especial those who have strong prejudice against visible minorities are more likely to arm themselves. These two theses received considerable academic attention since the 1980s. In the political arena, during this time, gun ownership was singled ...

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