Selina E. M. Kerr: Gun Violence Prevention? The Politics Behind Policy Responses to School Shootings in the United States

Excerpt

As a British social scientist and criminologist, Selina E.M. Kerr adds an interesting, self-proclaimed ‘neutral’ perspective to a largely American, partisan debate. School shootings, according to Kerr, are not only acts of targeted violence, but part of deep political rifts entrenched in the United States political system. In her book, Gun Violence Prevention? The Politics Behind Policy Responses to School Shootings in the United States, Kerr examines gun-related policy, political and public responses, and issue framing in the wake of school shootings. Specifically, Kerr effectively uses the three school shootings of Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook as case studies, which, along with a chapter on politics and policymaking generally in the United States, make up the substance of her book. Kerr aims to establish that high-profile school shootings involving mass casualties give traction to policy debates but do not tend to result in legislative change, a thesis that she backs up with substantial historical context and facts. Focusing on framing, government approaches, government makeup, levels of public support, and other interest groups, Kerr persuasively explains why real, legislative change has been unattainable. Ultimately, Kerr’s conclusion that another mass school-shooting will result in nothing more than “yet another debate” is more than believable, especially given that is exactly what occurred in the wake of the tragic Parkland Shooting in 2018 that occurred after Kerr’s book was published (Kerr 2018, p. 128). …