Gods, Gays, & Guns


Book Description

"Democracy and god have failed"- captures the spirit of this provocative collection of essays. Arguing that the religion must be used for the expansion of democracy, "Gods, Gays, and Guns" takes up the topics of gay marriage, economic justice, and social movements. Written in the Parisian cafes, London's ghetto, and the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake and post-Katrina New Orleans, "Gods, Gays, and Guns" is a spiritual tour-de-force- revealing a crisis of faith in religion and democracy. With an unflinching pen, Rev. Sekou challenges the reader to rethink the meaning of the role of religion in our global democracy. Praise for book: Rev. Sekou is one of the most courageous and prophetic voices of our time. His allegiance to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. is strong and his witness is real. Don't miss this book! -Cornel West, Professor of Religion, Princeton University The essays in "Gods, Gays, and Guns" are the result of deep immersion, in suffering and struggle, yes, but also in the ideas, political, theological, artistic, and above all democratic, that may make a difference. Sekou gives us something rarer and more valuable: a book of powerful questions. -Jeff Sharlet, Author, New York Times bestseller The Family This is a hopeful book. The "occupy" movement has stirred awareness here in America and elsewhere that we may be on the threshold of momentous change. But where will the fresh ideas, the leadership and, most importantly, the sustaining spirit for such a change originate? Rev. Sekou's energetic, thoughtful and engaging book begins to answer some of these questions, and indeed the author himself embodies some of those answers. -Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard University




Shooting Straight


Book Description

The host of CNN's "Piers Morgan Live" chronicles his career with CNN as impacted by such historical events as the defeat of Osama bin Laden and the tragic school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.




God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy


Book Description

The New York Times bestseller from the conservative commentator and 2016 presidential candidate. In God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, Mike Huckabee explores today’s fractious American culture, where divisions of class, race, politics, religion, gender, age, and other fault lines make polite conversation dicey, if not downright dangerous. As Huckabee notes, the differences between the “Bubble-villes” of the big power centers and the “Bubba-villes” where most people live are profound, provocative, and sometimes pretty funny. Here, Huckabee takes on government bailouts, politician pig-outs, and popular culture provocations from Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Honey Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty. The former Arkansas Governor also discusses gun rights, gay marriage, the decline of patriotism, and the mainstream media’s contempt for those who cherish a faith-based life. The trouble with Democrats, the even bigger trouble with Republicans, our national security complex, and how our Constitution is eroding under our noses.




God Land


Book Description

“Will resonate with any readers interested in understanding American landscapes where white, evangelical Christianity dominates both politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly In the wake of the 2016 election, Lyz Lenz watched as her country and her marriage were torn apart by the competing forces of faith and politics. A mother of two, a Christian, and a lifelong resident of middle America, Lenz was bewildered by the pain and loss around her—the empty churches and the broken hearts. What was happening to faith in the heartland? From drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to skeet shooting in rural Illinois, to the mega churches of Minneapolis, Lenz set out to discover the changing forces of faith and tradition in God’s country. Part journalism, part memoir, God Land is a journey into the heart of a deeply divided America. Lenz visits places of worship across the heartland and speaks to the everyday people who often struggle to keep their churches afloat and to cope in a land of instability. Through a thoughtful interrogation of the effects of faith and religion on our lives, our relationships, and our country, God Land investigates whether our divides can ever be bridged and if America can ever come together. “God Land, Lyz Lenz’s much-anticipated debut book, is a marvel. Not only is it a window into the middle America so many like to stereotype but fail to fully understand in all of its complexity, but it mixes reportage, memoir, and gorgeous prose so seamlessly I wanted to know how she did it.” —Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita




God, Guns, Capitalism, and Hypermasculinity


Book Description

The book covers issues of firearms violence and efforts at common sense reform from multiple perspectives, including a culture and climate of firearms addressed from a historical, social, governmental, legal, and psychological perspective; political activism and organizing strategies; and options for reform.




LOL at the GOP - Volume 3: Guns Don't Kill, Cars Don't Drive, and Ovens Don't Bake


Book Description

This just in - two volumes of political satire poking fun at the Republican Party is not nearly enough. At the rate the GOP is going, 222 volumes may not be enough. That brings us to LOL at the GOP - Volume 3: Guns Don't Kill, Cars Don't Drive, and Ovens Don't Bake. In it, author Craig Rozniecki answers the following questions: Are spoons, credit cards, & ping-pong balls as dangerous as guns? Do guns, churches, breakfasts, & library books have so much in common they may match one another on EHarmony.com? Is it more deadly to shoot fictional characters with a toy gun in a video game than it is to shoot people with an actual gun in real life? Also, with this book, learn all about: Why it's more moral for former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford to cheat on his wife than it is for a gay couple to get married, why conserving the environment is such a turn-off for conservatives, & what House Speaker John Boehner's favorite three-word phrase is (surprisingly it's not "I love orange!" or "Crying is sexy!").




One Nation Under Guns


Book Description

The United States holds the dubious distinction of experiencing more civilian gun deaths than any industrialized nation on Earth--nearly 30,000 per year. In this hard-hitting book, Grossman examines the scope of gun violence in this country, its causes, its dangers, and its possible solutions.




Dying to Be Normal


Book Description

Finalist, Best LGBTQ Nonfiction Book, Lambda Literary Awards 2020 On October 14, 1998, five thousand people gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to mourn the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who had been murdered in Wyoming eight days earlier. Politicians and celebrities addressed the crowd and the televised national audience to share their grief with the country. Never before had a gay citizen's murder elicited such widespread outrage or concern from straight Americans. In Dying to Be Normal, Brett Krutzsch argues that gay activists memorialized people like Shepard as part of a political strategy to present gays as similar to the country's dominant class of white, straight Christians. Through an examination of publicly mourned gay deaths, Krutzsch counters the common perception that LGBT politics and religion have been oppositional and reveals how gay activists used religion to bolster the argument that gays are essentially the same as straights, and therefore deserving of equal rights. Krutzsch's analysis turns to the memorialization of Shepard, Harvey Milk, Tyler Clementi, Brandon Teena, and F. C. Martinez, to campaigns like the It Gets Better Project, and national tragedies like the Pulse nightclub shooting to illustrate how activists used prominent deaths to win acceptance, influence political debates over LGBT rights, and encourage assimilation. Throughout, Krutzsch shows how, in the fight for greater social inclusion, activists relied on Christian values and rhetoric to portray gays as upstanding Americans. As Krutzsch demonstrates, gay activists regularly reinforced a white Protestant vision of acceptable American citizenship that often excluded people of color, gender-variant individuals, non-Christians, and those who did not adhere to Protestant Christianity's sexual standards. The first book to detail how martyrdom has influenced national debates over LGBT rights, Dying to Be Normal establishes how religion has shaped gay assimilation in the United States and the mainstreaming of particular gays as "normal" Americans.




Guns, Gun Control, and Elections


Book Description

Gun-related violence remains an intractable problem despite a decline in the past decade. Some believe the solution lies in stricter gun control laws while others think these measures would be ineffective or counter-productive. Guns, Gun Control, and Elections examines current gun control policy and explains how it was adopted by discussing the roles and interactions of elected officials, interest groups, political parties, and the public. Original research on media coverage and public opinion as well as a chapter on state policy (Virginia) make the book both informative and accessible. The book focuses on the utility of gun policy, and its discussion of policy impact is grounded in real-world politics. Wilson also highlights the importance of gun control in the Presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 as well as in some U.S. Senate and statewide campaigns.




Gun Crusaders


Book Description

Uses National Rifle Association materials, meetings, leader speeches, and interviews with NRA members to examine how the organization perceives threats to gun rights as an attack in a broad culture war that will ultimately lead to gun confiscation and socialism.