Elisha Lott Rountree

Replace #2: Guns & Race in America: How to Save Lives Elisha Lott Rountree

Publisher Marketing: Replace #2 proposes the Newtown Amendment, a replacement for the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The book traces the origin of the gun culture in America and its connection to racism. Whites used guns to uphold slavery and expand the country. Replace #2 describes the growing obsession of America with guns in the nineteenth century. When modern America developed in the twentieth century, guns continued to play an important role in maintaining the power of whites during segregation and as a response to urban crime. The interplay of guns, race and crime helped shape the America we live in today. Hollywood's role in cementing the gun culture's hold on America helps explain why Americans own more guns than any other society. Describing the current debate over the Second Amendment and gun control as a stagnant stalemate, Replace #2 proposes the Newtown Amendment as the best path forward to a safer America. This bold proposed amendment would overcome the legal and political might of the NRA by allowing all levels of government to regulate guns as they see necessary. The author calls for a grassroots push to change the Constitution, arguing that lives will be saved with less guns in our future and our democracy will be reinvigorated by the effort.