One of the most emotionally charged debates in the United States centers on the Second Amendment and the rights of citizens to bear arms. In his new book, Do Guns Make Us Free?: Democracy and the Armed Society (Yale University Press, 2015), Boston College alumnus Firmin DeBrabander examines the contentious and uniquely American debate over guns and contends an armed society is not a free society but one that actively hinders democratic participation. DeBrabander is an associate professor of philosophy at Maryland Institute College of Art and has written pieces for the Baltimore Sun, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, and the New York Times.