“The Cult of the Gun in US Culture” a Luskin Lecture and Panel Discussion

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Time: 6:30-8:30pm

Registration opens 6:15pm

*Light reception 6:30-7:00pm*

Panel Discussion following with Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Ismael Ileto, and Adam Winkler.

Moderated by Brad Rowe.

Location: UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, Centennial Ballroom AB



Join us for a thought-provoking discussion as our keynote speaker, historian, writer and educator Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz will discuss how gun culture in the United States cannot be separated from American militarism and war-making.

The United States was birthed in violence, Dunbar-Ortiz says. The Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, established in 1777, became the foundation of U.S. capitalist industrialism. Settler militias proclaimed the right to attack and seize Native American land. And the Second Amendment to the Constitution confirmed Americans’ right to bear arms.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a historian, writer, and professor emeritus in Ethic Studies at California State University. She is author or editor of 15 books, including her most recent book, Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment. Forthcoming a book on the US claim to be “a nation of immigrants.”

Ismael Ileto is an anti-hate crimes and anti-gun violence activist and co-founder of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice “Joseph Ileto Courage Award.” 20 years ago, Ismael and his family were catapulted onto the national stage after his brother Joseph, A Filipino-American postal worker, was gunned following a hate-fueled mass shooting by a self-professed white supremacist at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. The Iletos banded with local politicians to reduce gun and ammunition sales in Los Angeles County. The Ileto family has turned Joseph's name into an acronym, hoping to inspire action: "Join our struggle, educate, prevent hate, instill love, equality, tolerance for others."

Adam Winkler is a professor at UCLA School of Law, and a specialist in constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy. He is one of the twenty most cited legal scholars in court opinions, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Atlantic, Slate, and the New Republic. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty, he clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced law in Los Angeles.

Brad Rowe serves as Lecturer of Public Policy for Criminal Justice and Drugs at UCLA Luskin as well as Policy Director for the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative. Brad has designed, researched, run and delivered a dozen public policy research projects over the last six years through his time running research and consulting firm BOTEC Analysis, with UCLA, and as Compliance Leader with Avenu Insights.

*The UCLA Luskin Lecture Series enhances public discourse on topics relevant to the betterment of society. The Series features renowned public intellectuals, bringing together scholars as well as national and local leaders to address society’s most pressing problems. The Luskin Lecture series has included speakers such as journalist Jorge Ramos; Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; Secretaries Leon Panetta, Anthony Foxx, and Madeline Albright; Governor Howard Dean; and Police Chief William J. Bratton.





RSVP required for admittance.

Admission is free, but registration is required for each attendee.

Transit:

Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (Route 1, Route 2, Route 8, Rapid 12, Route 17, Route 18)

Culver CityBus (Line 6, Rapid 6)

Metro Bus (Line 2/302, Line 20, Line 234, Line 720, Line 734)

Metro Expo Line (provides rail service from Santa Monica to Westwood to Downtown LA)

Rideshare:

A convenient option for transportation are ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft. You can board your ride right in front of designated areas throughout the UCLA campus, including in front of the UCLA Luskin Conference Center.

Parking:

Self-parking is available underneath the Luskin Conference Center and in UCLA Parking Structure 8, Level 4, directly across the street from the Center. There is a convenient Pedestrian Walkway/Bridge connecting Parking Structure 8 (on Level 3) to the Los Angeles Conference Center property. There is a daily fee to park in either location.

To locate Parking Structure 8, enter the campus by heading north on Westwood Boulevard and make a left onto the Structure 8 Driveway (located just before the Parking Information Kiosk on Westwood Boulevard). Proceed up the ramp to Level Four and park in any of the “Pay-by-Space” parking spots. You will need to purchase parking at a nearby Parking Kiosk.

To access the UCLA Luskin Conference Center via the Pedestrian Walkway/Bridge from Lot 8, take the east stairs down one level (from Level 4 to Level 3) and cross over Strathmore Place. Elevator access (located in the northeast corner of Level 3) allows access to the Conference Center via the pedestrian crosswalk at the traffic light at the intersection of Strathmore Place and Westwood Plaza.

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The Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and Southern Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Aniihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.