| − | '''Hoplophobia''' is a [[neologism]] coined by [[Jeff Cooper]] to describe an "irrational aversion to weapons."<ref name="cooper-to-ride">{{Cite book | last1 = Cooper | first1 = Jeff | title = To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth | year = 1990 | publisher = Paladin Press | location = Boulder, Colorado | pages = 16–19 | url=http://www.usrepeals.org/ca/mtbpers/hoplophobia.html }}</ref> The term was constructed from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ὅπλον - ''[[hoplon]]'', meaning, among other things, "arms,"<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%28%2Fplon ὅπλον], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> and φόβος - ''phobos'', meaning "fear."<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dfo%2Fbos φόβος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> | + | '''Hoplophobia''' (colloquially known as '''gunaphobia''') is a [[neologism]] coined by renowned [[firearm]]s trainer Col. [[Jeff Cooper]] to describe an "[[rational|irrational]] aversion to weapons."<ref name="cooper-to-ride">{{Cite book | last1 = Cooper | first1 = Jeff | title = To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth | year = 1990 | publisher = Paladin Press | location = Boulder, Colorado | pages = 16–19 | url=http://www.usrepeals.org/ca/mtbpers/hoplophobia.html }}</ref> The term was constructed from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ὅπλον - ''[[hoplon]]'', meaning, among other things, "arms,"<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%28%2Fplon ὅπλον], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> and φόβος - ''phobos'', meaning "fear."<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dfo%2Fbos φόβος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> |
| − | The term has gained limited acceptance in political debates over gun control, but not in medical contexts. Hoplophobia is not a phobia listed in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] (DSM) published by the [[American Psychiatric Association]]. It is listed in The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties, Third Edition as well as the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology. | + | The term has gained wide acceptance in [[conservative]] [[political]] debates over [[gun control]], but not in medical contexts. Hoplophobia is not a phobia listed in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] (DSM) published by the [[American Psychiatric Association]]. It is listed in The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties, Third Edition as well as the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology. |
| | Cooper's meaning and usage falls outside of the definition of a [[phobia]] used by the DSM. For example, one of the DSM's diagnostic criteria of phobias is that the person be aware and acknowledge that their fear is irrational, and usually causes some kind of functional impairment.<ref name="dsm4">{{Cite book| publisher = American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. | authorlink = http://www.psych.org | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV TR (Text Revision)| date = June 2000 | location = Arlington, VA, USA | isbn = 978-0-89042-024-9 | doi = 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349 | page = 449 | quote=Criterion C: "The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent."}}</ref> True medical phobias of firearms and other weapons can exist, but are unusual.<ref name=Ninan>{{Cite book | last1 = Ninan | last2 = Dunlop | title = Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Anxiety Disorders | year = 2006 | publisher = Handbooks in Health Care | location = Pennsylvania | isbn = 1-931981-62-0 | pages = 107 | quote = Table 7-1 Names of Some Phobias...Unusual...Hoplophobia-fear of firearms }}</ref> | | Cooper's meaning and usage falls outside of the definition of a [[phobia]] used by the DSM. For example, one of the DSM's diagnostic criteria of phobias is that the person be aware and acknowledge that their fear is irrational, and usually causes some kind of functional impairment.<ref name="dsm4">{{Cite book| publisher = American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. | authorlink = http://www.psych.org | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV TR (Text Revision)| date = June 2000 | location = Arlington, VA, USA | isbn = 978-0-89042-024-9 | doi = 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349 | page = 449 | quote=Criterion C: "The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent."}}</ref> True medical phobias of firearms and other weapons can exist, but are unusual.<ref name=Ninan>{{Cite book | last1 = Ninan | last2 = Dunlop | title = Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Anxiety Disorders | year = 2006 | publisher = Handbooks in Health Care | location = Pennsylvania | isbn = 1-931981-62-0 | pages = 107 | quote = Table 7-1 Names of Some Phobias...Unusual...Hoplophobia-fear of firearms }}</ref> |