Firearm ownership and support for political violence in the United States
Findings from a nationally representative survey
Quick Summary
- Our findings suggest that differences in support for political violence between firearm owners as a whole and nonowners without firearms at home are moderate, where they exist.
Overview
QUESTION
How do firearm owners and nonowners in the United States differ in support for and willingness to engage in political violence, and how do these measures vary among subsets of firearm owners?
FINDINGS
In this survey study with 12 851 participants, firearm owners were only moderately more supportive of political violence than nonowners. Recent purchasers and owners who always or nearly always carried firearms in public were more supportive of and willing to engage in political violence than other subsets of firearm owners.
MEANING
In this study, support for and willingness to engage in political violence differed more among subsets of firearm owners than between owners and nonowners; these findings could help to guide prevention efforts.
Citation
Wintemute GJ, Crawford A, Robinson SL, Tomsich EA, Reeping PM, Schleimer JP, Pear VA. Firearm ownership and support for political violence in the United States. JAMA network open. 2024 Apr 9;7(4):e243623.
Learn More
- Read the study in JAMA Network Open
- View the visual abstract for this paper, also available in our visual abstract archive