Research

The MAGA movement and political violence in 2024

About the PaperFINDINGS IN BRIEF 
  • More than 50% MAGA Republicans considered violence usually or always justified to advance at least 1 of 21 specified political objectives (MAGA Republicans, 55.9%; non-MAGA non-Republicans, 25.5%).
  • MAGA Republicans were more likely than non-MAGA non-Republicans to predict civil war “in the next few years” (10.4% and 5.4%, respectively) and to agree that “the United States needs a civil war to set things right” (7.8% and 2.4%, respectively).
  • MAGA Republicans more frequently predicted that they would be armed with a firearm in a setti

Fear, loathing, and support for political violence in the United States

About the StudyFINDINGS IN BRIEF 
  • In 2023, strong agreement with expressions of 7 forms of hatred, fear, and enmity toward others was common in the United States: homonegativity, 26.4%; racism, 19.1%; transphobia, 17.1%; xenophobia, 10.3%; hostile sexism, 8.1%; Islamophobia, 5.5%; antisemitism, 3.2%.
  • For each of them, strong agreement was significantly associated with the view that political violence is justified.

Public opinion on civil war in the USA as of mid-2024

About the StudyFINDINGS IN BRIEF 
  • Strong or very strong agreement that civil war was coming and that it was needed were both uncommon and did not increase from 2023 to 2024 (6.5% and 3.6%, respectively, in 2024; 5.7% and 3.8%, respectively, in 2023).

Effects of implementing permissive campus carry laws

AbstractBACKGROUND

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which ruled a New York concealed-carry permitting requirement unconstitutional, laws restricting the public carrying of firearms in “sensitive places,” like college campuses, have received increasing attention. However, there is little evidence for whether permissive campus carry policies increase firearm violence or, via deterrence, reduce general crime on campus.

Identifying high-risk firearms dealers

About the PaperFINDINGS IN BRIEF 
  • Many highest-risk dealers consistently sold crime guns across multiple years.
  • Our machine learning models accurately identified many high-risk firearms dealers and outperformed simpler prediction approaches.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
  • Using machine learning with detailed purchase and recovery records could efficiently identify high-risk retailers for targeted enforcement to disrupt the flow of crime guns.
  • Opportunities for policy and enforcement action based on our findings include targeting enforcement on the smal

Trends in views of democracy and society and support for political violence in the USA, 2022–2024

AbstractBACKGROUND 

In 2022, a nationally representative longitudinal survey in the USA found concerningly high prevalences of support for and personal willingness to engage in political violence, but those prevalences decreased in 2023. This study examines changes in those prevalences from 2023 to 2024, an election year in the USA.

The origins of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order law

Abstract

BACKGROUND

 

Firearm violence is a major public health problem in the United States, yet most states lack a mechanism to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who are at high and imminent risk of harming themselves or others and are not otherwise prohibited. Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws are intended to close this gap. The current study examines the passage of California’s gun violence restraining order (GVRO) bill using Kingdon’s multiple streams framework.

METHODS

Trends in domestic violence and firearm domestic violence during COVID-19 in five US cities

AbstractPURPOSE 

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social and economic disruptions may be associated with increased risk for reported domestic violence (DV) and firearm-involved DV (FDV). This study examines trends in DV, FDV, and the proportion of DV incidents that involved firearms (FDV/DV) in five large US cities before and during the coronavirus pandemic.