Gun reform in the US remains a very politicized and debated topic. The controversial nature of this topic stems from the strong opinions of our forefathers in the founding of this country (Gregory and Wilson). America was built on certain principles that include the rights to life, liberty, and property. Among these principles is the idea or need to defend oneself which is a necessity to which every American can trace their roots back (Gregory and Wilson). This is reflected in the vocabulary of our Bill of Rights which includes a list of liberties and protections that are fundamental to what we now call the “American way of life.” It is not a simple argument; any solution will step on at least one side’s toes (Gregory and Wilson). From a political standpoint, it is near impossible to pass any gun reform legislation that does not place restrictions, or lack thereof, on any one person’s “American way of life.”
Basic Demographics:
Before we take a look at this issue politically, we must take a look at the demographics of gun ownership. Using the data provided by studies conducted by the Pew Research Center, we can see that the majority of gun owners fall under the following
demographics: they are typical of the white race, male, age 50+, and a member of a southern district, typically in a rural county (Mitchell). After establishing an average profile, it is equally important to look at how gun owners identify politically. On average, 41% of Republicans own a firearm whereas 16% of Democrats own a firearm (Mitchell). This is a major difference and serves as another stepping stone in further pinpointing whom this issue is primarily affecting. Moving on from profile-based demographics, it is important to now take a look at their party ideology. According to further polls taken by the Pew Research Center, they found that as of 2018, 76% of Republicans find it vital to protect the rights of Americans to own guns, whereas 19% of Democrats find it vital to protect gun rights (“Gun policy remains divisive, but several proposals still draw bipartisan support”). It is clear that this divide stems further than just physical demographics, and instead also follows major ideological differences. Drafting a solution, therefore, requires finding a middle ground; one that may not even be there.
Public Perception & Ideological Differences:
The next step is to broaden our scope to the public’s point of view. A public point of view is essential for finding and understanding ideological differences. We start with looking at public response and attitude to the use of firearms, as public support is a big factor in the legislative process. When studying public support, we can look at a study done during the fallout of the Las Vegas shooting (Kantack and Collin). The study is based on looking at public support as a function of gun control advocacy during a tragic event. In basic terms, the point of this study was to figure out the effectiveness of gun control advocates in swaying public opinion after a major shooting. The researchers hypothesized that support for gun control would indefinitely increase after a tragic event (Kantack and Collin). However, after extensive research, they found no evidence for any of the gun control advocates swaying public opinion (Kantack and Collin). The outcome of this study is puzzling as a basic understanding of public trends dictates that tragic events should result in an immediate and visible influx of public support to prevent this from happening again. The most likely reason for the surprising nature of this outcome might be traced back to ideological differences. When asked, “If more Americans owned guns, there would be?” 56% of Democrats responded with more crime whereas 50% of Republicans responded with less crime (“Gun Policy Remains Divisive, but Several Proposals Still Draw Bipartisan Support.”). Not only do the rough majority of Republicans not believe that there will be more crime, but they believe more guns being available to people will end in less crime (“Gun Policy Remains Divisive, but Several Proposals Still Draw Bipartisan Support.”). This is more than just an ideological difference; this is an ideological divide that is preventing a middle ground from being formed.
Trust:
The final step in forming a solution is looking at one last extremely important factor of public opinion, trust. Trust is vital to congressional policymaking and the function of a healthy government. If trust in our political systems deteriorates, periods of long political gridlock can ensue without either side pushing out any meaningful legislative agenda (Ryan et al.). Studies have shown a direct correlation between the trust those have in government and the support they show, or more importantly, do not show, in their policies (Ryan et al.). As related to gun control, we see that the majority of Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to want less strict gun laws (Mitchell). “Since 2005, however, fewer than 10% of Republicans have supported gun control” (Ryan et al.). However, among these Republicans, we find that conservatives with trust in government are more prone to pay the "ideological cost" associated with gun reform (Ryan et al.). This boils down to the fact that Republicans with trust in government are far more likely to support moderate gun control policies, whereas Republicans who have less trust in government are far less likely to support gun reform bills (Ryan et al.). As time goes on, and with this steady growth of the partisan divide, we will see that trust will continue playing a larger and ever-increasing role in the attitude of conservatives toward gun reform policies (Ryan et al.).
Wrapping Up:
The idea of gun reform is not a simple one. Parties and individuals have drifted away from an ideological midpoint and instead are becoming caught up in the extremity of their ideas and beliefs. Finding a solution necessitates finding a middle ground, even if one may not be present. The end to this problem requires us to build a bridge between these opposing viewpoints that allows for the steady flow of constructive ideas. One thing is clear though, in our current times of rampant gun violence and political polarization, the need for a middle ground has become self-evident (Gregory and Wilson).
Citations:
Gregory, Sean, and Chris Wilson. “Gun Violence in the U.S.: 6 Real Ways We Can Help Reduce It.” Time, Time, 22 Mar. 2018, https://time.com/5209901/gun-violence-america-reduction/.
“Gun Policy Remains Divisive, but Several Proposals Still Draw Bipartisan Support.” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 18 Oct. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/10/18/gun-policy-remains-divisive-but-several-proposals-still-draw-bipartisan-support/.
House passes gun control bill after Buffalo, Uvalde attacks. (2022, June 8). AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/congress-texas-buffalo-new-york-shootings-0d552cfe6c5a4fb8c83a151ea29d467f
Kantack, Benjamin R., and Collin E. Paschall. “Does ‘Politicizing’ Gun Violence Increase Support for Gun Control? Experimental Evidence from the Las Vegas Shooting. , vol. 101, no. 2, Mar. 2020, pp. 893–908. , https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12754
Mitchell, Travis. “1. The Demographics of Gun Ownership.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/06/22/the-demographics-of-gun-ownership/.
Nicolaus Mills. (2019, August 18). How Slave Owners Dictated the Language of the 2nd Amendment. The Daily Beast; The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-slave-owners-dictated-the-language-of-the-2nd-amendment
Pasek, M., & Moore-Berg, S. (2020, November 23). The Divide Between Political Parties Feels Big. Fortunately, It’s Smaller Than We Think. - By Michael Pasek & Samantha Moore-
Berg. Behavioral Scientist. https://behavioralscientist.org/the-divide-between-political-parties-feels-big-fortunately-its-smaller-than-we-think/
Ryan, John Barry, et al. “When Trust Matters: The Case of Gun Control. , vol. 44, no. 2, June 2022, pp. 725–48. , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09633-2
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