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What Americans Think About Gun Control: Evidence from the General Social Survey, 1972–2016

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  • Steven V. Miller

Abstract

Objective Gun control is a classic case of policy gridlock and we commonly assume public opinion is at the foundation of this gridlock. However, public opinion analyses of attitudes about gun control often say little about the topic itself and do not fully leverage our long‐running survey data to assess partisan, regional, and temporal trends in attitudes toward gun control. Methods I use over 26 waves of General Social Survey data from 1972 to 2016 to analyze the main public opinion cleavages (partisanship, urban/rural distinctions, and Census regions) of gun control. Results I find that partisanship and ruralness are not robust predictors of attitudes about gun control and that partisan polarization is only partial and recent. Further assumptions about regional variation in attitudes toward gun control need reevaluation. Conclusion Gun control policy gridlock says more about polarization at the elite level than at the mass level. Future research can also do well to assess issue‐linkage concerns on specific gun control policy measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven V. Miller, 2019. "What Americans Think About Gun Control: Evidence from the General Social Survey, 1972–2016," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(1), pages 272-288, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:100:y:2019:i:1:p:272-288
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12555
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    Cited by:

    1. Abigail Vegter & Alexandra T. Middlewood, 2022. "The massacre generation: Young people and attitudes about mass shooting prevention," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(4), pages 820-832, July.
    2. Christopher G. Ellison & Margaret S. Kelley & David Leal & Pablo E. Gonzalez, 2022. "How do veterans view gun policies? Evidence from the Guns in American Life Survey," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(3), pages 752-768, May.
    3. Mugambi Jouet, 2019. "Guns, identity, and nationhood," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.

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