Gun Owners Don’t Want Guns in School

In the aftermath of the shootings in San Antonio , Las Vegas, and Florida, gun violence and calls for solutions addressing it have again featured heavily in the media.  Sadly, deaths from gun violence have become so frequent in the United States that both liberal and conservative responses can seem entrenched, with little common ground between them.  As gun rights and restrictions become fixtures in the national debate, are there any attitudes and possible solutions that cross political lines?

To answer this question, researchers from Northeastern University conducted a survey of approximately 50,000 adults randomly sampled from 97% of known US households. Participants were asked for their gun ownership status and their comfort with guns being carried into specific public spaces. Participants were further classified by geographic region and the severity of their respective state gun laws.

Predictably, gun owners were significantly more likely than non-gun owners to feel comfortable permitting guns into every public place surveyed. However, fewer than 50% of gun-owners and non-gun owners alike supported permitting guns into college campuses, places of worship, government buildings, schools, bars, or sports stadiums. Four out of 5 gun owners supported at least some restrictions on carrying guns into public with more than two-thirds of gun owners supporting bans on guns in schools, bars, and sports stadiums.

While the degree of opposition varied by geographic region and the severity of state gun laws, 80% or more of Americans in all demographic groups supported restricting guns from at least one public space. Such findings draw a striking contrast with recent laws in conservative states loosening restrictions on gun carry permits.

It is not clear how strongly participants may feel regarding these restrictions.  Still, this research suggests that even despite our differences there are viable solutions almost all Americans can agree on. One of which, especially relevant after the Parkland shooting, is that most Americans agree that guns shouldn’t proliferate in schools, bars, and stadiums.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To estimate US public opinion, overall and by gun ownership status, about the public places where legal gun owners should be allowed to carry firearms.

METHODS: We fielded an online survey among 3949 adults, including an oversample of gun owners and veterans, in April 2015. We used cross-tabulations with survey weights to generate nationally representative estimates.

RESULTS: Fewer than 1 in 3 US adults supported gun carrying in any of the specified venues. Support for carrying in public was consistently higher among gun owners than among non-gun owners. Overall, support for carrying in public was lowest for schools (19%; 95% confidence interval [CI]?=?16.7, 21.1), bars (18%; 95% CI?=?15.9, 20.6), and sports stadiums (17%; 95% CI?=?15.0, 19.5).

CONCLUSIONS: Most Americans, including most gun owners, support restricting public places legal gun owners can carry firearms. These views contrast sharply with the current trend in state legislatures of expanding where, how, and by whom guns can be carried in public. Recent state laws and proposed federal legislation that would force states to honor out-of-state concealed carry permits are out of step with American public opinion.

PMID: 28426305 Wolfson, JA, et al. AJPH. 2017; 107 (6): 929-937.