A father helps his son steady a firearm during the National Rifle Association's annual convention in May 2022, in Houston, Texas. (BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES)
By Jennifer Gerson, The 19th*, August 3, 2023
Young Americans who identify strongly with gun use and gun ownership often hold male supremacist beliefs and racial resentment.
The young people who are most closely associated with guns are more likely to be White people who have worse symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to new research conducted by Everytown for Gun Safety, American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The research also found that men were more familiar with and agreed more with the following “gun narratives”: “Guns allow the weak to stand up to the strong,” “People should buy guns now because society might collapse in our lifetime;” “It isn’t fair that the actions of a few troubles individuals should have a negative effect on the gun rights of good Americans who have done everything right;” “Guns are the best way to defend yourself, loved ones and your community;” and “Guns bring families together.”
This first-of-its-kind look at American youth’s attitudes about gun violence polled over 4,000 American young people between the ages of 14 and 30 from a nationally representative sample over the past year. The researchers, who also conducted qualitative focus groups with participants, found that youth with stronger male supremacist and racist attitudes tend to hold stronger beliefs that adults in schools should be armed, feel safer with guns than without guns, and have stronger trust in the police.
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