Americans who recently purchased a firearm would be more willing than other gun owners to kill to advance a political objective and to organize a violent group, a new survey found. The study, which surveyed nearly 13,000 Americans — both gun owners and nonowners — from across the U.S, examined the association between owning a firearm and support for or a willingness to engage in political violence.
The findings are an alarm bell as firearm violence rates and firearm purchase remain at or near record levels, according to the study, which was conducted by the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
The main comparison for the survey is between gun owners and nonowners. Nearly 6,000 gun owners were surveyed and they were also compared based on what type of weapon they owned, how recent their purchase was made (during the pandemic or before) and how frequently they carry a loaded firearm in public.
The study found a stark difference between firearm owners and nonowners and people who recently purchased a firearm. Recent purchasers are far more likely to be willing to engage in political violence. But despite some of the alarming findings, researchers expressed hope that their findings will guide prevention measures.
“Notwithstanding these results and their implications, the overarching finding here — that majorities of firearm owners and nonowners alike repeatedly reject political violence — is a hopeful one, in our view,” researchers say in the study.
“Our results suggest a joint effort by firearm owners and nonowners to publicly repudiate political violence and help identify, dissuade, deter, and incapacitate likely perpetrators.”
The researchers also argue that preventing political violence should involve a public health approach, a key point for health care journalists to consider in the midst of this year’s presidential election.
The findings
Differences in support for political violence between firearm owners as a whole and nonowners were minimal — about 39% of firearm owners believed that political violence was usually or always justified, compared to about 30% of nonowners, according to the survey.
But the results show larger differences among the subgroups of firearm owners. The belief that political violence is justified was most common among assault-type rifle owners (42.3%), recent firearm purchasers (43.9%) and regular carriers of firearms (55.9%).
“Recent purchasers and always or nearly always carriers were more likely than their comparators to see political violence as justified, more willing to engage in it, more willing to kill to advance political objectives, and more willing to organize a violent group,” the study reads.
Participants were also asked what they would do in a scenario where they thought political violence was justified. Over 30% of assault rifle owners and 62% of always carriers said they would likely be armed and 9% of always carriers thought it was “very or extremely likely” that they would shoot someone.
The survey also asked if they believed a civil war would erupt in the U.S. in the coming years. For those who strongly agreed, about 12% were nonowners, 16% were owners, 20% were assault rifle owners, 21% were recent purchasers and 30% were regular carriers of a firearm.
“It is plausible based on our findings that some recent purchasers have been arming up for anticipated civil conflict,” the study reads.
Just such a scenario is depicted in the recently released film, “Civil War,” which depicts the United States in the throes of a violent conflict between heavily armed militias.
“Our findings strongly suggest that large numbers of armed individuals who are at least potentially willing to engage in political violence are in public places across the United States every day.”
