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Researchers examine group differences to understand public opinion. Differences by gender, race, education, and income are now familiar to most readers. In
The Gun Gap, Mark R. Joslyn adds gun owners to that list. While in general, gun owners have been neglected by scholars, he finds large and compelling differences in the political attitudes and behaviors of gun and non-gun owners. He calls this the gun gap and demonstrate its importance in explaining voter choice, voter turnout, preferences for gun policies, and support for the death penalty.
The Gun Gap thus provides novel and intriguing findings regarding public opinion and offers a rationale for the actions of political figures.
List of contents
- Introduction: The Neglected Gun Gap
- 1. Understanding gun culture
- 2. A gun gap in voter choice
- 3. A gun gap in voter turnout
- 4. Safer with a gun
- 5. Feelings toward gun owners
- 6. How many gun owners?
- 7. A gun gap in death penalty support
- Conclusion: Moving forward
- References
- index
About the author
Mark R. Joslyn is Professor of Political Science at University of Kansas. He has authored over 50 journal articles, including publications in The American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Behavior, and Political Psychology. His research explores political attitude formation and change.
Summary
In The Gun Gap, Mark R. Joslyn advances gun owners as a new classification for understanding political behavior and attitudes. He demonstrates a "gun gap," which captures the differences between gun owners and non-gun owners, and shows how this gap improves conventional behavioral and attitudinal models. The gap represents an important explanation for voter choice, voter turnout, perceptions of personal and public safety, preferences for gun control policies, and support for the death penalty. Moreover, the 2016 presidential election witnessed the largest recorded gun gap in history. The Gun Gap thus affords a new and compelling vantage point to evaluate modern mass politics.
Additional text
This expansive and thoroughly-researched book makes clear that gun ownership is a crucial
