Some fear, more loathing? Threats and anxieties shaping protective gun ownership and gun carry in the U.S.

Given notable recent spikes in gun purchases in the U.S., we revisit the 'fear and loathing' hypothesis of firearm demand by (1) establishing how crime/victimization fears are shaped by broader economic, cultural, and racial status anxieties (those emerging from group status threats [loathing]) and (2) illustrating how both fear and loathing matter for protective gun ownership and gun carry (among owners), and openness to future protective ownership among non-owners. Using data from a nationwide survey of adults in the U.S. (n = 2,262) collected in 2019, we find that fears of crime and victimization are often more strongly associated with status anxieties than with safety threats. Both status anxieties and victimization are associated with protective ownership and carry. Among non-owners, those higher in cultural anxiety are especially likely to be open toward future protective gun ownership. This study illustrates the multidimensional fear-guns link, wherein both status-related threats and victimization-related fears shape why individuals own guns, and how they use guns.

Public guns, private violence: The association of city-level firearm availability and intimate partner homicide in the United States.

This city-level study examines the association of federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs) and measures of illegal firearm availability with the risk of intimate partner homicide. Annual data for a sample of 286 large cities in the United States were collected for the years 2010-2019, incorporating city-level information on the number of gun-perpetrated homicides, the rate of licensed firearm dealers, and guns reported lost or stolen. All data were compiled and analyzed in 2020. Negative binomial models were used to assess the relation of firearm availability and gun homicide by intimate partners, in comparison to gun homicide between non-intimates. Results indicate that a higher rate of licensed firearm dealers was associated with a higher risk of intimate partner homicide, although more pronounced in states with lower-than-average existing gun ownership. This association was robust to different analytical methods and alternate ways of capturing illegal guns. A supplementary analysis using unique data from The Trace further supports the argument that FFL presence is a risk factor for intimate partner firearm homicide specifically, but not necessarily firearm homicide characterized by other motives.

The effect of concealed carry weapons laws on firearm sales.

Despite numerous studies exploring the link between concealed carry weapons (CCW) laws and the effect of "more guns, more/less crime" it is unknown if liberalizing CCW laws indeed influences legal firearm sales. Building on previous research, I hypothesize that liberal CWW laws are associated with increases in handgun sales while having no association with long gun sales. Using National Instant Background Check System (NICS) data as a proxy for firearm sales and state fixed-effects regression models to examine the effect of CCW laws on gun sales in all 50 states the results can be simply put: liberal CCW laws are associated with increases in handgun sales, are not associated with long gun sales, and are associated with an increase in the overall share of firearms sold that are handguns. This work supports the idea that the expansion of gun rights via liberal CCW laws has increased the rate of handgun sales in the United States, but not the rate of long gun sales. Implications for future research on firearms and policy are discussed.