New Gun Subculture Is on the Rise in Liberal States with Stricter Gun Laws
BU researchers say some people are buying guns not for recreation or self-defense, but for Second Amendment activism
Previous studies have proposed two sides of gun culture: one focused on recreational use and a second on self-defense. But the new BU study identifies a third mentality, made up of people who view the defense of the Second Amendment as necessary to freedom in the United States. The study, led by BU School of Public Health researchers, finds that this so-called “gun culture 3.0” has increased the most in states that have strengthened their gun laws to the greatest degree, suggesting it may be triggered by perceived threats on individual liberty by the government.
A map showing the gun subculture most dominant in each state.
“The NRA [National Rifle Association] has been spreading insurrectionist rhetoric for the past few decades, undermining Americans’ trust in their legislators and the federal government, while passing for a patriotic organization,” says the study’s lead author, Claire Boine, an SPH research scholar in community health sciences. “The result is a few million people who are convinced that any genuine firearm violence prevention effort is the first step in a scheme to take away all of their rights and disenfranchise them.”
