Partisan Politics and Guns in America

A short time ago, I posted a brief summary of why gun owners own guns, data that was gleaned from a survey by the Pew Research Center.  I'd like to take a look at a bit more data from that same survey, in particular, how gun ownership varies by political affiliation.

It's not terribly shocking, but the survey shows that gun ownership rates vary by political party affiliation; 31 percent of Republicans state that they own a gun while only 16 percent of Democrats own a gun.   Attitudes about controlling gun ownership also vary across party lines and that divide is increasing; two decades ago, 45 percent of Republicans and only 25 percent of Democrats prioritized protecting gun ownership rights over controlling gun ownership, a partisan gap of 20 percentage points.  Today, 74 percent of Republicans and only 22 percent of Democrats prioritize protecting gun ownership rights over controlling gun ownership, a very wide partisan gap of 54 percentage points.

Now, let's look at how the two sides of the political spectrum view the possible consequences of stricter gun laws and how these viewpoints have changed over the past twenty years:

1.) Reduction in the Number of Mass Shootings: In 2013, 29 percent of Republicans felt that stricter gun laws would reduce the number of mass shooting deaths compared to 79 percent of Democrats, a difference of 50 percentage points.  There is no data from 1993 for this issue.

2.) Reduction in the Number of Accidental Gun Deaths: In 2013, 32 percent of Republicans felt that stricter gun laws would reduce the number of accidental gun deaths compared to 74 percent of Democrats, a difference of 42 percentage points.  In 1993, 61 percent of Republicans felt that stricter gun laws would reduce the number of accidental gun deaths compared to 76 percent of Democrats, a  historical difference of only 15 percentage points. 

3.) Increased Government Control: In 2013, 76 percent of Republicans felt that stricter gun laws would give the government too much power over average citizens compared to 38 percent of Democrats, a difference of 38 percentage points.  In 1993, 61 percent of Republicans felt that stricter gun laws would give the government too much power over average citizens compared to 42 percent of Democrats, again, a historical difference of only 15 percentage points.

4.) Firearm Confiscation: In 2013, 63 percent of Republicans felt that gun control measures will eventually lead to stricter laws which will take away guns from all citizens compared to 34 percent of Democrats, a difference of 29 percentage points.  In 1993, 54 percent of Republicans felt that gun control measures will eventually lead to stricter laws which will take away guns from all citizens compared to 41 percent of Democrats, a difference of only 13 percentage points.

Only one-third of Republicans think that stricter gun laws will keep guns out of the hands of criminals compared to 73 percent of Democrats, a very significant difference of 42 percentage points.

The regional differences in the gun debate are quite apparent as a result of geographic differences in political leanings.  When asked about prioritizing gun control or gun rights, according to the National Journal, the Northeastern states are 62 percent in favour of focusing on gun control, the Midwest prioritized gun rights over gun control by 47 percent to 46 percent, the West prioritized gun control over gun rights by 53 percent to 41 percent and 51 percent of respondents in the South prioritized gun rights over gun control.

As an aside, a January 2013 poll by the National Journal showed that the protection of the right to own guns (over the necessity to control gun ownership) is at levels that are well above those in the period between the late 1990s and mid-2000s as shown here:

Surprisingly, the percentage of Americans that feel that it is more important to control gun ownership is down from a high of 65 percent in May 1999 to its current level of 51 percent, hardly a ringing endorsement for changes to gun laws.

One firearm-related proposal that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on is a ban on bullets that explode or are designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests; 60 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of Democrats support a ban on this type of ammunition.  See, sometimes both sides can agree on at least a small part of any given issue.  Unfortunately, with both sides increasingly entrenched in their viewpoint as time passes, compromise on the big issues will be difficult to achieve.