Gauging the Relationship Between Female Gun-Owners' Attitudes and Their Demographic Backgrounds : an Analysis of the Relationship Between Political Party Affiliation, Child Age Group, and Attitudes Towards Gun Ownership

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore what internal differences there are, if any, between the attitudes of women gun-owners towards gun ownership in America. Two variables were identified as potential influences on women gun-owners' attitudes: their political party affiliation, and the age group of their children (if applicable). To determine if these variables impact the way women gun-owners view gun ownership in America, respondents were asked a serious of questions using the Attitudes Towards Gun Scale(ATGS), which detected attitudes towards the right to own a gun, the protective power of a gun, and the extent to which guns stimulate crime. After the responses were sorted into the aforementioned variables (the political affiliation of the respondent and the age of their child), responses to each question were compared to one another—within the context of the variable—to determine if the variable influenced respondents' attitudes towards gun rights, protection, and crime. Three main discoveries were made from analyzing the data. The first being that, despite the differing political affiliations of the respondents, nearly all respondents strongly agreed that the second amendment is an important right to maintain. Secondly, respondents with Democratic or Liberal political beliefs were found to believe more in the protective power of a gun when in the ownership of a single woman or a family, and less in its protective power when in the ownership of the average (nondescript) person. Finally, this research shows a difference in attitudes between gun-owning mothers with different ages of children. It was discovered that mothers with school aged children and mothers with younger non-school aged Children have different attitudes towards the extent to which guns stimulate crime than mothers of older, non-school aged children. According to the results, mothers with school aged children and mothers with younger, non-school aged children disagree to a lesser extent than mothers with older non-school aged children that current gun laws have led to increased occurrences of mass shootings. Additionally, research revealed that mothers with children over the age 18versus mothers with children under the age of 18 disagree to a stronger extent that arming teachers has more potential to harm students than to protect them. The implication of this research is relevant to society outside of businesses and marketers because nearly a quarter of the female population claim they own a gun as of 2017(Pew Research Center, 2017). Although this number is debated upon, the information offered in this paper provides further insight into the way a growing segment of the population views one of the most controversial topics in American history.