🌅 Americans Don’t Want Gun-Owning Neighbors

SOURCE

Sola and Pickett (2024)

WHAT TO KNOW

• Despite American gun culture, when it comes to one’s own community, survey data shows Americans do not want to live near gun-owning neighbors. When asked to evaluate potential neighbors, the likelihood a person would choose to live near someone fell by 9 percentage points if that potential neighbor owned a pistol; it fell by 20 points if the neighbor owned an AR-15.

WHY IT MATTERS

• While most characteristics of neighbors (e.g., gender, relationship status, income, etc.) indeed affect the probability that a person would choose to live near them, the researchers found owning an AR-15 was “the single best predictor of respondents’ aversion to having someone as a neighbor.” Americans’ preference for gun-free neighbors was also consistent across groups, including those seen as traditionally more pro-firearm, like current gun owners and Republican voters.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The U.S. experienced seven childhood gun deaths each day in 2022, outpacing deaths from all other injuries or illnesses among children. Gun death rates among American kids have also more than doubled over the past decade, while firearms have been the leading cause of death for the group since 2020.