Message to gun owners:

Many gun owners feel that gun violence prevention advocates do not respect their decision to purchase a gun for self-defense. The researchers conducting this study believe that gun owners have the right to protect themselves and their families and we respect that decision. We respect gun culture and believe that gun owners know more than anyone else about responsible gun use. We therefore believe that gun owners need to be brought into the discussion about ways to reduce gun violence. We also believe that policies should be aimed not at regulating the types of guns that can be sold (e.g., assault weapon bans), but at making sure that people who pose a high risk for violence based on their criminal history should not be allowed to possess guns and stronger efforts should be made to enforce those restrictions. Our hope is that gun owners and non-gun owners can come together to design a set of gun violence prevention policies that all can agree on. That discussion would begin by taking any proposal to ban guns or any specific types of guns off the table. It would also begin by soliciting the opinions of gun owners about what they feel would be the most effective policies for reducing gun violence.

Message to gun violence prevention advocates:

Public health means that the public - including gun owners - are our constituents, not our opponents. Therefore, we must find ways to bring gun owners into the gun violence prevention space. Our results suggest that the best way to do this is to demonstrate respect for the decision of gun owners to own a gun and to show respect for gun culture. This, more than anything, will open the door to dialogue and engage gun owners as part of a broader gun violence prevention movement.

If you had an open conversation with a gun violence prevention advocate, what would you want them to know?

“There can be extenuating circumstances—like a prior assault—why people own guns. Everyone has a private story.” - White woman from Chicago
“Background checks need to be done, trainings need to be done, our governor in Texas made it so people can get guns with no background checks or no training, which I think is absurd. I would advocate for safety.” - White woman from Texas
“A lot of people get their hands on a gun when they shouldn’t be so when you think about self-defense, a lot of people think guns are a bad thing but a gun can be a good thing for protection. Sometimes you need a gun for your personal safety.” - Black woman from Florida
“Everyone’s journey is different; everyone’s circumstances are different. Compassion should go both ways. I’d like them to know that I am committed to safety—and that’s the whole point of this—and try to help them be a little bit more understanding that I didn’t just wake up one day and decided to do this. I thought about it with a clear mind and decided it was the best thing for me based on what I have experienced.” - White woman from Texas
“I would love to talk to a non-gun owner and discuss. We can be appropriate. I would welcome a conversation like that. I would want them to know that I am a gun owner and I am ok. I am not a bad person because I am a gun owner.” - White woman from Wyoming
“Non-gun owners are getting from the media that everybody has a gun and they’re just shooting left and rights. There are people who have guns illegally but that’s a small percentage. I would want them to know that I am a responsible gun owner. I was taught early on about safe firearm handling. There is no such thing as an unloaded gun. I would tell them that their perception of gun owners from the media is wrong and that the majority of gun owners that I know are responsible gun owners. And I am all for more training and education. We should all have the right to own guns but the responsibility is like a car, you have to take a driver test to drive your car. I would want them to know that I am a responsible gun owner. Here in California, there are a lot of hoops we have to go through to buy a gun and I think these are right. The privilege of owning a gun comes with a responsibility, especially this training and education.” - Man from California (white man, Lifelong NRA member)
“I’d be the first to agree you don’t need 50 rifles in your home for protection if you live alone. The conversation should be focused on controlling the chefs, not the knives they cook with. There should be an enormous crackdown on illegal weapons but that doesn’t involve responsible registered gun owners.” - Farmer from California