The Gun Gap

Researchers examine group differences to understand public opinion. Differences by gender, race, education, and income are now familiar to most readers. In The Gun Gap, Mark R. Joslyn adds gun owners to that list. While in general, gun owners have been neglected by scholars, he finds large and compelling differences in the political attitudes and behaviors of gun and non-gun owners. He calls this the gun gap and demonstrate its importance in explaining voter choice, voter turnout, preferences for gun policies, and support for the death penalty. The Gun Gap thus provides novel and intriguing findings regarding public opinion and offers a rationale for the actions of political figures.