When an irresistible prejudice meets immovable politics: Black legal gun ownership undermines racially resentful White Americans’ gun rights advocacy.

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Against a backdrop of massive protests arguing for the protection of gun rights from government overreach by U.S. gun rights organizations and White American gun rights activists, this research was in part motivated by their parallel (and longstanding) silence when the rights of Black legal gun owners are ignored or violated by government actors (e.g., Jacqueline Dixon, Philando Castile, Amir Locke). While deserving attention long before now, understanding how Black legal gun ownership shapes gun attitudes from a social psychological perspective is particularly pertinent as Black Americans are presently the fastest-growing group of legal gun owners in the U.S. Putting present-day observations in context with the historical role of race, racism, and the asymmetrical application of gun control laws in the U.S. provided a more holistic perspective as we sought to test how race and racism play a nuanced, yet integral role in present-day White Americans’ gun attitudes and policy support.

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