Americans don’t want to live near neighbors with AR-15s or insecurely stored guns

What is it about?

We uncover a surprising consensus: from Republicans to Democrats, gun owners or not, Americans don’t want to live near neighbors with AR-15s or insecurely stored guns. In Study 1, we used a preregistered paired-profile conjoint experiment (n=33,596 choices) to uncover that not even pro-gun groups prefer neighbors with AR-15s. In Study 2, we used a preregistered picture-based factorial vignette experiment (n=2,098 respondents) to uncover universal aversion to insecure gun storage.

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Photo by Thomas Tucker on Unsplash

Photo by Thomas Tucker on Unsplash

Why is it important?

America is deeply divided on gun policies. However, we show that the abstract polarization that impedes attempts at the national level to reduce gun violence dissipates when the focus is on individuals’ immediate environments and daily lives. Insecure storage is the best-studied risk factor for firearm injury and death. We hope this research can help bridge the gap in the national debate on gun control and community safety.