Intersectionality in action: gun ownership and women's political participation

Abstract

Objective: We hypothesize that gun ownership among women is an important determinant of political engagement. Methods: First, using 2013 Pew Research Center data, we examine different types of political participation concerning gun policy. Next, we examine data from a survey experiment embedded in a unique June 2017 national survey of nearly 900 gun owners. Finally, we analyze 2016 American National Election Studies data of behavioral and cognitive forms of political participation. Results: Gun-owning women exhibit levels of political participation about gun policy and a greater willingness to engage in political discussions about gun control than nonowning women. We also find greater levels of political engagement among gun-owning women on measures of participation not related to gun policy. Conclusion: We discuss the implications of our findings for research on political participation as well as for gun policy.