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Objective: This article reviews the extant literature on southern politics and gun/firearm ownership in the South as a precursor to three symposium papers. Methods: We employ standard literature review techniques to synthesize two significant bodies of literature. The latter part of the article introduces the three papers in the symposium. Results: We find that the papers in this symposium share two common themes: continued southern distinctiveness, and the importance of the role of race in southern politics and policy‐making. Conclusion: We find support for a hypothesis that the South remains distinctive as a region in the policy arena of gun ownership/firearm policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surges in firearm sales after mass shootings have been well documented in the United States. This study presents three main findings regarding the impact of mass shootings on firearm demand and the moderating roles played by political and regulatory climates. First, mass shootings led to an immediate but temporary increase in gun sales. This effect continued for approximately 3–6 months after the incidents and was larger for shootings with a greater number of fatalities. Second, the association between mass shootings and gun sales was significant only under Democratic presidents. The party affiliation of the state legislature and state-level gun control did not moderate this association. Third, the increased firearm sales after mass shootings did not result in a higher level of firearm ownership. It appeared most purchases were made by current gun owners stockpiling additional firearms, thus indicating the fear of stricter gun control as a likely motivation. This study offers the following policy implications: (a) the public debates concerning gun violence could have the unintended consequence of raising gun demand among current owners, (b) the message of tightening gun control could increase the total stock of firearms in circulation, and (c) the regulations to prevent future mass shootings may be better addressed by the state government as a state-level regulation does not trigger demand response among potential consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines (1) how female personal gun owners, female household gun owners, and female non-owners differ in demographic characteristics, handgun exposure and gun-related attitudes; and (2) how these differences vary from those for males. Data were obtained from a nationwide web survey, involving 390 female respondents and 134 male respondents, in 2016. Results indicated that female personal gun owners hold more pro-gun attitudes than female household gun owners and non-owners. Female non-owners had less exposure to guns than female household gun owners while female household owners had less exposure to guns than female personal owners. Variations by type of gun exposure, namely exposure to known persons with guns versus strangers with guns, were observed. Prior victimization was influential for female gun attitudes, but not male gun attitudes. Exposure to a known-person with a handgun was related to female gun attitudes, but not male gun attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of history and tradition in recent Supreme Court cases involving constitutional rights. It examines how the Court has emphasized the importance of a showing of sufficient supportive history and tradition in several contexts, including substantive due process rights, gun ownership and Second Amendment rights. It explores the legitimacy of constitutional rights claims based on a showing of sufficient supportive history and tradition.

Police use of deadly force represents a pressing public policy issue with implications for police-community relationships and equitable access to justice. A growing body of literature considering the structural factors influencing officers' exposure to potential violence suggests that context plays a pivotal role in officer use of deadly force. This study explores how local gun ownership rates impact fatal police shootings for a national sample of large law enforcement agencies. Two-level negative binomial regression models examine the organizational and contextual correlates of fatal police shootings from 2014 to 2018, nesting 758 law enforcement agencies within 408 counties. Results indicate that agencies operating within areas characterized by high rates of violent crime and gun ownership were involved in more fatal police shootings. The findings underscore the importance of contextual cues of danger that police officers respond to during fatal police shootings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given notable recent spikes in gun purchases in the U.S., we revisit the 'fear and loathing' hypothesis of firearm demand by (1) establishing how crime/victimization fears are shaped by broader economic, cultural, and racial status anxieties (those emerging from group status threats [loathing]) and (2) illustrating how both fear and loathing matter for protective gun ownership and gun carry (among owners), and openness to future protective ownership among non-owners. Using data from a nationwide survey of adults in the U.S. (n = 2,262) collected in 2019, we find that fears of crime and victimization are often more strongly associated with status anxieties than with safety threats. Both status anxieties and victimization are associated with protective ownership and carry. Among non-owners, those higher in cultural anxiety are especially likely to be open toward future protective gun ownership. This study illustrates the multidimensional fear-guns link, wherein both status-related threats and victimization-related fears shape why individuals own guns, and how they use guns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gun violence in schools has had a destructive ripple effect in many communities across the United States, invoking activism from both parents and the actual survivors of gun violence. By creating a new and comprehensive archival research database that analyzes 30 years of gun violence that has occurred on U.S. school properties, the current study examines the commonly accepted conclusions about school shootings; the issue of underage and illegal gun access; how schools are being protected on a daily basis; and how communities and law enforcement can join together to develop more customized solutions to disrupt the juvenile/social patterns that actually lead to school gun violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research on gun ownership has grown substantially but there has been less exploration of variation within gun owners. This study examines the differences in support for democracy between gun owners and non-gun owners, and in doing so makes an important contribution to the political science literature on group behavior and attitudes. We utilize OLS regression to analyze data from the 2020 American National Election Studies and 2016 General Social Survey public opinion surveys and find that there is a stark divide among gun owners on support for measures of democratic norms. Gun owners are more supportive than non-owners on some measures, but on others there was no relationship between owning a firearm and democratic attitudes. We suggest this is because partisanship—specifically support for Donald Trump—pulled gun owners’ attitudes in opposite directions. These results are consistent with previous work on cross-pressured voters and highlight the limits of group influence in a world where citizens have multiple identities. We conclude that gun owners don’t appear meaningfully different from non-owners on measures of democratic support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the connection between firearm violence involving police and civilians, with a specific focus on the role of gun ownership. Using data from 2019 to 2023, the study analyzes rates of police being shot by civilians and civilians being shot and killed by police in different states. The findings reveal a positive correlation between these two forms of violence, with higher rates occurring in states with higher levels of household firearm ownership. The study emphasizes the importance of considering both police and civilian victims in order to fully comprehend the broader social context of this issue. It suggests that reducing the availability of firearms in communities could protect civilians and enhance occupational safety for police, although the study does have limitations, such as its cross-sectional nature and potential confounding factors. [Extracted from the article]

Youth gun carrying is associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including increased risks for homicide, suicide, school disciplinary problems, and criminal legal involvement. In this study we examined the association between state‐level household firearm ownership rates and the odds of past‐year gun carrying among high‐school‐aged youth. Using survey‐weighted multivariable logistic regression models, results showed that each 1% point increase in state‐level gun ownership was associated with a 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.1%, 4.2%], p = 0.001) increased odds of youth gun carrying, controlling for histories of school‐based victimization, physical fighting, and substance use. Among a subset of weapon‐carrying youth, state‐level firearm availability was a significant factor in determining whether the weapon carried was a gun or a less lethal (i.e., nonfirearm) weapon (odds ratio = 1.021, 95% CI = [1.005, 1.038], p = 0.01). These findings show that firearm availability confers additional risk for youth gun carrying beyond the psychosocial risks emphasized in prior research and efforts to restrict youth access to firearms might be particularly important, especially in communities with high levels of household gun ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As ecological factors are getting attention as important determinants of suicide, it is important to identify the unit at which the largest variation exists for more tailed strategy to prevent suicide. We examined the relative importance of two administrative levels for geographic variation in the suicide rate between 2014–2016 in Seoul, the capital city of Korea. Methods: Two-level linear regression with Dongs (level 1) nested within Gus (level 2) was performed based on suicide death data aggregated at the Dong-level. We performed pooled analyses and then year-stratified analyses. Dong-level socioeconomic status and environmental characteristics were included as control variables. Results: The overall age- and sex- standardized suicide rate across all Dongs decreased over time from 24.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2014 to 23.7 deaths in 2016. When Dong and Gu units were simultaneously considered in a multilevel analysis, most of the variation in suicide rate was attributed to within-Gu, between-Dong differences with a contribution of Gu-level being small and decreasing over time in year (Variance partitioning coefficient of Gu = 5.3% in 2014, <0.1% in 2015 and 2016). The number of divorce cases per 100,000 explained a large fraction of variation in suicide rate at the Dong-level. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that ecological micro-area unit is more important in reducing the geographic variation in the suicide rate. More diverse ecological-level data needs to be collected for targeted area-based suicide prevention policies in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined relationship abuse, firearm threats, and threat credibility factors as well as help‐seeking for (ex)partner‐stalking victims with partners who did (n = 153) and did not own guns (n = 263). Victims with (ex)partners who owned guns experienced increased coercive control and physical violence, a longer duration of stalking, and more threats during the relationship and during the course of stalking. Victims reported that (ex)partner gun owners had more extremist beliefs and other risk factors, and more of them believed their (ex)partner was extremely capable of harming them. Most, regardless of partner gun ownership, turned to informal sources of help, while about one‐quarter of victims whose partners did not own guns tried to obtain a protective order or talked to police, compared to about 40% of stalking victims with abusers who owned guns. Fear of harm from guns, coercive control during the relationship, and believing their partner was capable of harming harm them were all associated with an increased number of help‐seeking sources whereas being threatened with a firearm and abuser gun ownership were not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the concept of co-created and person-centred recordkeeping and the needs for this in out-of-home child-care contexts, drawing out a recordkeeping framework. The article uses the research of the UK MIRRA (Memory - Identity - Rights in Records - Access) project as its critical evidence base. MIRRA is a participatory research project, hosted at the Department of Information Studies at University College London (UCL) since 20x7, which places Care Leavers as co-researchers at the heart of the work. The study has gathered evidence from care-experienced people, social workers, archivists, records managers, and researchers. The case context of care-experienced people provides a powerful focus for shifting views of records creation and ownership. Care-experienced people across the globe are situated within organizational systems that act as surrogate parents, but where the children or young people are often powerless to co-create and store their own memories, which would enable them to forge positive identities and revisit these through time. Positive and holistic life story narratives are rarely found. In addition, children's care records are often accessible to care-experienced people only through legislative processes and without critical support. This research reframes the recordkeeping model, placing the care-experienced person at the heart of the process in order to ensure the co-creation of records and the maintenance of identity through time. The research acknowledges the complex and sometimes conflicting needs of diverse actors in children's recordkeeping, including social workers, archivists, records managers, and researchers. It rethinks the actors' relationships and responsibilities around the records and systems, drawing out a framework that makes explicit the value of active person-centred recordkeeping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified white supremacists as the most lethal threat in America. White supremacy is a system rooted in racist policies and ideas that produce and normalize racial inequities. Combatting white supremacism thus requires identification and promotion of antiracist policies, actions, and systemic changes. This study constructs an Antiracist Index comprised of 15 indicators to assess the degree to which American states exhibit antiracist conditions across political, economic, and cultural dimensions. Indices are rank-ordered for all 50 states, from Very High to Very Low scores. Results demonstrate that three indicators—self-defense laws, gun ownership, and support for Black Lives Matter—primarily impact both high and low ranking states. The Antiracism Index thus serves as an exploratory assessment tool which enables state-by-state comparisons, identification of antiracist indicators, and the ability to monitor changes in racism and antiracism moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]