Portrayals of gun violence victimization and public support for firearm policies: an experimental analysis

Berryessa, Colleen M.; Sierra‐Arévalo, Michael; Semenza, Daniel C.

doi:10.1007/s11292-022-09517-x

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…First, these events underscore the fact that media, interest groups, politicians, and other political actors disproportionately focus on mass shootings, while placing less emphasis on more common forms of gun injury and death (e.g., homicide and suicide; Berryessa et al, 2022; Merry, 2020; Quinn, 2022). As noted by Quinn (2022), congressional attention to gun violence focused broadly on crime through the mid‐1990s.…”

Section: The Disproportionate Focus On Mass Shootingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The prospects for gun policy change following mass shootings

Merry

2023

Politics & Policy

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The mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas in May 2022 prompted Congress to enact the first significant federal gun legislation since the 1990s. While many commentators have framed this policy change as a remarkable break from the long‐standing pattern of inaction on gun violence, I argue that political actors perceived and responded to the problem in familiar ways. Drawing on agenda setting and information processing theories, I highlight factors that suggest no fundamental alteration in how the U.S. political system responds to gun injury and death. I also point to changes in public opinion and in the interest group landscape that have the potential (in the long term) to transform the politics of gun policy. Finally, I conclude with some near‐term expectations for policy making and its effects on the issue. Related Articles Cagle, M. Christine, and J. Michael Martinez. 2004. “Have Gun, Will Travel: The Dispute between the CDC and the NRA on Firearm Violence as a Public Health Problem.” Politics & Policy 32(2): 278–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2004.tb00185.x. Joslyn, Mark R., and Donald P. Haider‐Markel. 2018. “Motivated Innumeracy: Estimating the Size of the Gun Owner Population and its Consequences for Opposition to Gun Restrictions.” Politics & Policy 46(6): 827–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12276. Schwartz, Noah S. 2021. “Guns in the North: Assessing the Impact of Social Identity on Firearms Advocacy in Canada.” Politics & Policy 49(3): 715–818. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12412.

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Section: The Disproportionate Focus On Mass Shootingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children, who are “blameless, as well as priceless” perfectly embody these characteristics (Best, 1990, p. 34). Indeed, Berryessa and others (2022) found that people are more supportive of gun regulations when presented with issue frames focusing on child victims, as compared to adult victims.…”

Section: The Disproportionate Focus On Mass Shootingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prospects for gun policy change following mass shootings

Merry

2023

Politics & Policy

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“…However, perceptions of victims affect these responses because they change who is seen as the primary beneficiaries of a policy. Experimental research finds that White Americans are more likely to support gun control when they are primed to think about White people as gun violence victims versus Black people (Berryessa, Sierra-Arevalo, and Semenza 2022; Walker, Collingwood, and Bunyasi 2020). These patterns parallel racialized responses to other crises where White Americans, especially those with high racial resentment, support government interventions only when the perceived beneficiaries are White (Fong and Luttmer 2009; Iyengar and Hahn 2007; Lee, Seo, and Leahey 2022; Stephens-Dougan 2023).…”

Section: Threat To White Lives and Narrative Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, I test these claims and contend that victims' race and ethnicity shapes policy responses to mass shootings. I borrow from social construction theories of policymaking and build off a rich and bludgeoning literature in public opinion research linking race and gun policy preferences (Berryessa, Sierra-Arevalo, and Semenza 2022; Filindra and Kaplan 2017; 2016; Higginbotham, Sears, and Goldstein 2023; Kreitzer and Smith 2018; Schneider and Ingram 1993; Walker, Collingwood, and Bunyasi 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the dynamics change when mass shootings affect White communities. In their immediate aftermath, White Americans are framed as the primary beneficiaries of gun control, leading to increased support for restrictive gun laws among co-ethnics (Berryessa, Sierra-Arevalo, and Semenza 2022; Walker, Collingwood, and Bunyasi 2020). While shifts in public opinion might influence policy responses to some extent, they are unlikely to tell the entire story because gun policy often diverges from public opinion, and elite preferences and behavior dominate gun politics (Goss 2010; Lax and Phillips 2012; Spitzer 2023).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Racially Disparate Policy Responses to Mass Shootings

Markarian

2023

Political Research Quarterly

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This study examines the differential impact of mass shootings on state gun policy restrictions and posits that victims' race and ethnicity plays a pivotal role. Since the 1970s, pro-gun movements have exploited latent racial biases to oppose gun control measures. They frame gun control as prioritizing the protection of racial minorities over the rights and safety of White Americans, creating political resistance. However, when mass shootings affect White communities, perceptions of the primary beneficiaries of gun control temporarily change. Utilizing a 30-year state panel dataset, the study demonstrates that ten White mass shooting fatalities lead to approximately 1–1.5 restrictive state firearm laws on average, while the same number of fatalities among racial and ethnic minorities has a negative but inconsistent effect on state gun restrictions. These findings are robust to a wide range of modeling specifications and when controlling for other victim-level demographic characteristics. Empirical evidence suggests that legislators and gun control interest groups display stronger support for restrictive legislation following mass shootings involving White victims but not racial and ethnic minority victims.

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The threat of gun violence and mass shootings: The extent of avoidance and protective behaviors among the American public

Mancini,

Devlin

2024

Journal of Criminal Justice

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Portrayals of gun violence victimization and public support for firearm policies: an experimental analysis

Cited by 7 publications

References 104 publications

The prospects for gun policy change following mass shootings

The prospects for gun policy change following mass shootings

Racially Disparate Policy Responses to Mass Shootings

The threat of gun violence and mass shootings: The extent of avoidance and protective behaviors among the American public

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