New “Study” On Gun Culture Really An Attack On 2A Activism

I think we can all agree that there is no monolithic “gun culture” in the United States. With 100,000,000 gun owners, it would be silly to assume that all of us are alike. Some of us own firearms for a variety of reasons, while others may be singularly focused on competitive shooting or self-defense. However, a new paper on the various varieties of gun ownership from researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health offers a grossly simplistic view of gun owners, and ultimately serves as just another attack on Second Amendment activism by anti-gun academics.

Using data on gun-related behaviors including hunting, NRA membership, magazine subscriptions, handgun and long gun purchases, and certain gun laws, the researchers show that American gun owners vary widely in the symbolic meaning they find in firearms and how they use them.

Over the last 20 years, at the national level, firearm recreation has dwindled and self-defense has expanded, even as a distinct culture of Second Amendment political advocacy has sprung up, the researchers found.