Study: Gun owners more politically active

A new study concludes gun owners remain one of the most politically active voting blocks in America. Political science researchers from the University of Kansas said this week gun owners vote more often, donate more often and contact their elected representatives more often, resulting in federal and state gun policies skewed away from the majority’s preference for more restrictions.

“Part of the reason majority opinions on gun control legislation aren’t turning into policy is that gun owners are a very strong political group who hold a lot of weight and hold a lot of influence despite being a minority in American politics,” said Abbie Vegter, a graduate student in political science, who worked on the study with political science professors Don Haider-Markel and Mark Joslyn.

This isn’t the first time Haider-Markel and Joslyn have analyzed the political behaviors of gun owners, either. Last year, the research team released a study concluding the divide between voting preferences of Americans who own guns and those who do not quadrupled between 1976 and 2012.