An Exploration of LGBTQ+ Gun Owners in the United States

• In Event: Social and Political Identities and Culture War Issues

Abstract

Often, the discourse around gun owners in the United States relies on the assumption that those who purchase firearms are white, male, and Republican. In recent years, however, scholars have noted that this group is increasingly diverse. Those who purchased guns during the Great Gun-Buying Spree of 2020, for example, were more likely to be women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Democrats than in the years that came before (Yamane 2021). A growing vein of research focuses on LGBTQ+ gun owners (Clark et al. 2020; Combs 2022; Tomsich 2020), but more scholarship is necessary to understand this small, but growing subgroup in America. In this study, we use original, nationally representative data to understand how LGBTQ+ persons who buy guns differ from their heterosexual counterparts — and interestingly, when they do not.

Authors

• Abigail Vegter, William Jewell College

• Alexandra Middlewood, Wichita State University