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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Prev Med. 2021 Jan;60(1):e9–e14. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.06.028

Table 2.

Differences in Support for Public Policies by Gun Ownership and Sex (n=3,804)

Question – do you favor or oppose… Female gun owners (n=298), % Male gun owners (n=678), % Female nonowners (n=1,664), % Male nonowners (n=1,164), %
License and background check policies
 Requiring a person to obtain a license from a local law enforcement agency before buying a gun to verify their identity and ensure that they are not legally prohibited from having a gun? 69* 60 85** 77
 Requiring a background check system for all gun sales to ensure a purchaser is not legally prohibited from having a gun? 87 85 91** 85
Prohibited person policies
 Prohibiting a person convicted of a serious crime as a juvenile from having a gun for 10 years? 80* 70 78* 73
 Prohibiting a person under the age of 21 from having a handgun? 55 51 73*** 62
 Prohibiting a person subject to a temporary domestic violence restraining order from having a gun for the duration of the order? 80 74 86** 79
 Prohibiting a person convicted of 2 or more DWIs or DUIs in a 5-year period from having a gun for 5 years? 62*** 45 61* 55
 Prohibiting a person convicted of 2 or more misdemeanor crimes involving illegal drugs in a 5-year period from having a gun for 5 years? 69 60 69 64
Do you favor or oppose prohibiting a person convicted of each of these crimes from having a gun for 10 years?
 Public display of a gun in a threatening manner, excluding self-defense 75 71 75 72
 Assault and battery that does not result in serious injury or involve a lethal weapon 49 42 60 56
 Drunk and disorderly conduct 49** 34 50 46
 Carrying a concealed gun without a permit 44 46 60 56
Assault weapon and ammunition policies
 Banning the sale of military-style, semiautomatic assault weapons that are capable of shooting more than 10 rounds of ammunition without reloading? 49* 40 75*** 62
 Banning the sale of large-capacity ammunition clips or magazines that allow some guns to shoot more than 10 bullets before reloading? 45 37 73*** 61
Policies affecting gun dealers
 Allowing cities to sue licensed gun dealers when there is strong evidence that the gun dealer’s careless sales practices allowed many criminals to obtain guns? 70 64 79* 74
 Allowing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to temporarily take away a gun dealer’s license if an audit reveals record-keeping violations and the dealer cannot account for 20 or more of his guns? 84 80 86 83
 Allowing the information about which gun dealers sell the most guns used in crimes to be available to the police and the public so that those gun dealers can be prioritized for greater oversight? 67 59 77 73
Temporary firearm removal policies
 Authorizing law enforcement officers to temporarily remove guns from individuals who the officer determines pose an immediate threat of harm to self or others? 71 65 83*** 72
 Allowing family members to ask the court to temporarily remove guns from a relative who they believe is at risk of harming himself or others? 74 67 85*** 75
Other policies
 Requiring a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison for a person convicted of knowingly selling a gun to someone who cannot legally have a gun? 73 71 80** 74
 Requiring by law that a person lock up the guns in their home when not in use to prevent handling by children or teenagers without adult supervision? 63 57 82*** 73
 Allowing a person who can legally carry a concealed gun to bring that gun onto school grounds for kindergarten through 12th grade? 41 46 21 23

Note: Boldface indicates statistical significance among differences by gun ownership across sex (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001).

DUI, driving under the influence; DWI, driving while intoxicated.