Race, Sexism, and the Second Amendment

• In Event: Mechanisms Explaining Policy Attitudes

Abstract

The controversy surrounding gun control is a constant in contemporary American politics. Everyone from high school students to parents to interest groups like the National Rifle Association and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America advocate for a particular interpretation of “gun rights” that is often grounded in distinct interpretations of the Second Amendment. Advocates of full gun access cite the clear language of “right to bear arms,” while those who seek greater gun control provisions look to the Constitution’s emphasis on the betterment of society and the common good. While it is understood that such variation can be explained by gun ownership as well as regional differences, there is little research that examines how race and gender correlate with various interpretations of the Second Amendment. To that end, this project uses an experimental survey instrument conducted via MTurk to examine whether the race of gun users and respondents’ level of racial resentment alter how the public interprets and understands the meaning of the Second Amendment. Secondly, we ask whether there are any connections between individuals’ degree of sexism and how they understand the Second Amendment.

Recent articles have found that racial resentment predicts both increased support for gun control as well as increased gun access. We seek to enhance this research by examining how the race of gun users impacts understandings of the 2nd Amendment. We do this through an experiment that primes racial attitudes by describing, and at times showing through photos, the race of gun users in fictitious news articles. Racial resentment is later measured through a battery of questions that address both the respondents’ emotional and intellectual perception of race and racism in America. We theorize that use of the Second Amendment to promote gun rights is another form of symbolic racism, and that higher levels of racial resentment will predict greater support for an interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that recognizes an expansive individual right to bear arms when members of the respondents’ own race are seen as the primary beneficiaries.

In addition, we examine whether different types of sexism impact attitudes about the 2nd Amendment. Using responses from the Ambivalent Sexism Scale, we measure how benevolent sexism (the belief that men should protect women) and hostile sexism (the belief that women want to control men) relate to attitudes on gun control. Given recent scholarship, which has drawn connections between sexism and attitudes about gun control, and the connection between perpetrators of mass shootings and gender-based violence, we theorize that those who score high on the hostile sexism scale will be more inclined to promote individual gun rights than those who score high on the benevolent sexism scale.

This experiment takes the novel approach of investigating both racial resentment and sexism to provide greater context and understanding for Americans’ beliefs not only about gun control, but how they use the Second Amendment to justify their preferences.

Authors

• Kiku Huckle, Pace University

• Erin Mayo-Adam, Hunter College, CUNY