Gendered Parenthood, Identity, and Gun Attitudes: Evidence from the GALS Dataset

• In Event: Politics and Family Life in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper examines how parenthood, internalized gender identity, and child characteristics shape gun-related attitudes and behaviors among American adults. Using data from the Guns in American Life Survey (GALS), a nationally representative sample of 3,103 respondents (40% parents with children under 18), we analyze seven outcomes, including gun carry attitudes, support for capacity restrictions, gun ownership, and carry behavior. We argue that parenthood operates through a gendered and relational logic in which the presence, gender, and age of children activate distinct protective orientations that push parents toward either gun ownership or restriction, depending on preexisting "gun dispositions", fundamental beliefs about whether guns represent safety or threat. Critically, we demonstrate that internalized gender identity (masculinity/femininity) is more predictive of gun attitudes and behaviors than biological sex alone, suggesting gun politics are structured by affective identity rather than demographic categories. Our analysis tests four hypotheses: (1) parents of younger children express restrictive attitudes due to safety concerns, while parents of older children express permissive attitudes reflecting external threat concerns; (2) having daughters predicts gun restriction while having sons predicts permissiveness; (3) gender identity stronger predicts gun attitudes than parenthood status, with high-femininity fathers resembling high-femininity mothers; and (4) preexisting gun dispositions moderate parenthood effects. This research contributes to literatures on gun politics, the political consequences of family life, and gender and social policy by clarifying how family structures and gender identity activate distinct protective logics that can override ideology in shaping gun policy engagement.

Authors

• Margaret S. Kelley, University of Kansas

• Amie L. Nielsen, University of Miami

• Christopher G. Ellison, University of Texas-San Antonio