Five patterns of gun ownership by motivation, practices, other features
More than 2,500 California adults answered questions on firearm ownership and exposure to violence and its consequences More than 2,500 California adults answered questions on firearm ownership and exposure to violence and its consequences.
The categories consisted of two groups of single-firearm owners and three groups of multiple-firearm owners, including a small but unique group who own high-capacity magazines and assault-type weapons and carry a loaded handgun for protection against people. Limited prior research has linked these characteristics with higher risk of injury and crime.
The UC Davis study is the first to identify nuanced patterns of gun ownership.
“We found striking differences between the groups, which suggests one-size-fits-all approaches to preventing firearm injuries and death may be less effective than those that consider these differences,” said Julia Schleimer, VPRP researcher and study lead author. “By identifying different patterns of ownership, we hope to inform the development of public health and safety efforts that are relevant to firearm owners varying motivations, choices and risk.”
Schleimer believes more research on the link between these patterns of ownership and firearm violence is critical. The study did not aim to draw such conclusions about the five types, although several of the defining characteristics of these groups (such as storing a firearm unlocked and/or loaded, carrying a handgun and owning an assault weapon) have been the target of laws and public health campaigns to reduce firearm injury and death.
The five types of firearm owners
The researchers distinguished the five groups by identifying common combinations of survey responses to questions about the number and types of firearms owned, primary reason for having firearms, storage practices, whether owners carried a loaded handgun and whether they owned high-capacity magazines.
Single-firearm owners differed from each other in the type of firearm owned, primary reason for ownership and how the firearm was stored.
The authors found substantial variability among those who owned more than one firearm. In fact, owning multiple firearms was the only characteristic that these three groups had in common.