• Cassandra K Crifasi, Elizabeth M Stone, Emma E McGinty, and Colleen L Barry.
• Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, Baltimore, Maryland; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: crifasi@jhu.edu.
• Am J Prev Med. 2021 Jan 1; 60 (1): e9-e14.

IntroductionThis study examines whether differences exist by sex in support for specific gun policies aimed at reducing gun violence.MethodsInvestigators combined 2 waves of the National Survey of Gun Policy administered in January 2017 and January 2019. Data were analyzed in 2020. Opinions on 21 gun policies were examined. Respondents rated their support on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly favor to strongly oppose. Somewhat favor and strongly favor were combined to create a dichotomous measure to indicate the proportion in favor of each policy. Respondents were categorized by their answer on the demographic profile as male or female and whether they personally owned a gun.ResultsWomen had higher levels of support than men for 20 of 21 policies, with 7 policies having a ≥10 percentage point difference in support. Differences in support between women and men who own guns were less pronounced. Only 3 of 21 policies had a ≥10 percentage point difference in support. Among women and men who do not personally own guns, 4 of 21 policies had a ≥10 percentage point difference in support.ConclusionsThis survey is the first to explore differences in public support for specific gun policies between women and men. Policy support was substantially higher among women than men and higher among gun owners who are women compared with men. These findings provide important context for understanding differences in public opinion and suggest the need to tailor messages that will resonate within demographic groups.Copyright © 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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