Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Gregory Koehle

Abstract

Gun policy is a highly contested public policy issue in the United States. The majority of gun legislation is enacted at the state level and a clash exists between state and local initiatives to address the problem of gun violence. As demonstrated in Virginia in 2019-2020, when state governments enact stricter firearms laws, local jurisdictions have responded with 2nd Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. Researchers have documented perceptions on gun policy. However, little information is available regarding attitudes on local jurisdictions enacting resolutions aimed at not enforcing federal or state gun laws. The purpose of this quantitative correlational cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship of gun ownership and exposure to gun policy imaging in predicting attitudes on Virginia state gun control laws and 2nd Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. The theoretical foundation for this study was punctuated equilibrium theory. Online surveys were used to collect data from 192 Virginians and multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated a statistically significant relationship for both gun ownership and exposure to gun policy imaging in predicting attitudes on gun control and 2nd Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. The study also demonstrated that the majority of constituents did not support local jurisdictions enacting 2nd Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. Additionally, as evidenced in other studies, both gun owners and non-gun owners strongly support some forms of gun control. This research promotes positive social change by providing policy makers, gun policy advocacy groups, and the general public with information to influence the development of gun control policy that meets the requirement to both protect individual rights and ensure public safety.

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