Abstract
Objectives. To estimate US public opinion, overall and by gun ownership status, about the public places where legal gun owners should be allowed to carry firearms.
Methods. We fielded an online survey among 3949 adults, including an oversample of gun owners and veterans, in April 2015. We used cross-tabulations with survey weights to generate nationally representative estimates.
Results. Fewer than 1 in 3 US adults supported gun carrying in any of the specified venues. Support for carrying in public was consistently higher among gun owners than among non–gun owners. Overall, support for carrying in public was lowest for schools (19%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 16.7, 21.1), bars (18%; 95% CI = 15.9, 20.6), and sports stadiums (17%; 95% CI = 15.0, 19.5).
Conclusions. Most Americans, including most gun owners, support restricting public places legal gun owners can carry firearms. These views contrast sharply with the current trend in state legislatures of expanding where, how, and by whom guns can be carried in public. Recent state laws and proposed federal legislation that would force states to honor out-of-state concealed carry permits are out of step with American public opinion.
Recent high-profile mass shootings in schools, movie theaters, nightclubs, government buildings, and on college campuses as well as high rates of urban gun violence1–3 have focused national attention on the threat of gun violence in public places and the need to address the high toll4,5 of gun violence in the United States. In addition, urban gun violence, distressingly common in many US cities, is frequently covered in the news media. In the United States, guns are a perennial leading cause of death and injury. In 2015 there were 36 252 gun-related deaths,4 and homicides and suicides involving guns were among the leading causes of death in most age groups.6 Though efforts to strengthen federal gun laws have, recently, failed in Congress, some states have succeeded in passing new laws that strengthen background checks and limit the sale of firearms to prohibited persons.7 However, in a concurrent trend, many states have also expanded laws allowing members of the public to carry guns in public places.7 As a result, in most states, people may legally carry guns in public places openly or, with a permit, concealed on their person.
Federal law does not regulate gun carrying, but does prohibit bringing guns (carried or otherwise) on some federal property (e.g., courts, post offices, correctional facilities).7 In addition, most states place some restrictions on where (i.e., what locations) and how (loaded or unloaded) guns may be carried.7,8 However, several states have recently expanded the public places in which it is legal to carry a gun, including bars and college campuses.9 State laws regarding carrying guns in public have shifted in 2 main ways: (1) states have moved toward “shall issue” permitting laws, which mandate that a person who meets minimum criteria must be issued a concealed carry permit, and away from “may issue” standards, which allow local law enforcement to exercise discretion over who is granted a permit, and (2) states have expanded the types of public places where carrying guns (either concealed or openly) is permitted (or not explicitly prohibited). A handful of states (including Kansas, Maine, Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, and Wyoming) have passed (and others have introduced) so-called “constitutional carry” laws, which allow firearms to be carried without any permit or training required.10 Only 3 states (California, Florida, and Illinois) and the District of Columbia prohibit openly carrying firearms in all public places.7
One rationale for such laws is that more people carrying guns in public spaces will increase public safety and deter crime, though evidence to support this claim is weak.11–16 Surveys from the 1990s suggest that the general public has not historically viewed gun carrying in public as making them safer17–19; did not think regular citizens should be able to bring guns into restaurants, colleges, sports stadiums, bars, hospitals, and government buildings17; and have favored placing restrictions on gun carrying and gun ownership.20 More recent survey data, however, suggest that approximately half of Americans (56% or 49% depending on the survey) view concealed carrying of firearms as making the United States safer (assuming those carrying have passed a criminal background check and taken a training course).10 A majority of college students, on the other hand, do not view guns on campus as a benefit to their safety.21–23
Despite significant changes in gun-carrying policy, little is known about contemporary public views about the specific places where, if gun carrying is allowed, it should be permissible. State laws often specify the public places where guns are (or are not) allowed to be carried, yet contemporary public opinion about carrying guns in specific locations is unknown. Furthermore, recent mass shootings in public places may have shifted the public’s perceptions of risk in some types of places over others, which may, in turn, influence opinion about the risks or benefits of having more people legally carrying guns in those places. The current survey fills this research gap by assessing public opinion in 2015 about where carrying firearms should be permitted. To do so, we fielded an online survey among a nationally representative sample of US adults to examine views about specific public places where guns should be allowed to be legally carried.
We designed a Web-based survey to measure, among other items, gun ownership, experiences with guns, and public opinion about guns, described in detail elsewhere.24 We fielded the survey in April 2015, using the survey research firm GfK. The sample for this study was drawn from GfK’s KnowledgePanel, an online panel of approximately 50 000 US adults.25 Panel members are recruited through equal probability, address-based sampling from a sampling frame covering 97% of US households (including households with unlisted telephone numbers or without landlines).25 This panel has been used extensively for survey research to generate nationally representative estimates of attitudes and behaviors for numerous public health topics.26–31 Panel members who are selected for inclusion in a study are contacted with an invitation to participate. Selection is at random, either overall or within subpopulations of interest. Study-specific survey weights are then used to provide nationally representative (based on comparisons to the Current Population Survey) respondent samples.25 Samples drawn from the KnowledgePanel have been shown to be demographically similar to samples generated via random-digit dialing.32 Participation in all surveys is voluntary, and no significant difference has been found between frequent and less-frequent survey respondents.33
The survey used for the current study oversampled veterans and adults living in homes with guns to explore questions related to gun-ownership patterns and practices among veterans. The motivation for the veteran-related questions was to learn more about the object used in 70% of all veteran suicides (these results will be reported elsewhere). Respondents to the survey were first asked about their military service history. Next, respondents were presented with a preamble that stated: The next questions are about working firearms. Throughout this survey we use the word gun to refer to any firearm, including pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and rifles, but not including air guns, bb guns, starter pistols, or paintball guns. By “working guns,” we mean guns that are in working order—that is capable of being fired.
Immediately following this preamble, respondents were asked, “Do you or does anyone else you live with currently own any type of gun?” Those who responded affirmatively were asked a second question: “Do you personally own a gun?” Questions pertaining to household firearms (number, type, etc.) were asked only of those respondents who reported that they personally owned a gun. All other questions on the survey were asked of the entire sample, including opinion questions. We invited 7319 English-speaking KnowledgePanel members to participate in our survey and 3997 responded. The survey completion rate34 of 55% is comparable to that of other surveys administered by GfK. We excluded 48 respondents who were active duty military and therefore did not meet inclusion criteria, resulting in a final sample size of 3949.
Respondents indicated whether they owned a gun, whether they did not personally own a gun but lived in a household in which someone else owned a gun, or whether no one in their household owned a gun. Respondents were then placed into 3 mutually exclusive categories: (1) gun owner living in a gun household, (2) non–gun owner living in a gun household, or (3) non–gun owner in a nongun household.
We asked the full sample about their opinion on public places they believe people should, or should not, be allowed to carry guns. Specifically, we asked, “Many people are authorized to carry firearms, either openly or concealed on their person. Other than police officers, do you think that people who are authorized to carry firearms in your community should be allowed to bring their guns into. . .?”: restaurants, schools, college campuses, bars, government buildings, sports stadiums, retail stores, service settings (hair salons, barbershops, etc.), places of worship (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.).
Respondents viewed locations in randomized order, and response categories were “yes,” “no,” or “no opinion/don’t know.”
We created binary measures of whether respondents thought that people should be able to carry guns in all or none of these locations. We also created a categorical variable indicating whether respondents thought people should be able to carry guns in all, some (≥ 1 but < 9 locations), or none of the locations asked about. For this categorical variable, we coded 47 respondents who did not answer at least 1 of the questions about places where people should be allowed to carry guns as missing.
We classified each state into 1 of 4 mutually exclusive categories: (1) “may issue,” (2) limited discretion “shall issue,” (3) no discretion “shall issue,” and (4) no carry concealed weapons in public permit required, based on the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s classification of concealed weapons permitting laws.7 We compared the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s classification of state laws with the National Rifle Association’s classification of right-to-carry laws8 and found they were highly consistent (α = 0.83).
Demographic measures included veteran status, whether the respondent holds a permit to carry concealed weapons in public, gender, age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59, or ≥ 60 years), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, or other), whether the household has children younger than 18 years, education (< high school, high-school degree, some college, or ≥ bachelor’s degree), household income (< $30 000, $30 000–$74 999, $75 000–$124 999, or ≥ $125 000), political ideology (liberal, moderate, or conservative), and the 9 US census regions of residence (New England, Mid-Atlantic, East–North Central, West–North Central, South Atlantic, East–South Central, West–South Central, Mountain, and Pacific).
We conducted all analyses with Stata version 13 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX). We weighted all analyses by using survey weights provided by GfK to produce nationally representative estimates. First we described the unadjusted, full distribution of responses to the set of questions about where people should be permitted to carry guns. Next, we examined responses to these questions stratified by gun ownership status. We then used cross-tabulations and the SUBPOP command to describe differences based on region of residence, state gun laws, and characteristics of respondents who thought people should be able to carry guns in all, some, or none of the locations asked about, stratified by gun ownership status.
We also conducted supplemental multivariate logistic regression analyses examining the association between gun ownership status and views that guns should be allowed to be carried in all, some, or none of the locations asked about adjusted for gender, age, education, political ideology, and state gun laws. We assessed significance at P < .05.
The number of respondents in the study sample and their weighted distribution are presented in Table 1. Figure 1 indicates that a majority of Americans thought people should not be able to carry guns in each of the public places about which they were queried. Restaurants (33%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 30.2, 35.7), service settings (31%; 95% CI = 28.5, 33.8), and retail stores (31%; 95% CI = 28.2, 33.5) were the only locations in which more than 30% of Americans thought people should be allowed to carry guns. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans thought that guns should be allowed to be carried on college campuses (23%; 95% CI = 20.2, 25.0) and places of worship (21%; 95% CI = 18.8, 23.4). The lowest level of agreement for allowing guns to be carried in public was for schools (19%; 95% CI = 16.7, 21.1), bars (18%; 95% CI = 15.9, 20.6) and sports stadiums (17%; 95% CI = 15.0, 19.5).
TABLE 1— Characteristics of the Study Sample: US 2015 National Firearms Survey
| Characteristic | No. | Weighted % (95% CI) |
| Total | 3949 | 100 |
| Gun ownership status | ||
| Gun owner | 2072 | 22.3 (20.7, 24.0) |
| Non–gun owner, guns in household | 861 | 12.1 (11.1, 13.4) |
| Non–gun owner, nongun household | 1016 | 65.5 (63.2, 67.8) |
| Holds CCW permit | 617 | 7.1 (6.4, 7.9) |
| Veteran | 1044 | 9.7 (8.9, 10.6) |
| Political ideology | ||
| Liberal | 627 | 20.6 (18.1, 23.4) |
| Moderate | 1699 | 47.2 (44.1, 50.4) |
| Conservative | 1553 | 32.1 (29.4, 35.1) |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 2294 | 48.3 (48.5, 54.8) |
| Female | 1655 | 51.7 (48.5, 54.8) |
| Age, y | ||
| 18–29 | 363 | 19.1 (16.5, 22.0) |
| 30–44 | 688 | 23.5 (20.8, 26.4) |
| 45–59 | 1180 | 28.2 (25.5, 31.0) |
| ≥ 60 | 1718 | 29.2 (26.7, 31.9) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Non-Hispanic White | 3296 | 70.5 (67.2, 73.5) |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 218 | 10.9 (8.9, 13.4) |
| Hispanic | 231 | 11.7 (9.6, 14.2) |
| Other | 204 | 6.9 (5.3, 9.0) |
| Children aged < 18 years in the household | 394 | 29.8 (26.9, 32.9) |
| Education | ||
| < high school | 241 | 10.5 (8.5, 13.0) |
| High school | 1106 | 29.5 (26.7, 32.4) |
| Some college | 1224 | 28.6 (25.9, 31.5) |
| ≥ bachelor’s degree | 1378 | 31.4 (28.6, 34.3) |
| Household income, $ | ||
| < 30 000 | 629 | 21.9 (19.2, 24.9) |
| 30 000–74 999 | 1530 | 35.2 (32.2, 38.2) |
| 75 000–124 999 | 1175 | 28.4 (25.7, 31.2) |
| ≥ 125 000 | 615 | 14.6 (12.5, 16.8) |
| Region of residence | ||
| New England | 143 | 4.5 (3.3, 6.1) |
| Mid-Atlantic | 430 | 13.8 (11.6, 16.3) |
| East–North Central | 665 | 14.8 (12.7, 17.1) |
| West–North Central | 383 | 7.6 (6.2, 9.2) |
| South Atlantic | 784 | 19.5 (17.2, 22.1) |
| East–South Central | 257 | 5.8 (4.5, 7.4) |
| West–South Central | 443 | 11.5 (9.7, 13.7) |
| Mountain | 321 | 7.2 (5.9, 8.9) |
| Pacific | 523 | 15.2 (12.9, 17.7) |
| State CCW gun lawsa | ||
| May issue | 707 | 24.8 (22.0, 27.9) |
| Limited shall issue | 1312 | 31.1 (28.3, 34.0) |
| Shall issue | 1691 | 38.9 (36.0, 42.0) |
| No permit needed | 239 | 5.1 (4.0, 6.6) |
| State gun ownershipb | ||
| Low | 842 | 28.4 (25.5, 31.5) |
| Average | 2863 | 65.5 (62.4, 68.6) |
| High | 244 | 6.1 (4.8, 7.8) |
Note. CCW = concealed carry weapon; CI = confidence interval. Survey weights are based on the Current Population Survey and are provided by GfK.
a State gun law classification based on the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence characterization of state concealed carry laws and validated against gun law classifications by the National Rifle Association.7,8
b State-level household gun ownership was based on 2002–2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System estimates.35 State-level estimates were averaged and standardized. States with household gun ownership within 1 standard deviation of the mean were characterized as “average”; states with gun ownership ≥ 1 standard deviation below the mean were characterized as “low”; and states with gun ownership ≥ 1 standard deviation above the mean were characterized as “high.”
FIGURE 1— Public Opinion on Where People Authorized to Carry Firearms Should Be Allowed to Bring Guns: US 2015 National Firearms Survey
Note. Question text: “Other than police officers, do you think that people who are authorized to carry firearms in your community should be allowed to bring their guns to [the above listed locations].” Analysis based on weighted cross-tabulations using GfK-provided survey weights to produce nationally representative estimates. The sample size was n = 3949.
American public opinion on places where guns should be allowed to be carried, stratified by gun ownership status, is shown in Figure 2. Among gun owners, support was greatest for allowing guns to be carried in restaurants (59%; 95% CI = 56.9, 61.9), intermediate for carrying on college campuses (38%; 95% CI = 35.8, 40.7), and lowest for carrying in bars (26%; 95% CI = 23.4, 27.8) and sports stadiums (27%; 95% CI = 25.2, 29.8).
FIGURE 2— Public Agreement on Where People Authorized to Carry Firearms Should Be Allowed to Bring Guns by Gun Ownership Status: US 2015 National Firearms Survey
Note. Question text: “Other than police officers, do you think that people who are authorized to carry firearms in your community should be allowed to bring their guns to [the above listed locations].” Results based on weighted cross-tabulations incorporating GfK-provided survey weights. Significance was assessed with χ2 statistics. The sample size was n = 3949.
*P < .05; **P < .01; ***P < .001.
In all instances, compared with gun owners, fewer non–gun owners (regardless of whether they lived in households with or without guns) supported allowing people authorized to carry firearms to bring guns into public places. Support for carrying guns in each place was higher among non–gun owners living in households with guns than among non–gun owners in nongun households.
Regardless of gun ownership status, very few Americans supported allowing people to carry guns in all public places (16% [95% CI = 13.9, 17.6] of gun owners; 9% [95% CI = 6.4, 12.7] of non–gun owners in households with guns; and 7% [95% CI = 5.2, 10.2] of non–gun owners in nongun households). Approximately half (53%; 95% CI = 48.3, 57.6) of non–gun owners in households without guns felt that guns should not be allowed to be carried in any public places, an opinion expressed by 2 out of 5 non–gun owners in households with guns (42%; 95% CI = 376, 46.6) and 1 in 4 gun owners (25%; 95% CI = 23.0, 27.3).
Table 2 shows the characteristics of gun owners and non–gun owners in households with and without guns stratified by their opinions on whether guns should be allowed to be carried in some, all, or no public places. Male gun owners were more likely to support allowing guns to be carried in all locations, compared with female gun owners (P = .03). Regardless of gun ownership status, self-identification as a political “liberal” was associated with less support for carrying guns in some or all public places, whereas the inverse was true for identification as a political “conservative” (P < .001).
TABLE 2— Characteristics Based on Opinion Regarding Where Guns Should Be Allowed to Be Carried and Gun Ownership Status: US 2015 National Firearms Survey
| Characteristic | No Locations | Some Locations | All Locations | P |
| Gun owners | ||||
| No. (%) | 543 (25.1) | 1193 (59.2) | 314 (15.7) | < .001 |
| Political ideology, % (95% CI) | < .001 | |||
| Liberal | 42.7 (36.1, 49.6) | 51.6 (44.7, 58.5) | 5.7 (3.2, 10.0) | |
| Moderate | 29.0 (25.6, 32.7) | 59.4 (55.5, 63.2) | 11.6 (9.3, 14.4) | |
| Conservative | 16.0 (13.4, 19.1) | 62.1 (58.4, 65.8) | 21.8 (18.8, 25.1) | |
| Gender, % (95% CI) | .03 | |||
| Male | 24.0 (21.7, 26.6) | 58.8 (55.9, 61.6) | 17.2 (15.0, 19.5) | |
| Female | 27.8 (23.6, 32.5) | 60.3 (55.4, 65.1) | 11.8 (9.0, 15.4) | |
| Age, y, mean ±SD | 57.6 ±0.8 | 51.2 ±0.6 | 46.7 ±1.0 | |
| Education, % (95% CI) | .12 | |||
| < high school | 34.3 (25.1, 45.0) | 55.5 (44.8, 65.7) | 10.2 (5.2, 18.9) | |
| High school | 24.7 (20.7, 29.1) | 60.1 (55.3, 64.8) | 15.2 (12.0, 19.0) | |
| Some college | 22.4 (19.0, 26.1) | 62.3 (58.1, 66.4) | 15.3 (12.4, 18.7) | |
| ≥ bachelor’s degree | 26.9 (23.3, 30.8) | 55.4 (51.1, 59.6) | 17.7 (14.6, 21.4) | |
| Region of residence, % (95% CI) | .26 | |||
| New England | 13.4 (7.0, 24.3) | 68.5 (54.3, 80.0) | 18.0 (9.2, 32.3) | |
| Mid-Atlantic | 23.7 (17.7, 31.0) | 59.4 (51.4, 66.8) | 17.0 (11.8, 23.8) | |
| East–North Central | 24.4 (19.7, 29.8) | 57.5 (51.3, 63.4) | 17.6 (12.1, 25.0) | |
| West–North Central | 26.7 (20.6, 33.9) | 55.6 (47.6, 63.4) | 17.6 (12.1, 25.0) | |
| South Atlantic | 30.0 (25.0, 35.4) | 57.2 (51.6, 62.7) | 12.8 (9.5, 17.1) | |
| East–South Central | 23.1 (16.7, 31.0) | 61.8 (53.1, 69.9) | 15.1 (10.0, 22.1) | |
| West–South Central | 21.8 (16.4, 28.3) | 65.8 (58.4, 72.5) | 12.4 (8.2, 18.4) | |
| Mountain | 21.5 (15.3, 29.3) | 53.9 (55.2, 71.7) | 14.6 (9.4, 22.0) | |
| Pacific | 28.4 (22.1, 35.5) | 52.4 (45.2, 59.6) | 19.2 (14.2, 25.4) | |
| State CCW gun laws,a % (95% CI) | .28 | |||
| May issue | 29.0 (23.3, 35.5) | 57.1 (50.5, 63.4) | 13.9 (10.1, 18.8) | |
| Limited shall issue | 24.4 (21.0, 28.1) | 57.5 (53.2, 61.7) | 18.1 (15.0, 21.8) | |
| Shall Issue | 23.9 (20.9, 27.2) | 61.2 (57.4, 64.8) | 14.9 (12.4, 17.9) | |
| No permit needed | 29.0 (20.6, 39.2) | 60.0 (49.8, 69.3) | 11.0 (6.4, 18.4) | |
| Non–gun owners, gun household | ||||
| No. (%) | 387 (42.1) | 402 (48.9) | 62 (9.1) | |
| Political ideology, % (95% CI) | < .001 | |||
| Liberal | 57.8 (46.4, 68.5) | 34.0 (24.3, 45.1) | 8.2 (3.1, 20.4) | |
| Moderate | 46.1 (39.5, 53.0) | 49.4 (42.6, 56.2) | 4.5 (2.3, 8.5) | |
| Conservative | 27.8 (21.8, 34.6) | 57.9 (50.2, 65.2) | 14.4 (9.4, 21.4) | |
| Gender, % (95% CI) | .27 | |||
| Male | 41.1 (29.1, 54.2) | 54.5 (41.6, 66.7) | 4.5 (1.8, 10.6) | |
| Female | 42.2 (37.5, 47.1) | 47.8 (42.9, 52.8) | 9.9 (6.9, 14.1) | |
| Age, y, mean ±SD | 48.1 ±1.4 | 44.6 ±1.3 | 42.2 ±3.2 | |
| Education, % (95% CI) | .47 | |||
| < high school | 52.3 (34.0, 70.1) | 46.7 (29.1, 65.2) | 1.0 (0.1, 6.7) | |
| High school | 39.6 (31.7, 48.2) | 48.9 (40.3, 57.7) | 11.4 (6.6, 19.1) | |
| Some college | 43.5 (36.0, 51.2) | 47.3 (39.6, 6.6) | 9.3 (4.8, 17.7) | |
| ≥ bachelor’s degree | 39.3 (32.4, 46.7) | 51.4 (43.7, 59.1) | 9.3 (5.1, 16.3) | |
| Region of residence, % (95% CI) | .22 | |||
| New England | 55.3 (34.3, 74.5) | 41.2 (22.9, 62.3) | 3.5 (0.8, 14.0) | |
| Mid-Atlantic | 41.5 (29.5, 54.6) | 51.4 (38.2, 64.4) | 7.1 (2.0, 22.6) | |
| East–North Central | 41.7 (31.3, 52.8) | 47.4 (36.6, 58.4) | 10.9 (4.6, 23.8) | |
| West–North Central | 47.3 (35.3, 59.5) | 49.6 (37.4, 61.9) | 3.1 (1.3, 7.1) | |
| South Atlantic | 44.3 (34.3, 54.8) | 42.3 (32.3, 52.9) | 13.4 (7.4, 23.2) | |
| East–South Central | 40.7 (26.0, 57.4) | 43.3 (28.2, 59.6) | 16.0 (6.2, 35.5) | |
| West–South Central | 26.7 (15.1, 42.5) | 58.6 (42.1, 73.4) | 14.7 (5.5, 33.8) | |
| Mountain | 49.8 (35.3, 64.3) | 44.4 (30.5, 59.2) | 2.7 (1.0, 7.5) | |
| Pacific | 41.3 (29.7, 54.0) | 55.9 (43.3, 67.8) | 2.7 (1.0, 7.5) | |
| State CCW gun laws,a % (95% CI) | .97 | |||
| May issue | 45.4 (34.4, 56.9) | 46.4 (35.1, 58.1) | 8.2 (3.1, 19.9) | |
| Limited shall issue | 41.2 (34.0, 48.9) | 48.3 (40.7, 56.0) | 10.5 (6.3, 16.9) | |
| Shall issue | 41.6 (34.9, 48.7) | 50.3 (43.2, 57.3) | 8.1 (4.5, 16.9) | |
| No permit needed | 39.3 (25.3, 55.2) | 50.7 (34.6, 66.7) | 10.0 (3.5, 25.6) | |
| Non–gun owners, nongun household | ||||
| No. (%) | 524 (52.9) | 403 (39.7) | 74 (7.3) | |
| Political ideology, % (95% CI) | < .001 | |||
| Liberal | 70.2 (60.4, 78.3) | 26.8 (19.0, 36.3) | 3.1 (1.0, 9.4) | |
| Moderate | 54.9 (48.1, 61.6) | 40.0 (33.5, 46.8) | 5.1 (2.8, 9.2) | |
| Conservative | 36.8 (28.7, 45.7) | 48.0 (39.1, 57.0) | 15.2 (9.8, 22.8) | |
| Gender, % (95% CI) | .89 | |||
| Male | 52.7 (46.1, 59.3) | 39.3 (33.0, 46.0) | 7.9 (5.0, 12.4) | |
| Female | 53.1 (46.5, 59.6) | 40.1 (33.9, 46.7) | 6.8 (4.1, 11.0) | |
| Age, y, mean ±SD | 51.4 ±1.1 | 44.1 ±1.3 | 46.0 ±3.1 | |
| Education, % (95% CI) | .03 | |||
| < high school | 52.5 (38.1, 66.5) | 47.1 (33.2, 61.6) | 0.3 (0.1, 1.2) | |
| High school | 46.4 (37.9, 55.2) | 44.6 (36.1, 53.4) | 9.0 (5.0, 15.6) | |
| Some college | 50.0 (40.8, 59.2) | 39.4 (30.8, 48.7) | 10.7 (6.0, 18.3) | |
| ≥ bachelor’s degree | 61.2 (53.4, 68.4) | 33.1 (26.2, 40.8) | 5.7 (3.2, 10.2) | |
| Region of residence, % (95% CI) | .47 | |||
| New England | 58.8 (39.0, 76.2) | 31.8 (16.4, 52.6) | 9.3 (2.8, 27.0) | |
| Mid-Atlantic | 65.6 (52.8, 76.4) | 29.9 (19.7, 42.6) | 4.5 (1.4, 13.6) | |
| East–North Central | 44.8 (33.6, 56.4) | 51.1 (39.5, 62.5) | 4.2 (1.9, 8.9) | |
| West–North Central | 48.8 (32.7, 65.1) | 40.8 (25.4, 58.2) | 10.5 (3.8, 26.0) | |
| South Atlantic | 57.2 (46.4, 67.3) | 34.2 (25.0, 44.8) | 8.6 (3.9, 17.9) | |
| East–South Central | 40.5 (21.9, 62.2) | 51.1 (30.2, 71.6) | 8.5 (1.7, 32.6) | |
| West–South Central | 50.9 (36.9, 64.8) | 37.0 (24.6, 51.3) | 7.9 (2.1, 25.9) | |
| Mountain | 41.2 (25.9, 58.4) | 50.9 (34.4, 67.2) | 7.9 (2.1, 25.9) | |
| Pacific | 53.7 (41.8, 65.2) | 41.0 (29.9, 53.1) | 5.3 (2.0, 13.4) | |
| State CCW gun laws,a % (95% CI) | .09 | |||
| May issue | 63.2 (54.3, 71.3) | 30.3 (22.8, 39.0) | 6.5 (3.3, 12.4) | |
| Limited shall issue | 54.0 (45.4, 62.3) | 38.5 (30.5, 47.2) | 7.5 (4.1, 13.5) | |
| Shall issue | 44.0 (36.6, 51.7) | 48.2 (40.6, 55.9) | 7.8 (4.5, 13.2) | |
| No permit needed | 52.7 (33.4, 71.2) | 40.3 (23.0, 60.5) | 7.0 (1.4, 27.8) | |
Note. CCW = concealed carry weapon; CI = confidence interval. Forty-seven people did not respond to at least 1 of the questions about where guns should be carried. Analysis based on weighted cross-tabulations incorporating GfK-provided survey weights. Significance was assessed by using χ2 statistics. The sample size was n = 3902.
a State gun law classification based on the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence characterization of state concealed carry laws and validated against gun law classifications by the National Rifle Association.7,8
Opinions among gun owners and non–gun owners in gun households about whether people should be allowed to carry guns in none, some, or all locations did not differ on the basis of US Census region or the strength or type of gun laws in their states. Among non–gun owners in nongun households, opinions also did not vary across US Census regions, but respondents were more likely to oppose guns being carried in any of the public places we asked about if they lived in states with “may issue” versus “shall issue” laws (63% [95% CI = 54.3, 71.3] vs 44% [95% CI = 36.6, 51.7]). Results based on multivariate regression analyses, which were highly consistent with the descriptive results, are available in Table A (available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org).
In this large, nationally representative survey, we examined Americans’ opinions on public places where people authorized to carry firearms should be allowed to bring guns. We find that a majority of Americans do not support allowing members of the public, even those legally authorized to carry firearms, to bring their guns into public places. Although liberals and non–gun owners were more likely to support limiting the public places legal gun owners can bring guns, 4 out of 5 (78%) conservative gun owners also supported placing some restrictions on the public places guns can be carried. Two thirds of American adults do not support allowing guns to be carried on college campuses, or in places of worship, government buildings, schools, bars, or sports stadiums. Less than 40% of gun owners support carrying guns on college campuses, places of worship, and government buildings. Regardless of gun ownership status, public support for allowing guns to be carried in schools, bars, and sports stadiums is particularly low.
Our results are consistent with recent findings indicating that the views of non–gun owners living in households with guns are more aligned with those of non–gun owners living in nongun households than with the views of gun owners.27 Our finding of low support for allowing guns to be carried in public places is also consistent with findings from the 1990s and early 2000s that Americans do not favor allowing civilians to carry guns in public.17 The fact that a minority of Americans support allowing guns on college campuses and in schools also accords with previous findings21–23,36 and contrasts with current legislative efforts to allow gun carrying in these areas.9,37
The American public, including gun owners, overwhelmingly prefers to prohibit gun carrying in places where alcohol is served and tensions can sometimes run high, such as bars and sports stadiums. Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for gun violence,38,39 and allowing firearms to be carried, either openly or concealed, in these settings could increase the risk of unintentional shootings or the likelihood that confrontations would escalate and result in firearm injuries or deaths. These risks have been identified as one potential problem with expanding the presence of guns on college campuses where evidence suggests that college students who own guns are more likely to engage in risky behavior such as binge drinking.40
Approximately 12% to 15% of Americans responded that they had “no opinion” about (or “don’t know”) whether guns should be allowed to be carried in each of the locations we asked about. Although we do not know more about their opinion related to gun carrying, we do know that, as a group, these Americans reported being politically moderate (not shown). Moreover, even if all of those who reported that they “don’t know” or have “no opinion” were to change their views to “yes,” carrying should be allowed, a majority of Americans would still oppose allowing guns to be carried in each of the locations included in this survey. This is particularly relevant in light of current federal proposals to impose “reciprocity” of concealed carry permits across state lines.41
A public health approach to reducing deaths and injuries from gun violence includes changing social norms around guns and implementing policies and systems that reduce the likelihood that firearm injuries can occur.42,43 Increasing the locations where guns are legally allowed to be carried, particularly in schools, college campuses, and in locations where alcohol is served and conflicts prone to arise (e.g., sports stadiums), likely increases the risk of firearm injuries.44 Despite the highly politicized nature of guns in the United States,45 our results indicate strong support among American adults and gun owners, and across political affiliations and regions of the country for limiting gun carrying in most public spaces. Our results also suggest that recent poll estimates indicating growing support for carrying concealed weapons10 may mask differences in opinion by gun ownership status and with respect to the places where guns should be carried.
Our study should be considered in light of some limitations. First, Web-based surveys, particularly those that do not sample from pre-existing panels (“opt-in” surveys), have been criticized for incomplete coverage and selection.46 However, GfK’s sampling methodology (including use of its nationally representative KnowledgePanel) and the fact that they provide Internet access to those who do not have it substantially mitigates this concern.47
Second, selection bias could be a concern as respondents could choose to participate in the survey and their views may differ from KnowledgePanel members who chose not to participate. The fact that our gun ownership estimates align closely with estimates from the General Social Survey for the same time period provides reassurance with respect to both of these potential limitations.
Third, all data were self-reported and are therefore subject to self-report bias, recall bias, or social desirability bias. The fact that the survey was conducted online and all responses were anonymous may reduce any such bias.48
Fourth, to generate representative estimates at the national and US Census Region level, we used survey weights to account for our sampling strategy, but were unable to explore public views at smaller levels of geographic aggregation. Confidence intervals around our estimates reflect the underlying number of respondents.
Finally, response categories for our measures of public views about where people should be allowed to carry firearms were “yes,” “no,” or “no opinion/don’t know” and, therefore, did not allow us to examine the strength of public opinion either for or against and could have masked additional variation in public views.
At least two thirds of Americans feel that guns should not be allowed to be carried on college campuses, in places of worship, government buildings, schools, bars, or sports stadiums. These views contrast sharply with the current trend in state legislatures of expanding where, how, and by whom guns can be carried in public. In particular, our findings suggest that recent laws passed in Texas, Utah, and elsewhere allowing guns to be carried on college campuses and proposed federal legislation that would require states to honor out-of-state concealed carry permits are out of step with American public opinion.
See also Galea and Vaughan, p.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding for this study from The New Venture Fund and the Joyce Foundation.
Note. Neither funder played a role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the research.
HUMAN PARTICIPANT PROTECTION
This study was approved by the Northeastern University institutional review board.
