Gun violence is an unfortunate reality in America. Despite this, not everyone carries the same level of fear around shootings. Caitlin Calfo breaks down a recent UC Berkeley study on gun violence.
In California, a mass shooting happens every 8.3 days…despite having the strictest gun laws in the nation.
A new statewide poll from the University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies comes weeks after a wave of deadly mass shootings this year.
Nearly two-thirds of California voters surveyed worry that they or a loved one could become a victim of gun violence and that control over gun ownership matters more than protecting the second amendment.
But these beliefs reveal a stark partisan divide, with Democrats more than twice as likely to feel concerned.
Past studies have shown that fear of violent crime looms over both parties. But when it comes to guns, Republicans feel less threatened, according to Eric Schikler, the poll’s co-director. This extreme difference in attitudes, says Schikler, emphasize how much guns contribute to political polarization in California and beyond.
In fact, three in four Democrats worry that someone close to them could experience gun violence, compared to one in three Republicans. Among Republicans, only 10% believe that passing more gun laws will reduce mass shootings.
Women, people of color and voters living in urban areas are more likely than men, white voters and rural Californians to view gun violence as an eminent danger.
To learn more about California public opinion on guns, you can visit the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies website.
For Annenberg Radio News, I’m Caitlin Calfo.