Gun Ownership and the "Southern Subculture of Violence"

Abstract

Recent investigations have explained regional differentials in homicide by reference to a reformulated subculture-of-violence thesis, which posits a southern subculture of violence. These studies heavily emphasize the role of firearms in violent subcultures. This paper develops a model that specifies the relationship between regions and subcultures of violence while determining the relationship of both to gun ownership. Analysis of patterns of gun ownership among individuals shows that the violent values indicative of sub-culture-of-violence membership are unrelated to region when structural factors are taken into account. Moreover, gun ownership is unrelated to the violent values indicative of subcultures of violence. Instead, both region and gun ownership are related to defensive attitudes that are not indicative of a subculture of violence. These results cast doubt on the validity of the reformulated subculture-of-violence thesis that emphasizes a regional subculture of violence with guns as a central feature. While interpersonal violence, such as homicide, may be a function of subcultures of violence, these subcultures operate independently of region and may be associated with, but are in no way dependent on, firearms.