Price of Liberty or Never Again: Americans’ Views on Preventing Mass Murder

Abstract

Shortly following the mass murders at a concert in Las Vegas, NV and at a church Sutherland Springs, TX, a national sample (n = 1,000) was surveyed in December 2017 regarding gun control policies. The study’s key finding is that two thirds of Americans rejected the view that these incidents were the “price of liberty,” advocating instead for efforts to ensure that such massacres should occur “never again.” A clear majority of the sample also rejected the idea that a gun was needed to repel the federal government’s threat to take away liberty and that a “good person” with a gun is the best way to stop a “bad person” with a gun. By contrast, high support was found for banning lethal firearms and bullets, for banning firearm ownership by risky people, and for most proposals seeking to regulate firearm ownership. Less support for these initiatives was found among males, the less educated, and gun owners as well as among those favoring the NRA, fearing government tyranny, and believing that carrying guns prevents murder. The results suggest that in the current context—which includes repeated mass murders—public opinion is conducive to reforms aimed at implementing common-sense gun safety regulations. The implications of likely policy reforms for justice evaluation are discussed.