Lack of Confidence in the Federal Government and the Ownership of Firearms

Objective . Scholars have debated the importance of declining confidence in social institutions to the American political system. The objective of this research was to offer and test the hypothesis that individuals with little faith in the three branches of the federal government will be more likely to own firearms than individuals with higher levels of confidence. Methods . The data were drawn from the General Social Survey for the years 1982-1996 and analyzed with a multivariate logistic regression equation that controlled for many of the variables known to be associated with gun ownership. Results . The regression showed that even in the presence of many control measures, respondents who lacked confidence in the federal government were more likely to own firearms than their counterparts who had greater faith in the federal government. Conclusion . Although the hypothesis relating confidence in government to gun ownership was supported and has important policy implications, the data did not permit us to disentangle possible causal relationships. For that, further research will be necessary.