Gun Control and Laws

¶ … Social Survey (GSS) is a data analysis technique that is utilized to examine issues in the society. This technique has been utilized since 1972 to examine societal change and evaluate the increasing complexity of the American society (NORC, n.d.). The General Social Survey explains trends and constants based on attributes, behaviors and attitudes, which help in effective assessment of the structure and functioning of the society. Consequently, this technique is considered suitable for sociology research because of its focus on examining the structure and functioning of the society. This paper provides quantitative data analysis using the General Social Survey technique. In this case, the researcher has identified at least two research questions, their related variables, and the results of the data analysis.

Research Questions and Results of Data Analysis

Research Question 1: Does race impact attitudes towards gun control laws?

This research question has been selected for study on the premise that gun control and firearm ownership has become a major issue in the United States in the recent past because of the increased cases of mass shootings throughout the country. While the United States has experienced several mass shootings, particularly the Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun control laws have remained controversial and divisive (O'Brien et al., 2013). In addition, racism has usually affected policy preferences and behaviors in the country, especially in the criminal justice field. Therefore, its important to examine whether racism has an impact on support or opposition to gun control laws in the United States.

Based on the research question, there are two variables included in this quantitative data analysis using General Social Survey. The independent variable in this study is race while the dependent variable is gun control laws. One of the lessons from this research question is that policy preferences are positively linked to race. Racism plays a major role in policy preferences in the U.S. criminal justice field such as the use of the death penalty and increased policing (O'Brien et al., 2013). Blake (2014) contends that race plays a major role in shaping public policies because different races are disproportionately represented in criminal justice issues. Secondly, national attitudes towards gun control are seemingly influenced by race given the disproportionate representation of races in criminal justice issues.

From the data, African-Americans (blacks) and other races support the enactment of strong gun control laws as compared to whites. This implies that blacks and other races favor enactment of such laws whereas stronger opposition to gun control in the country is from whites. This is also demonstrated in the fact that a higher percentage of people opposing gun control laws are whites whereas the other races have smaller percentages of those opposing the laws. Additionally, the strong support for gun control is evident in other races except whites since a high percentage of blacks and other races support establishment of laws that require a police permit for gun ownership as shown in Figure 1 below. This implies that there is a strong link between attitudes towards gun ownership and gun control. Individuals who support strict gun ownership policies also prefer and support strict gun control laws.

Based on the data in Figure 1 below, the significance of the results is determined through Chi Square statistics using Rao-Scott-P. For a test to be significant, it must be below 0.05 (p

Figure 1: Attitudes Towards Gun Control Laws Based on Race

While this data provides significant insights regarding the link between race and gun control laws, there are some concerns. As shown in the data, more whites were incorporated in the study than blacks and other races. Therefore, there are concerns on whether the high percentage of opposition to gun control laws among whites could be attributable to the fact that more people from this population were included in the study as compared to other races. Additionally, the study does not demonstrate whether the differences in attitudes towards gun control laws could be attributable to the disproportionate representation of races in criminal justice issues. In this regard, there is need to explore factors that shape the attitudes of people from different races towards gun control. I would further investigate this issue through conducting a quantitative research that incorporates consideration of factors that shape the attitudes of different races towards gun control. An important aspect that would be incorporated in the future research is the representation of different races in criminal justice policies and issues. Moreover, future research on this issue would include equal representation of all races to prevent any disparities that could affect the study's findings.

Research 2: Does sex impact attitudes towards legalization of marijuana?

This research question has been selected for the study because legalization of marijuana has attracted considerable attention and national debates in the United States in the past few years. The debates surrounding legalization of marijuana have increased because of the growth in public support for marijuana law reforms (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). Moreover, several drug-related and legal agencies have advocated for removal of marijuana from the criminal justice system. These agencies have also advocated for establishment of drug policies to regulate marijuana like tobacco and alcohol. While the case for marijuana legalization has been well established in existing literature and relevant drug agencies, there are still disparities in the number of people supporting marijuana legalization. In a recent study, a record 60% of Americans supported marijuana legalization in several U.S. States (Rettner, 2016). Even though this was the highest support in approximately 50 years, there is need to establish factors that affect support for marijuana legalization. One of these factors is sex, which implies that examining whether gender plays a role in support for marijuana legalization is important.

In light of the research question, there are two variables in this study whose relationship will be examined to answer the research question. The independent variable in this case is sex while the dependent variable is legalization of marijuana. Therefore, the research will seek to explore the relationship between sex and legalization of marijuana. Through this process, the study's findings will help fill gaps in knowledge regarding the factors that affect the legalization of marijuana in the United States.