Gun Ownership over the Life Course: Generations and the Lifecycle

Studies of gun ownership have all but ignored the use of life course approaches in the examination of this issue. While attention has been given to experiences with firearms during childhood and adolescence, information about later stages of the lifecycle and gun ownership are limited. Even less attention has been devoted to the study of differences between generational cohorts and gun ownership. This book therefore examines the utility of two different life course perspectives and their relationship to gun ownership. The first approach takes a generational perspective while the second utilizes a lifecycle approach to gun ownership. The study illustrates the utility of life course analysis for examining gun ownership as well as identifying and discussing the social, demographic, and political factors associated with gun ownership and their subsequent indications of the conservative values associated with gun ownership across the life course in the United States. This examination of gun ownership is useful for scholars and others interested in gun culture.