Interest in purchasing firearms in the United States at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

An increased demand for guns followed the arrival of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the U.S. Although firearms cannot prevent virus transmission, research suggests that, for some, firearms play a role in satisfying safety needs. We surveyed U.S. residents (N = 1,354;predominantly White) between April 6 and May 15, 2020, using ResearchMatch to examine who was purchasing firearms and to examine whether various pandemic concerns (e.g., infection, crime, and government threat to guns) were linked to interest in purchasing firearms. We also examined whether perceiving guns as a source of safety was a superordinate factor in predicting gun purchase interest that accounted for the variance observed with other predictors. Gun owners and political conservatives were more likely than non-owners and political liberals to express interest in purchasing firearms. Concern that the government would use COVID-19 to take guns was the strongest concern predicting firearm purchase interest followed by attitude toward Chinese people. However, perceiving guns as a source of safety accounted for most of the purchase interest. It absorbed all variance in firearm purchase interest attributable to political ideology, gun ownership, and attitude toward Chinese people, and part of the variance attributable to concerns with government threat to guns. Other pandemic concerns (e.g., concerns with infection or crime) absorbed no unique variance in firearm purchase interest. Finally, examination of reports of actual firearm purchases conformed closely with our findings for firearm purchase interest. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement During times of social upheaval such as the COVID-19 pandemic, various of threats may prompt interest in purchasing a firearm. However, gun owners and conservatives appear more inclined than other groups to purchase firearms. In addition, the perception that guns are a source of safety rather than a threat to safety-and to a lesser extent, concerns with government threat to guns-appear to underlie the increase in firearm purchases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)