The Changing Politics of Guns in America.

Abstract

During the pandemic, rates of suicide among adolescents of color rose sharply and firearm injuries became the leading cause of death among children and youth. At the same time, firearm sales soared, changing the profile of American gun owners, and the political landscape of firearms altered amid groundbreaking Supreme Court decisions, the National Rifle Association's collapse, and the proliferation of firearm deregulation policies. This new period of gun politics has coincided with larger societal phenomena, including growing distrust of government, of institutions, and of each other. Together, they demonstrate an urgent need to rethink our messaging strategy around gun violence. Specifically, while trust in health institutions and experts remains low, invoking the language of public health may be not only insufficient, but counterproductive. Until public health, as a discipline, engages proactively with the social and political aspects of firearm ownership and understands guns as means of replacing fear and uncertainty with strength and self-sufficiency, the field may find little success in reducing firearm deaths. This essay discusses changes to the U.S. gun landscape before, during, and after the pandemic, the Trump administration's approach to the Second Amendment, and what it all means for the future of gun politics in America.