Do Women Legislators Legislate Differently Than Men on Gun-Related Policy? A Suggestive Yes

Abstract

Polls show that men are less likely to support gun restrictions than women, but do voter preferences translate into elite behavior? To answer this question, we use a novel dataset of hand-coded state firearm legislation across six politically diverse states (California, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Texas) to construct an 11-year panel dataset. Our results demonstrate that descriptively, women generally cosponsor more restrictive and fewer permissive gun policy bills than men, even after accounting for partisanship. Using multiple staggered difference-in-differences specifications, we find women are no more likely than men to advance restrictive gun bills, yet they do cosponsor fewer efforts to expand gun rights (permissive bills). Our findings imply that electing more women may not substantially increase efforts to tighten gun laws but could curb gun rights expansion, showcasing how gender may shape legislation through agenda restraint rather than by promoting active policymaking.