04/07/2023
By Karen Mullins
The School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a master's thesis defense by Alexander E. Jaramillo entitled "New Neighbors in Town, New Guns in the House."
Committee members
- Kelly Socia, Committee Chair, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Jason Rydberg, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Christopher Harris, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Abstract:
This study explores the growth in firearm license applications and firearm purchases in Massachusetts from 2010 to 2020 through the lens of racial threat theory. In the last twenty years, United States firearm purchases have grown higher than population rates (Pew Research Center, 2017). Handguns, used primarily for self-defense, have eclipsed long guns as a percentage of firearms sold (Pew Research Center, 2017). Social drivers of firearm purchasing can vary widely but given that firearm ownership skews strongly towards White and conservative, it is worth exploring the racialized component of firearm ownership. Previous studies from other states have found an association between higher rates of firearm concealment and voting for far-right candidates (Constanza & Kilburn, Jr., 2004). Other studies found an association between higher rates of concealment and growth in a region’s Black population (Thompson & Stidham, 2010).
Widespread demographic changes in the United States from 2010 to 2020 also matched a growth in firearm purchases (U.S.Census Bureau, 2021a, 2021b). This, combined with granular data from across Massachusetts, offers an opportunity to explore the racial threat theory as it applies to growth in firearm ownership.
Specifically, this study used statewide data to explorer the correlation between drops in White Non-Hispanic populations as a percentage of a town’s total and the growth of firearm applications and firearm purchases. Additionally, it explored whether changes in a town’s closest urban center’s demography also affected a town’s growth rate. A statistically significant positive correlation was found, indicating that an increase in a towns proportion of White Non-Hispanic residents was associated with higher rates of firearm license applications and firearm purchases. This indicates that the racial threat hypothesis did not seem to apply to Massachusetts in the examined time period This could potentially arise from a variety of factors, such as a lack of firearm “honor culture” in Massachusetts, low importance place on firearm ownership overall, the significant barriers to firearm ownership, or other factors that predict firearm ownership (Felson, Pare 2010, Yamane 2020).