U.S. Youth Attitudes on Guns Report
Since 2020, guns have been the leading cause of death in the United States for children and teens. While the proliferation of gun access and gun violence often dominate national, state and local headlines, little has been done to understand the views young people have on these pervasive issues.
To address this gap, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) and SPLC came together to study young people’s access to guns, experiences with gun violence, feelings of safety and mental wellbeing, as well as their views on male supremacy, racial resentment and the Second Amendment.
Our U.S. Youth Attitudes on Guns Report provides groundbreaking insights into young people's perceptions, fears and proximity to guns and gun violence. This nationally representative survey of 4,156 Americans aged 14 to 30 and qualitative focus groups lay bare the ubiquity of guns and gun violence in the lives of young Americans.
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The nature of these findings are unsettling but also provide a pathway to prevent and protect young people from those spreading harmful and manipulative narratives. The organizations highlighted in our accompanying resources have long been at the forefront of efforts to curb gun violence and provide care for impacted communities and individuals.
For more information on guns in the U.S., visit Everytown.
For more on building resilience to supremacist ideologies, visit PERIL.
Illustration by SPLC.
