Why Are Researchers Surprised That Gun Owners Vote Strongly Republican

posted on May 10, 2017

A rambling story in The Washington Post on Tuesday tried to explain why gun owners overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump during last November’s presidential election.

In the end, Mark Joslyn, professor and graduate director of political science at the University of Kansas, and Haider-Markel, professor and chair of political science at KU, concluded: ”… the strength and reliability of association between owning a gun and voting Republican is impressive. Across 11 presidential contests, gun ownership was more strongly linked to vote choice than such well-known predictors as gender, age and education. Clearly, voters are assessing candidates based on their position on gun rights; understanding this may offer insight into the distinct behaviors and attitudes of gun and non-gun owners.”

What the good professors failed to mention was the fact that the Democratic party has slowly turned its back on gun owners over the past several years, even taking a staunch anti-gun stance in the party platform. By nominating Hillary Clinton—the most outspokenly anti-gun candidate ever—the party further turned away from law-abiding gun owners, leaving the door open for them to elect a candidate they could trust with their liberties.

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