Sociation Today

Support for Gun Permits of Young Adults:
A Cohort Comparison

by

Alexis Yohros
University of Central Florida

Jessica Valentin
University of Central Florida

Dana Rosenfeld
University of Central Florida

David Gay
University of Central Florida

Introduction

    Gun control has been an ongoing topic discussed in today's politics and media. Contrary to what the media and politicians portray, endorsement of requiring a police permit to purchase a gun has been over 70% since the early 1970s and about 80% since the early 1990s (Smith 2007). Starting in the 1980s and looking back two decades, the General Social Survey has shown a constant majority, about three fourths, have favored police permits to obtain guns. Today, however, polling has shown an increase in mixed attitudes on gun control and gun rights of individuals. The Pew Research Center reported that opinions on gun control have been divided since early 2009, a little after Obama's election. Interestingly, polls before 2009 show the majority still felt it was more important to control gun ownership than to protect gun rights (Pew Research Center 2015). The same recent poll shows differences in birth cohorts/age groups on their opinions concerning gun control, with the oldest cohort showing the strongest support for controlling gun ownership and the youngest cohort prioritizing protecting gun rights before protecting gun ownership (44%). In addition, states vary in their laws concerning gun ownership. Currently, there are only 13 states and the District of Columbia that require a police permit in order to purchase any sort of gun. The states that require the purchaser of the weapon to have a permit are: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio (NRA 2014). However, with the Obama administration's focus on gun control and increasing media coverage of gun violence, these laws and attitudes may be subject to change.

    More research is needed on this unpredictable and timely issue. With the current presidential election, gun control has been a constant topic in both democratic and republican debates. This issue has been as prevalent as issues such as legal abortion and same-sex marriage in terms of media coverage, especially with the increased attention on mass shootings, homicides rates, and police shootings in the United States. This ties into the issue of increased background checks and closing loopholes to gun purchasing as well as the impact of mental health on gun violence in the United States. Recently, Obama passed executive actions tightening loopholes and strengthening gun control. For these reasons, expounding on the different variables that influence attitudes regarding gun permits remains an important avenue for research.

    Movements in attitudinal change are not evenly distributed across birth cohort/generation and these changes may be important for perceiving different trends. In addition, birth cohorts were socialized in different time periods and cultural movements depending on when they were born. This is significant, as different socialization periods may result in differing attitudes towards important topics such as gun control. Previous researchers (Gay & Lynxwiler 2013; Taylor 2014) have identified the Millennial cohort as those born between 1981 and 1996, Generation X as those born between 1965 and 1980, the Baby Boom cohort as people who were born between 1946 and 1964, and the Silent Generation as people born before 1945. For the purpose of this study, our research uses the same operationalization of cohorts and focuses on the Millennial Cohort, Generation X, and Baby Boomers.

    The purpose of the study is to augment the scarce literature on cohort comparisons of attitudes on gun permits. More specifically, the research will provide more accurate information concerning differing attitudes towards gun permits between the Millennial cohort, Generation X, and the Baby Boom cohort when each cohort was 18 to 31 years old. By looking at attitudes towards gun permits, we are able to see whether the Millennial cohort support gun permit control at a higher rate than the young adults that came before them while also analyzing these differences. Rather than focusing on changes over the life course over time, this research focuses on whether young adults who were socialized in different eras have similar or divergent views on gun permit control. We use the following years from the cumulative General Social Survey (GSS): 1976 and1977 for the Baby Boom cohort, 1996 and1998 for Generation X, and 2012 and 2014 for the Millennial cohort. The item in the GSS involves the question, "Do you favor or oppose a law which would require a person to obtain a police permit before he or she could buy a gun?" First, we examine differences in proportions among the three birth cohorts. Second, using logistic regression, we regress attitudes towards gun permits on relevant independent variables within each birth cohort. This research presents the first systematic examination of differences between and within birth cohorts at three different time points on opinions towards gun permit laws.

History of Gun Control

    The term gun control in the United States refers to any action taken by the federal government or by state or local governments to regulate the sale, purchase, safety, and use of handguns and firearms by individual citizens (Salem Press 2016). Gun control legislation has been a debate in the United States since the early 1900s. On one hand, proponents of gun control argue that additional restrictions on the distribution of guns would provide a safer environment and lead to lower crime rates. On the other hand, opponents of gun control counter that gun control is an infringement on individual rights and that guns are often used for deterrence and self-defense (Kleck 1996; Lott 2000).

    In 1934, the National Firearms Act (NFA) was passed to ban machine guns and tax gun sales during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency (Lee & Stingl 2009). The Federal Firearms Act (FFA) of 1938 was added four years later. This Act put restrictions on shipping interstate guns and ammunition trade and required dealers to register themselves as well as keep records of whom they were selling ammunition and guns to (Federal Firearms Act of 1938, § 3(a), 52 Stat. 1250).

    After the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (1963), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), and Robert F. Kennedy (1968), national discussion over gun reform ensued. As a result, President Lyndon Johnson pushed the next gun reform, the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 (Vizzard 2015). This Act required dealers to keep a federal form for each sale, but it would not be collected in for formal central list. In addition, the Act banned "all gun possession by prohibited persons, such as convicted felons, illegal aliens, and illegal drug users." (Kopel 2012 pg 1546).

    During Ronald Reagan's presidency, after much negotiation between both parties and gun lobbyists, he signed the Firearm Owner's Protection Act (FOPA) in 1986. This Act satisfied gun rights activists who complained about the strict enforcements of the Gun Control Act because the federal government was "prohibited from regulations to require reporting of gun purchases or to create a gun registration system, and inspections of dealers were limited to one per year" (Vizzard 2015 pg. 883; 18 U.S.C 2012). However, the Act also banned sales of automatic weapons and machine guns to private purchasers.

    After former President Reagan's attempted assassination in 1981, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. This bill was named after James Brady, Reagan's press secretary, who was wounded during the assassination attempt. (Lee & Stingl 2009). It required licensed dealers to run background checks and there was a waiting period on those wishing to purchase handguns (Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub. L. No. 103-159,107 Stat. 1536 (1993). The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is also the largest grassroots organization working to promote gun control legislation (Lee & Stingl 2016).

    In 1994, Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. This act included the controversial Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004 during George W. Bush's presidency. (Kopel 2012). This legislation banned combat weapons from being manufactured, possessed, or sold; it has since not been renewed despite attempts for renewal. Mass shootings at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook, have brought gun control to the forefront of debates, yet no new legislation has been passed from either house of Congress.The National Rifle Association (NRA) in addition has since become one of the most powerful and influential non-governmental organizations in the country: it works to protect personal firearm rights and hunting rights. The NRA is against most gun control legislation measures because it claims a breach of the Second Amendment (Lee & Stingl 2016).

Generational Birth Cohorts, Socialization
and Attitudes Towards Gun Permits

    The concept of generations traces back to Karl Mannheim (1952), in which he defines generations as social constructs created when historical occurrences and key events are experienced by a cohort of similar age. These shared occurrences or specific events may also be referred to as period effects. The impact of these effects on attitudes and behaviors in addition to the awareness related with having experienced history in a shared social way is key to the distinction of a particular cohort or generation (Mannheim 1952). From a cohort perspective, the histories of a certain cohort will be echoed in their attitudes. Going further, the pivotal time for the social construction of a cohort or generation is between 17 and 25 years old, as these are significant periods for developing unique political and social outlooks (Mannheim 1952). This is noteworthy, because attitudes developed during this period (young adulthood) are cited to be highly influential of attitudes later in life. Explicitly, generations are cited to base many decisions in later adulthood on views and opinions they formed early in life, based on the unique historical experiences of their cohort (Mannheim 1952; Chase 2016). Recent research also takes into account that shifts in cultural ideology (i.e. individualism, worldview perspectives, educational shifts) can have an impact on individuals that is stronger than generational shifts (Twenge, Campbell, & Gentile, 2012; Twenge & Campbell, 2013).

    The current research uses the cohort operationalization most consistently cited in the social science literature (Pew Research Center 2015; Taylor 2014). This includes the Baby Boom generation consisting of those born between 1946 and 1964, Generation X consisting of those born between 1965 and 1980, and Millenials consisting of those born between 1981 and 1996 (Twenge & Campbell, 2013; Gay & Lynxwiler, 2013; Fry, 2015).

    In terms of cohort studies, Ryder (1965) is most frequently cited as the researcher to highlight the importance of cohort comparisons in the study of attitudinal and behavioral changes. Many social scientists have since used cohort comparisons to examine a wide variety of attitudes and behaviors such as opinions on same-sex marriage, spirituality, and abortion (i.e. Sherkat et al. 2010; Gay, Lynxwiler & Smith 2015; Chase 2016). Many of these studies are limited to cohort comparisons at one point in time. This is in part due to the cross-sectional nature of the data in which questions are only asked during specific years. This study goes beyond this limitation and explores three different points in time. We expand the literature by analyzing potential differential effects of cohort and other factors on attitudes towards gun permits. This builds on other prior research that has also examined cohort effects using GSS data (i.e. Sherkat et al. 2010; Sherkat et al. 2011).

    The theoretical importance of such research goes back to the socialization of young adults in different points in time. Birth cohorts were socialized in different periods and cultural eras based on the time they were born. For example, Baby Boomers experienced different religious, cultural, and institutional aspects of society than Millenials. The same can be said of Baby Boomers and Generation X. Consequently; the causes of attitudes may vary across birth cohort regardless of their current age. Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers all experienced different cultural phenomena that may have played a role in their views toward gun permit laws. For example, those in the Baby Boom cohort experienced the Vietnam War. Generation X cohort experienced an attempted assassination on President Reagan (1981), while those in the Millenial cohort experienced the Columbine shootings and the terror attack on the World Trade Center. Currently, Millennials have experienced an increased attention towards gun control legislation, mass shootings, terrorism, and the mental illness debate.

    A small number of studies have explored the relationship between birth cohorts and attitudes towards gun control and gun permit laws. In 2015, The Pew Research Center found that the majority of Americans (85%) support making purchasers of guns (both from private sellers and gun shows) subject to a background check. About half of Millennials (49%) and Gen Xers (48%) and slightly fewer Boomers (44%) say that controlling gun ownership is more important than controlling gun rights (Pew Research Center 2015). A study using the 2012 General Social Survey found that those in the 70-79 cohort had one of the highest rates of support for gun control (76.6%). Roughly 70% of Americans between the age of 31 and 40 favor gun permits compared to 80.2% of Americans between the ages of 56 and 89. In addition, Schuman, Howard & Presser, Stanley (1981) analyzed sixteen nationally representative surveys conducted from 1959 to 1977 that asked the question, "Would you favor or oppose a law which would require a person to obtain a police permit before he or she could buy a gun?" The study found a relatively stable pattern of gun opposition and an analysis of the cohort differences revealed no relation between age and gun control over the period. These differences in cohorts, however, do not analyze the different cohorts when they were the same age, as we will be doing in our research. There have been no such studies that compare birth cohort's views on gun permits while they were the same age (18-31 years old).

    The purpose of this research is to delve into (1) whether differences between cohorts are evident, and (2) what factors affect attitudes towards requiring a police permit to purchase a gun within each generation. To do this, we first look at the proportion differences in attitudes between the three cohorts. Then, we regress attitudes towards gun permits on the other independent variables within each cohort. Little research has been done to determine whether cultural impacts of a cohort have an effect on their views towards requiring a gun permit or not.

Sociodemographic and Other Determinants of
Attitudes Towards Requiring a Gun Permit

Cohort differences in attitudes towards gun permits within and between cohorts may be related to various additional factors. These factors include marital status, gender, geographic residence, and race and ethnicity. As the age of the participants range from 18-31, socioeconomic status and education may not be as important, as some may just be undergoing school and others may not have gotten past school and into the job market. Previous research has demonstrated that females support gun permits at a higher rate than males (Izadi 2013; Bell 2013; Smith 1984). The same can be said of African Americans supporting gun control more than whites (Smith 1980; Pederson et. al. 2015; Smith & Son 2015) Smith (1980) and Pederson et. al. (2015) have also found consistent regional differences. For example, Saad (2007) notes that in a Gallup Poll both Easterners and urban centers had the highest proportion, 60% and 56% respectively, of favoring stricter gun control. Briefly stated, liberals, females, and residents of urban areas are more likely than their counterparts to support gun control measures (Kleck 1996; Smith 1980). To further analyze this between and within cohorts, variables for married/not married, white and non-white, female/male, and southern residence are included in the analysis.

Political ideology may also influence attitudes on gun permits and gun control. In 2013, Fiorina, Abrams, & Pope reported that 64% of Democrats favor stricter gun control and 52% of Republicans also favored gun control. The Pew Research Center shows similar patterns of political ideology and attitudes towards gun control, although these views have changed dramatically during the last twenty years. To further analyze these changes within and between cohorts, we have included political views in a Likert-type scale item. In addition, fear may influence views on gun control either towards taking away guns in order to have less armed offenders or having more guns for protection purposes. Heath, Weeks, & Murphy (1997) analyzed three studies and found a connection between fear of crime and attitudes toward guns, in which people higher in fear of crime favored increased gun control. We have therefore included a yes or no item that asks, "Are you afraid to walk alone at night?"

Methods

Like many previous studies of differences in social and political attitudes, data for this study are taken from the General Social Surveys (GSS). The data in these surveys were collected from nationwide samples (Smith et al. 2015). The GSS is an appropriate data set because the data set contains survey items tapping attitudes toward gun permits over a number of survey years and includes a wide range of sociodemographic and background characteristics of respondents. To evaluate attitudes toward obtaining a permit before purchasing a gun among young adults across generations, we examine cohort comparisons using cross-sectional data from the 1976 and 1977, 1996 and 1998, and 2012 and 2014 GSS years. Two survey years in each decade are combined to obtain a sufficient sample size of young adults within each cohort. This affords the opportunity to analyze attitudes across time and between cohorts who have grown up in different political, economic, social, and cultural times. Our dependent variable is an item in the GSS that measures attitudes toward obtaining a permit toward purchasing a gun.

Dependent Variable

The GSS includes the following question: "Would you favor or oppose a law which would require a person to obtain a police permit before he or she could buy a gun?" For the analysis, the responses are coded (0) for opposing gun laws and (1) for favoring gun laws. All other responses (i.e., don't know and no answer) are excluded from the analysis.

Birth Cohort

As noted earlier, three birth cohorts are included in the analysis. Respondents were included in the analysis if they were 18-31 years of age in those specific years. That is, all respondents were at least eighteen years of age and no older than thirty-one years of age when they were interviewed. The Millennial cohort is identified as respondents who were between 1981 and 1994 using the 2012 and 2014 survey years (n=481). Generation X is identified as respondents who were born between 1965 and 1980 using the 1996 and 1998 survey years (n=749). Baby Boomers are identified as respondents who were born between 1946 and 1964 using the 1976 and 1977 survey years (n=787).

Sociodemographic and Other Determinants of Attitudes toward Gun Permits

Gender and marital status

    Gender is coded (1) to represent female respondents and males are coded (0). The marital status question in the GSS asks respondents if they are currently- married, widowed, divorced, separated, or have ever been married.   A dummy variable is created to represent respondents who are married (1) versus all others (0).

Race

    A dummy variable is created for African American respondents. Since early years of the GSS did not identify other specific ethnic groups, the analysis is restricted to two racial categories. White respondents serve as the reference category.

Southern residence and community size

    A dummy variable is created for southern residence. The GSS includes an item that indicates the respondent's area of residence. The coding follows the U.S. census coding for region. The resulting codes in the GSS are (1) New England, (2) Middle Atlantic, (3) East North Central, (4) West North Central, (5) South Atlantic, (6) East South Central, (7) West South Central, (8) Mountain, and (9) Pacific. A dummy variable is created using the South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central codes to represent the South (South = 1, all others = 0). Urban residence is measured using the SRC Belt Code (Survey Research Center, University of Michigan). The variable is recoded so that the "central city of the 12 largest SMSAs" is coded (6), "central city of the remainder of the 100 largest SMSAs" is coded (5), "suburbs of the 12 largest SMSAs" is coded (4), "suburbs of the remaining 100 largest SMSAs" is coded (3), "other urban" is coded (2), and "rural" is coded (1).

Political ideology, attendance at religious services, and fear of walking alone at night.

    Political ideology is measured by a seven point scale. The scale ranges from (1) extremely conservative to (7) extremely liberal with a value of (4) representing moderate political views. Public religious participation is measured by religious attendance. The question was: "How often do you attend religious services?" The possible responses to this question were (0) never, (1) at least once a year, (2) once a year, (3) several times a year, (4) once a month, (5) 2-3 times a month, (6) nearly every week, (7) every week, (8) more than once a week, and (9) don't know/not applicable. Only valid responses are used in the analysis. A dummy variable is created for respondents who report they are afraid to walk alone in their neighborhood. Responses are coded (1) for afraid and (0) for unafraid.

Analytic Strategy

The analysis uses a two-stage strategy. First, differences in proportions of respondents who favor gun permit laws are examined across birth cohorts. Second, logistic regression is used to examine the determinants of these attitudes within cohorts. That is, logistic regression equations are run for each birth cohort.

Results

Table 1 displays the means, standard deviations, and proportions for the dependent variable and independent variables for each cohort in the analysis. The table exhibits some interesting comparisons on the dependent and independent variables across the three cohorts. We ran two logistic regression modes using the entire sample with dummy variables created for birth cohort (analysis not shown). The analysis reveals significant differences between all birth cohorts with Generation X as the cohort most supportive of gun laws.

Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations and Proportions for Attitudes toward Gun Permits and Sociodemogrphic Variables by Birth Cohort

Variables and Sample Size	Millennial Mean/ Std		Generation X Mean/Std		Baby Boom Mean/Std
Favor or Oppose Obtaining a Permit to buy a Gun In Library (1=Favor)	.69	---	.82	---	.73	---
Female Respondents	.53	---	.57	---	.53	---
Married Respondents	-.26	---	.32	---	.54	---
African American Responsents	.23	---	.19	---	.11	---
Southern Residence	.34	---	.34	---	.33	---
Community Size (six point scale)	3.29	1.61	3.21	1.55	2.98	1.62
Political Ideology (higher=more liberal)	4.09	1.35	4.04	1.40	4.39	1.29
Attendance at Religious Services	2.84	2.63	3.03	2.44	3.31	2.57
Afraid to Walk Alone at Night (1=Afraid)	.38	---	.41	---	.42	---
N (Sample Size)	481		749		787

The model for Generation X exhibits a different pattern. There are four determinants that are significant at the .05 level and one that is marginally significant (p < .10). Generation X females are more likely to support gun laws than males. Attendance at religious services and fear of walking alone at night are statistically significant. As attendance increases, attitudes toward gun permits are likely to become more favorable and respondents who are afraid to walk alone at night are also likely to favor gun permits. Like the Millennial cohort, political ideology shows the same marginal significance. The primary similarity between Millennials and Generation X is the effect for community size. That is, as community size increases so does the likelihood of favoring gun permits.

Table 2

Logistic Regression Results: The Effects of Sociodemographic Variables on Attitudes toward Gun Permits (1=Favor permit, 0=Does not favor permit)

Independent Variable	Millennial Model	Generation X Model	Baby Boomer Model
Female Respondents	.248/1.282 (.211)	.761/2.141** (.211)	.907/2.477** (.189)
Married Respondents	.125/1.133 (.242)	-.057/.944 (.220)	-.017/.983 (.175)
African American Respondents	.634/1.1885* (.278)	.079/1.082 (.302).	.154/1.167 (.305)
Southern Residence	-.311/.732 (.227)	-.159/.853 (.217)	-293/.7468 (.179)
Community Size (six-point scale)	.210/1.234** (.070)	.195/1.216** (.073)	.149/1.61* (.059)
Political Idelogy (higher= more liberal)	.148/1.160@ (.080)	.142/1.152@ (.075)	.045/1.046 (.067)
Attendance at Religious Services	.063/1.045 (.043)	.090/1.094* (.045)	.019/1.019 (.034)
Afraid to Walk Alone at Night (1= Afraid)	.183/1.201 (.222)	.755/2.127** (.235)	.511/1.667** (.201)
Constant	-.902	-.456	-.189
N	481	749	787
Chi-Square, df=8	31.50**	57.34**	70.75**
Cox and Snell R Square	.063	.074	.086
Nagelkerke R Square	.089	.121	.125

Note: Cell entries are given as logistic regression coefficient/odds ratio with the standard error given in parentheses.
@ p < .10, * p < .05, ** p < .01

The model for Baby Boomers demonstrates more similarities to Generation X than to the Millennial cohort. Boomer females are more likely than their male counterparts to favor gun permits. The coefficients for community size and fear of walking alone at night show the same pattern as Generation X. In contrast, attendance at religious services has no effect on attitudes toward gun permits for Baby Boomers. In short, the only consistent determinant of attitudes toward obtaining a police permit to buy a gun is community size. That is, living in more urban environments increases the likelihood of favoring gun permits for all three birth cohorts.

Two other significant similarities between Generation X and Baby Boomers involve female respondents and fear of walking alone at night. Generation X and Boomer females are both more likely to favor gun permits than their male counterparts. The other similarity is the fear of walking alone at night. Respondents who report fear are more likely to favor permits. Interestingly, the model for the Millennial cohort does not show the same effects.

Conclusion and Discussion

    The results of the study highlight several interesting patterns. In terms of attitudes within and between cohorts, Baby Boomers and Generation X appear to have the most similar trends. Females and those afraid to walk alone at night were more supportive of gun permit laws, which is consistent with the prior literature (Izadi 2013; Bell 2013; Smith 1984; Smith & Son 2015). Generation Xers and more so Baby Boomers grew up during a time where gender roles were more defined than in current times; in the 1960's only 19% of married women with pre-school children were also in the labor force (US Census Bureau 1999). These defined gender roles also applied to gun ownership and attitudes, where women had less accessibility to guns and gun ownership and use was looked at as a male endeavor. In addition, both Baby Boomer and Generation X young adults were socialized during a time of either war or the assassination of public figures; each of these events related to guns and gun violence. Generation X specifically, came of age during the crack epidemic, which resulted in a rise in violent crime and gun violence among young adults in particular (Department of Justice 1991; Fryer 2006). These events may have influenced both their increased approval of gun permit laws, increased fear of walking alone at night, and the relationship between fear of walking alone and support of gun control laws (in comparison to Millennials as well). As Generation X during young adulthood showed to be less religious than their previous generational cohort, the results call for additional research on the relationship between religion and attitudes towards gun control during this period. Bengston et al. (2013) found that everyday life demands make it more difficult for practical expression for Generation Xers, yet 75% of Generation X'ers state that religion is highly important in their lives. Therefore, religious attendance may not be the most robust predictor.

    The millennial generation is still overall supportive of gun permit laws in general, although they are less supportive than their generational counterparts. The millennial cohort is both unique and diverse, as research shows Millennials are continuing the trend of tolerance that began with the Baby Boomers (Twenge 2006; Roof 1993). However, the uniqueness of the Millenial generation comes from them having grown up with diversity from their earliest years—a huge difference from the Generation X'ers who were introduced to the concept heavily in the 1990's and the Baby Boomers who fought for it to exist (Twenge 2006; Roof 1993; Chase 2016). Contrary to prior research, gender was not found to be a significant factor towards analyzing opinions on gun control. This is important to note, as the Millenial cohort is more egalitarian than previous generations (Twenge 2006). Gun ownership among females in the Millenial generation is on the rise (Miller, Azrael, Hepburn & Hemenway 2015). As traditional gender roles continue to be challenged, it will be interesting to see if the association between gender and attitudes towards pertinent social and political topics changes or weakens.

    The millennial cohort is also described as the generation in which youth are both more inclusive and politically progressive (Keeter & Taylor 2010). This is true of African Americans who, although are still experiencing persistent systematic and institutionalized racism, have more rights than in any previous generation. In the study, African Americans were more likely to support gun permit laws. This is consistent with recent research on millennial youths, which show that in recent years gun-related homicides among African American youth are more than 17 times higher than their white counterparts; this is especially true of those within the ages of 10-24 (Rogowski & Cohen 2015). In addition, more than 40% of Black and Latino youth said they were "very" or "somewhat afraid" of gun violence, in comparison to 15.6% of white youths. (Rogowski & Cohen 2015). This exposure and fear of gun violence as young adults may explain why African-American Millenials are more likely to support gun permit laws.

    The GSS question that was examined for this research provides an interesting outcome. Views on gun control prove an area where there are only modest differences by generation, with larger opinion gaps seen across variables such as community size. Living in an urban environment was a significant predictor of favoring gun permit rights among all three cohorts. These results are logical, as crime has consistently occurred more often in larger urban cities (Reiss & Roth 1994). In addition, rural residents have a different view on gun culture; they are more likely to own a gun in comparison to urban residents, they commonly use guns for recreational purposes, and they agree with owning guns for the purpose of self-defense and land protection (Raasch 2013; Pew Research Center 2013).

    Although there were differences between each cohort on their opinions towards gun permits, overall consensus seems to favor gun control among all three cohorts when each were the same age. For the most part, when opinions change in the population, lawmakers step in and make laws that reflect those changes. The last major opinion change that we saw lawmakers step in for was in regards to opinions on gay marriage laws. However, in regards to laws requiring police permits, the support has been overwhelmingly high. Despite this consensus, lawmakers have not stepped in to make it a national law requiring police permits or similar measures to strengthen gun control. This brings into question why, with the large majority supporting stricter gun permit laws, they have not been put into place. Research can be directed further into analyzing the powerful influence of the NRA in creating and lobbying legislation.

    A disadvantage of the GSS is that we are unable to follow birth cohorts over time. That is, the Millennial cohort only recently has entered into the first "adulthood stage" (e.g., Smith, Christoffersen, Davidson, & Herzog 2011; Taylor 2014). Consequently, we only recently have been able to examine their attitudes towards issues such as gun permit laws. However, an advantage of using the GSS is that they have conducted surveys over time and frequently ask the same question over time. An important strength of this study is that we are able to compare birth cohorts when they were same age in the 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s. Therefore, we are able to analyze attitudinal differences between cohorts. Future research would include following the Millennial cohort over time to see if and how their attitudes towards requiring police permits to purchase guns changed, especially with the changing political climate and increases in mass shootings and threats of terrorism. By following the Millennial cohort, we can continue to compare them to the Generation X cohort as they will be the future leaders and decision makers of this country.

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