What is gun culture? Cultural variations and trends across the United States

The paper addresses the paucity of research on lawful gun use and associated cultural elements, contrasting the predominant focus on illegal uses (violence). Drawing on Hays’ definition of culture as durable, layered systems of meaning embedded in artifacts and behaviors, the authors conceptualize gun culture as involving beliefs, norms, institutions, and practices related to firearms. They critique monolithic notions of “gun culture,” especially approaches that proxy it solely by Southern regional identity, arguing such measures ignore heterogeneity across and beyond the South and conflate distinct historical and structural factors. Prior work has proposed at least two elements of gun culture—recreational (hunting, sport, collecting) and self-defense—with evidence of a shift from “Gun Culture 1.0” (recreation) toward “Gun Culture 2.0” (self-defense). This study’s purpose is to develop an empirical, state-level method to systematically identify and measure multiple elements of gun culture and to examine how these elements vary across states and over time (1998–2016). The central hypothesis is that distinct, measurable cultural elements of gun ownership and behavior exist and vary geographically and temporally across U.S. states.

The term “gun culture” was coined by Hofstadter (1970), who framed it as a singular political belief in armed citizenry as a safeguard of democracy, a view that overlooked heterogeneity in beliefs, behaviors, and institutions surrounding firearms. Much subsequent research operationalized gun culture narrowly, often using “Southernness” as a proxy, which assumes regional homogeneity and excludes non-Southern contexts. Other single-indicator approaches include social pressure to own guns (Kalesan et al., 2015), analyses of imagery by Second Amendment advocates (Witkowski, 2014), revenues from gun-glorifying films (Lemieux, 2014), and NRA membership rates as anticontrol sentiment (Goss, 2006). Departing from monolithic views, several studies have distinguished recreational/sporting/collecting uses from self-protection (e.g., Bordua & Lizotte, 1979; Lizotte et al., 1981; Cook & Ludwig, 1996; Celinska, 2007; Legault & Lizotte, 2009; Wright et al., 2017; Yamane, 2017, 2018; Yamane et al., 2019). Yamane describes a shift from Gun Culture 1.0 (recreation) to 2.0 (self-defense), consistent with Gallup polling indicating increased belief that guns make homes safer (2000–2014: 35% to 63%). Nonetheless, prior work lacked an empirical, multi-variable, state-level framework to identify and quantify multiple cultural elements. The present study addresses this gap by leveraging numerous gun-related behaviors, media consumption, organizational membership, and legal indicators to empirically derive distinct cultural components.

Design: Panel of annual state-level data for all 50 U.S. states from 1998–2016. The study employs principal component analysis (PCA) on 11 standardized variables to identify orthogonal components (retaining components with eigenvalues >1). Subsequent analyses examine temporal trends and cross-state variation in component scores and their correlations with socio-demographic and policy variables.

Variables (sources):

• Per capita hunting licenses (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), focusing on paid firearm-related hunting licenses.
• Per capita NRA membership approximated using state-level paid subscriptions to three NRA magazines (Alliance for Audited Media, AAM): The American Hunter, The American Rifleman, and America’s 1st Freedom (1998–2016). Also included the share of NRA members choosing each magazine to reflect predominant interests (hunting, technical/firearms/self-defense, or Second Amendment/advocacy focus).
• Per capita subscriptions to Guns & Ammo (AAM), representing general firearm enthusiasm and recreational interest.
• Per capita FBI NICS background checks for handgun sales and for long gun sales, as proxies for legal purchases, recognizing handguns’ association with self-defense and long guns with hunting.
• Per capita number of federally licensed firearm dealers (ATF), indicating structural supply/demand for legal sales.
• Presence/absence of stand-your-ground laws and of state assault weapon bans (State Firearm Laws Database), representing regulatory/political culture linked to self-defense and perceived threats to gun ownership.

Analytic steps:

• Standardize all 11 variables (mean 0, variance 1).
• Conduct PCA; retain components with eigenvalues >1 (Kaiser criterion).
• Examine component scores over time (1998–2016) and across states.
• Correlate component scores with socio-demographic and policy variables: land area; percent Black, Hispanic, non-White; percent urban; unemployment; population density; state conservatism scores (Shor & McCarthy); per capita police officers (FBI UCR); number of state firearm laws and changes over time (State Firearm Laws Database).
• Software: Stata 15 and Python (NumPy); visualization produced with Tableau academic license.

Timeframe justification: 1998 start aligns with the introduction of The American Guardian (later America’s 1st Freedom) in late 1997.

PCA identified three components with eigenvalues: Component 1 = 5.35; Component 2 = 2.12; Component 3 = 1.02.

Component composition (highest loadings summarized):

• Component 1 (Recreational): hunting licenses (0.40), Guns & Ammo readership (0.38), NRA membership per capita (0.37), American Hunter readership (0.34), long-gun checks (0.32), federally licensed dealers per capita (0.39). Interpreted as recreational/leisure gun culture.
• Component 2 (Self-defense): handgun checks (0.59), stand-your-ground law presence (0.47), American Rifleman readership (0.32). Interpreted as self-protection/self-defense culture.
• Component 3 (Second Amendment activism): assault weapon ban presence (0.49), per capita NRA membership (0.37), America’s 1st Freedom readership share (0.27). Interpreted as symbolic/advocacy around the Second Amendment.

National trends (1998–2016):

• Recreational (C1): Declined from average +0.7 (1998) to −0.7 (2016). Largest declines: Alaska (−3.7), Nevada (−2.1), Utah (−2.1).
• Self-defense (C2): Increased from −2.1 (1998) to +1.7 (2016). Largest increases: West Virginia (+6.23), New Hampshire (+6.17), South Dakota (+5.98), Tennessee (+5.87), Missouri (+5.79), Louisiana (+5.32), Pennsylvania (+5.27), Indiana (+5.14), Montana (+5.01), Alabama (+4.68) (per Table 2).
• Second Amendment activism (C3): Slight average increase from −0.3 (1998) to +0.3 (2016). Largest increases: Massachusetts (+2.67), Maryland (+2.57), New York (+2.47), Delaware (+1.70), Ohio (+1.63). Notable declines: Alaska (−3.42), Montana (−1.24).

Cross-state prominence (1998–2016 averages):

• Recreational (range +6 to −3.5): Highest in Wyoming (+6), Montana (+5.7), Alaska (+5.2), South Dakota (+4.1), North Dakota (+3.8). Lowest in California (−3.5), Hawaii (−3.3), Massachusetts (−3.2), New Jersey (−3.0), Rhode Island (−2.9).
• Self-defense (range −2 to +1.5): Highest in Alaska (+1.5), Tennessee (+1.4), Florida (+1.3), Oklahoma (+1.2), Montana (+1.2). Lowest in New York (−2.0), New Jersey (−1.7), Nebraska (−1.7), Iowa (−1.6), Wisconsin (−1.4).
• Second Amendment activism: Most prominent in Alaska (+2.3), Wyoming (+2.1), Connecticut (+2.0), California (+1.9), Massachusetts (+1.5); least in South Dakota (−2.9), Louisiana (−1.5), Mississippi (−1.5), Wisconsin (−1.2), Utah (−1.1).

Notable state mixes:

• High recreation and high Second Amendment: Alaska, Wyoming.
• Low recreation but high Second Amendment: Massachusetts, California, Connecticut (also low self-defense).
• High recreation, low Second Amendment: South Dakota.
• High self-defense, low Second Amendment: Alabama; Florida high in self-defense but low in recreation.

Correlations with socio-demographic and policy variables (state-level; |r|>0.3 notable):

• Recreational (C1): positively correlated with conservatism (0.57), negatively with percent urban (−0.71), density (−0.62), percent non-White (−0.62), percent Hispanic (−0.44), percent Black (−0.40), per capita police (−0.34); negatively with number of firearm laws (−0.63) and change in firearm laws (−0.49).
• Self-defense (C2): positively correlated with conservatism (0.57), negatively with percent urban (−0.31), density (−0.40); negatively with number of firearm laws (−0.59) and change in firearm laws (−0.53); positively with unemployment (0.30, near threshold).
• Second Amendment (C3): negatively correlated with conservatism (−0.60), positively with percent urban (0.40), density (0.54), percent Hispanic (0.42), per capita police (0.35), number of firearm laws (0.64), and change in firearm laws (0.63).

Interpretation of Component 3: Its association with the presence of assault weapon bans and higher NRA membership suggests that Second Amendment activism is strongest where firearm regulations are extensive, indicating a potential reactive mobilization to perceived threats to gun ownership.

Findings demonstrate that U.S. gun culture is multidimensional rather than monolithic, comprising at least three distinct elements: recreational/leisure activities, self-defense orientation, and Second Amendment advocacy/activism. The observed nationwide decline in recreational elements alongside the rise in self-defense elements aligns with prior scholarship on the shift from recreation (Gun Culture 1.0) to self-defense (Gun Culture 2.0). The distinct Third component reflects symbolic attachment to firearms as central to freedom and rights, consistent with NRA rhetoric and broader cultural framings. Geographic patterns show that states with low recreational and self-defense elements (e.g., California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey) can exhibit high Second Amendment activism, suggesting that advocacy may be energized by stronger regulatory environments. Correlation analyses support this: recreational and self-defense elements are associated with conservative, rural, less urbanized states with fewer firearm laws, whereas Second Amendment activism correlates with more urban, denser, more Hispanic, and politically liberal states with more numerous and expanding firearm regulations. Overall, these results address the research question by empirically identifying and quantifying multiple cultural elements, showing how their prominence varies across states and over time, and highlighting the interplay between culture, socio-demographics, and policy environments.

The study advances understanding of U.S. gun culture by: (1) empirically demonstrating it is not monolithic; (2) identifying multiple elements that vary substantially between states; (3) documenting that recreational elements have declined while self-defense elements have risen over 1998–2016; and (4) revealing a distinct Second Amendment activism element, strongest where firearm laws are most extensive. Because these elements are uncorrelated components derived from multiple correlated indicators, they can serve as proxy variables for cultural aspects of legal gun ownership in future analyses. The authors propose future research using qualitative and survey methods—such as a national survey of gun owners—to further explore these cultural elements and the symbolic meanings of firearms.