Ammunition for Change: The Surprising Social Movement behind Bipartisan Gun Control in the United States

Firearm homicide rates are twenty-five times higher in the United States than in other high-income countries. Each year 31,000 Americans are killed with firearms, yet accepted political wisdom suggests that supporting gun regulation is futile, because the powerful gun lobby will defeat it. The existing history of gun politics omits a group that has successfully passed bipartisan gun control legislation since the 1990s: Domestic violence prevention advocates. A network of feminist professionals working in underfunded state coalitions, these political actors achieved policy goals that gun control advocates failed to accomplish. Between 2008 and 2015, 35 states passed legislation at the intersection of domestic violence and firearms. This study presents the untold story of how DV advocates out-maneuvered the most powerful interest group in the United States. Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, I identify the factors that contributed to the success of these policies. Comparative case studies represent the core of my work. By comparing states that are similar along theoretically important dimensions but differ in policy passage, I identify the unique factors that contributed to policy success. I also field two national surveys to answer my research question. The first survey targets policy directors from DV coalitions across the United States and tests whether various political strategies used to pass DV and firearms laws are generalizable across the US. The second survey tests the effect of framing a gun control policy as domestic violence prevention on policy support. This experiment is being fielded in the Cooperative Congressional Election Study which surveys a representative sample of 1,000 Americans. This study will enrich our understanding of the lasting policy influence of the women’s movement and provide guidance for advocates of policy that protects women and families from gun violence.