🔫😷 Why Plenty Americans Dey Buy Gun: Wetin Dem Sociologists Don See
2020 na year wey heavy tension dey for different communities inside US because of Covid lockdown, protests wey full streets, economic wahala and people wey dey feel alone. Na so Americans go market go buy plenty guns. Dem buy reach 22 million guns dat year, wey be 64% pass wey dem buy for 2019. More than eight million of the guns wey dem buy na people wey never get gun before na dem buy am, as National Shooting Sports Foundation wey be gun people association talk am. 🔫🛍️😷
Gun matter for US come increase that year well well, as e rise to 19,350 from 14,392 for 2019. The number of people wey die because of gun matter, including people wey kill demsef, na im rise to 45,222 for 2020 from 39,702 for 2019. The number of people wey die because of gun come rise again for 2021, reach 48,830. 📈💔
Congress wey been no want make dem dey research about gun wahala for 25 years, dem come start dey give plenty money to federal agencies for 2021 make dem fit dey gather data about gun matter. 💵📚🔬
Now, sociologists don come show us wetin dem see about people wey buy guns, wetin make dem buy am and how owning, or even holding, a firearm fit change person behavior. 👀🔍🔫
Who Start to Dey Buy Guns? Millions of Americans wey never own gun before na im come buy gun between January 2019, wey be before pandemic, reach April 2021.
For the 7.5 million people wey buy dem first gun during dat time, 5.4 million people been dey live for house wey gun no dey before, as researchers for Harvard and Northeastern University come show us. 🔍🎓🔫
These new buyers, dem different from the white men wey been always dey buy gun before. Half of the new buyers na women, and almost half na people of colour (20% na Black people, and 20% na Hispanic). 👩🏿🦱👨🏾🔫
Why Americans Come Decide to Buy Guns? Self-defense na the main reason why Americans dey buy handguns. Organizations like the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation dey tell us say gun ownership no be just constitutional right but na necessary way to protect yourself. 👮♀️🛡️🔫
Study wey dem do for people wey talk say dem go buy dem first or second gun during the early time of pandemic show say people wey plan to buy gun dey see world as dangerous place pass people wey no dey plan to buy gun.
The people wey plan to buy gun agree well well with talk like “People no fit be trusted,” “People no be as dem seem,” and “You need to watch your back,” pass people wey no dey plan to buy gun, as Dr. Anestis, wey be author of the study, come talk am.
People wey want to buy gun also dey fear uncertainty. Dem dey agree well well with talk like “Unforeseen events dey make me fear well well” and “I no like am when I no know wetin go happen next.”
Dem come fear Covid well well too, according to the study, wey dem do for June and July 2020. The people wey wan buy gun, na dem dey work for essential places pass. Dr. Anestis, wey dey study suicide, come talk say the people wey plan to buy gun dey think about killing demsef pass.
More than half of all gun deaths inside US na suicide. For 2021 for example, out of the 48,830 gun deaths wey happen, 26,328 na suicide.
“Gun owners no dey think about killing demsef pass non-owners,” Dr. Anestis talk. “But if you look the people wey buy gun during the rush, and if na dem first gun, dem dey think about killing demsef pass others for the last month, year or even all their life.”
To Some, Gun Bring Comfort Different experiment don show say when person touch person, e dey make the person feel better.
Nick Buttrick, wey be psychologist for University of Wisconsin-Madison, come dey wonder whether gun dey bring the same kind comfort to gun owners, as if na dem personal security blanket.
“The real question I wan answer na, Wetin people dey get when dem get gun?” he come ask. “Why person go want take dis dangerous thing come add am to dem life?”
He come call college students, some wey come from house wey gun dey, to join for study where dem go give dem small electric shock (he say the feeling na like static electricity).
As dem dey give dem the shock, dem give dem dem friend hand, metal object or something wey look and feel like pistol but no get firing mechanism. For the people wey grow around guns, holding the thing wey look like gun na im give dem the greatest comfort, Dr. Buttrick talk.
But Safety Fit Be Deception Different organizations like the N.R.A. dey always talk about the need for safe handling and storage of guns and dem dey offer training programs to make gun ownership safer. But critics talk say public health officials no dey do well to tell Americans about the risks.
Many studies don show say easy access to guns no dey make house safer. Instead, ownership dey increase the chance of suicide and murder, as Sarah Burd-Sharps, wey be senior director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization wey dey work to end gun violence, talk am.
One of the earliest studies to talk about this danger na one paper for 1993 inside The New England Journal of Medicine wey talk say when you keep gun for house e dey increase the chance of murder by 2.7 times, with almost all the shooting na family members or close friends na im dey do am. Dem don repeat this finding for many studies.
“You dey more likely to be victim of that gun than to successfully protect yourself,” Ms. Burd-Sharps talk, she come add say gun owners “dey tragically not understand the risks.”
Carrying Gun Fit Change How Person See Threats When Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times inside him building for the Bronx more than two decades ago, police officers talk say dem think say the wallet wey he dey hold na weapon. For Cleveland for 2014, one police officer come kill 12-year-old Tamir Rice because he think say the pikin “airsoft” gun na real gun.
Researchers dey look more and more into the idea say person wey carry gun dey more likely to think say other people dey carry gun, and to react as if he or she dey threatened, concept wey dem call gun embodiment.
“The idea behind embodiment na say your ability to act for environment dey change how you dey see the environment,” talk Nathan Tenhundfeld, wey be associate professor of psychology for University of Alabama for Huntsville and na him write one recent study. “Gun embodiment dey look into the old saying ‘When you dey hold hammer, everything go look like nail.’”
Stereotypes and emotions dey affect how person fit correctly identify gun and, therefore, whether particular person actually dey carry gun. One study come find say participants dey more likely to mistakenly think say a Black person dey hold gun than to mistakenly think say a white person dey armed.
In research wey dem use computer simulations, participants dey more likely to shoot target wey look like say e dey wear turban.
For one recent effort to do the same thing like old studies on gun embodiment, Dr. Tenhundfeld and him colleagues give college students fake gun or neutral object — spatula. Dem hold the objects while dem dey watch images of guns and other ordinary things come up on computer screen.
Dem tell dem to quickly decide whether to “shoot” in response. When the participants dey hold the gun, dem take time to respond, dem find am harder to quickly differentiate between weapons and things wey no dey threaten, and dem make more mistakes.
“Dem no dey biased — dem just dey make mistake pass often, and dem dey slow when dem dey hold gun when the thing wey dem dey look na shoe,” Dr. Tenhundfeld talk.
E fit be say this na one kind of gun embodiment, he talk, come add say the participant’s “ability to act for environment dey affect how dem dey see the environment — say holding that gun dey change how you dey see the world.”
NOW IN ENGLISH
🧐📚🔫 What Sociologists Have Observed About Why Many Americans Are Buying Guns
2020 was a year of significant tension in various US communities due to Covid lockdowns, street protests, economic woes, and feelings of isolation. As a result, Americans purchased a substantial amount of firearms, with 22 million guns bought that year, a 64% increase from 2019. More than eight million of those purchases were by first-time gun owners, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association. 🔫🛍️😷
Firearm injuries in the US escalated dramatically that year, increasing to 19,350 from 14,392 in 2019. The number of deaths from firearm injuries, including suicides, rose to 45,222 in 2020 from 39,702 in 2019. The number of fatalities due to firearms climbed even further in 2021, reaching 48,830. 📈💔
After avoiding firearms research for 25 years, Congress began allotting substantial funds to federal agencies in 2021 to gather data on firearm issues. 💵📚🔬
Now, sociologists are shedding light on the demographics of gun buyers, the reasons behind their purchases, and how owning or even handling a firearm can alter a person’s behavior. 👀🔍🔫
Who Began Buying Guns? 🤔 Between January 2019, prior to the pandemic, and April 2021, millions of Americans who had never owned a firearm began to do so.
Of the 7.5 million individuals who purchased their first firearm during that period, 5.4 million lived in homes without a firearm, according to researchers from Harvard and Northeastern University. 🔍🎓🔫
These new buyers differ from the white males who have traditionally been the primary purchasers of guns. Half of the new buyers are women, and almost half are people of color (20% are Black, and 20% are Hispanic). 👩🏿🦱👨🏾🔫
Why Did Americans Decide to Buy Guns? 🤷♂️🔫 Self-defense is the primary reason why Americans purchase handguns. Organizations like the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation advocate that gun ownership is not just a constitutional right but a necessary means of self-protection. 👮♀️🛡️🔫
A study of individuals who stated they would purchase their first or another firearm during the early stages of the pandemic revealed that prospective gun buyers perceive the world as a more dangerous place than those who do not intend to buy a gun.
Those intending to purchase a firearm were more likely to agree with statements like “People cannot be trusted,” “People are not as they seem,” and “You need to watch your back,” than those who had no plans to buy a gun, according to Dr. Anestis, the study’s author.
Prospective gun buyers are also more fearful of uncertainty. They strongly agreed with statements like “Unforeseen events cause me a great deal of anxiety” and “I don’t like it when I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
They were also more concerned about Covid, according to the study conducted in June and July 2020. Those intending to purchase firearms were more likely to work in essential roles. Dr. Anestis, a suicide researcher, noted that prospective gun buyers were more likely to contemplate suicide.
More than half of all gun deaths in the US are suicides. For example, in 2021, 26,328 out of the 48,830 gun deaths were suicides.
“Gun owners are not more likely to consider suicide than non-owners,” Dr. Anestis stated. “But if you look at the people who bought guns during the rush, and if it’s their first gun, they’re more likely to have contemplated suicide than others in the last month, year, or even their lifetime.”
For Some, Guns Bring Comfort 🤗🔫 Various experiments have shown that physical touch can offer comfort.
Nick Buttrick, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wondered whether firearms provided the same kind of solace to gun owners, serving as their personal security blanket.
“The real question I wanted to answer was, What are people getting out of owning guns?” he inquired. “Why would someone want to introduce this dangerous thing into their lives?”
He invited college students, some from homes with guns, to participate in a study where they would receive a minor electric shock (he likened the sensation to static electricity).
While administering the shock, researchers gave participants their friend’s hand, a metal object, or an item resembling a pistol but without a firing mechanism. For those raised around guns, holding the gun-like item provided the greatest comfort, Dr. Buttrick reported.
But Safety May Be Deceptive 🙈🔫 Organizations like the N.R.A. consistently emphasize the need for safe handling and storage of firearms, offering training programs to make gun ownership safer. However, critics argue that public health officials fail to adequately inform Americans about the risks.
Many studies have revealed that easy access to firearms does not make homes safer. On the contrary, it increases the likelihood of suicide and homicide, according to Sarah Burd-Sharps, Senior Director of Research at Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending gun violence.
One of the earliest studies to highlight this danger, a 1993 paper in The New England Journal of Medicine, reported that having a gun in the home increases the chance of homicide by 2.7 times, with almost all shootings perpetrated by family members or close friends. This finding has been replicated in numerous studies.
“You’re more likely to be a victim of that gun than to successfully protect yourself,” Ms. Burd-Sharps stated, adding that gun owners “tragically misunderstand the risks.”
Carrying a Gun Can Change How One Perceives Threats 😨🔫 When Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times in his Bronx apartment over two decades ago, police officers claimed they thought the wallet he was holding was a weapon. In Cleveland in 2014, a police officer killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, mistaking the child’s “airsoft” gun for a real firearm.
Researchers are increasingly exploring the idea that individuals carrying a gun are more likely to assume others are also armed, and react as if they are threatened—a concept known as gun embodiment.
“The idea behind embodiment is that your ability to act in the environment changes how you perceive the environment,” explained Nathan Tenhundfeld, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the author of a recent study. “Gun embodiment looks at the old adage ‘When you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’”
Stereotypes and emotions affect one’s ability to correctly identify a gun and, therefore, whether a particular individual is actually armed. One study found that participants were more likely to mistakenly believe a Black person was holding a gun than to mistakenly believe a white person was armed.
In research using computer simulations, participants were more likely to shoot at a target appearing to wear a turban.
In a recent attempt to replicate older studies on gun embodiment, Dr. Tenhundfeld and his colleagues provided college students with a toy gun or a neutral object — a spatula. They held these objects while viewing images of guns and other ordinary objects displayed on a computer screen.
They were instructed to quickly decide whether to “shoot” in response. When the participants held the gun, they took longer to respond, found it more difficult to quickly differentiate between weapons and non-threatening objects, and made more errors.
“They weren’t biased—they simply made more mistakes more often, and they were slower when holding a gun and the object they were looking at was a shoe,” Dr. Tenhundfeld explained.
This could be a form of gun embodiment, he suggested, adding that the participant’s “ability to act in an environment affects how they perceive the environment — that holding that gun changes how you see the world.
