Women's Emancipation and the Ownership of Firearms

ABSTRACT

Criminologists argue that the involvement of women in traditionally male forms of criminality has increased as a result of their increased economic and social liberation from patriarchal control. Although this argument remains controversial, it has been suggested that emancipated attitudes and behaviors can also be linked to women's gun ownership. Using data from the General Social Survey, we test an emancipation model of women's firearm ownership. Our analysis reveals that emancipation is related to the ownership of such weapons among married but not among unmarried women. Further analysis suggests that this finding reflects the power of culture to shape the action strategies through which attitudes are put into action.