Black Women & Gun Ownership in America: An Exploratory Study of Motivations and Strategy

Abstract

This exploratory work studies the motivations and strategies adopted by black females in the United States who own at least one firearm. Research shows that black females as a demographic group have been trending upward in gun ownership in the last 2 years. The authors interviewed 17 females, with a median age of 37, across the country, for 45–60 min to gather insight on what might be motivating black females to acquire a firearm when research shows that they are the least likely demographic to desire gun ownership, least likely to find protection value from them, and most often harmed by them. Personal protection tends to be the most popular reason for acquiring a weapon among gun owners. This qualitative research suggests that black females may be choosing to purchase a weapon for personal protection both inside and outside the home from both intruder threats and race-based mass gun violence and racial/sexual harassment threats in the community at large. The authors also examined the strategies their participants adopted as part of their gun ownership. These strategies included masking the gun from view when in public, keeping the gun at a distance when in a vehicle, and preemptively de-escalating police interaction in a traffic stop. Finally, participants reflected on whether gun ownership met their motivations for originally acquiring a gun. Participants regretted gun ownership but felt somewhat safer in certain situations for possessing one. Research should be conducted on a larger sample to examine geographical, age, socio-economic status, political, and urban/rural setting differences.