An estimated 45,000 people died from gun-related deaths in 2020, the highest single year count in over two decades (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). While gun ownership has increased over time, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, economic disruption, widespread protests against police violence, and a tense political environment likely contributed to record numbers of gun sales in 2020 (Tavernise, 2021). Millions of Americans buying guns in 2020 (20–30% of purchasers) were first-time gun owners (Crifasi et al., 2021; Miller et al., 2022).

Prior research has shown that many factors including race/ethnicity, gender, religion, and geography are associated with gun ownership and support for gun policies (Schaeffer, 2021; Oraka et al., 2019; Merino, 2018; O'Brien et al., 2013). Gun ownership is strongly linked to decreased support for more restrictive gun policies (Schaeffer, 2021). Political party affiliation is also associated with differences in support for gun regulations, though differences in support vary across policies (Schaeffer, 2021). A 2017 survey by the current authors found that only 8 of 24 gun policies had more than a 10-point gap in support between Republicans and Democrats (Barry et al., 2018).

In this nationally representative survey, we aim to understand the current state of support for 34 specific gun policies in the United States in 2021 and to assess changes in support by gun ownership status and political party affiliation between 2019 and 2021.