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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp018049g844r
Title: Against All Odds: Enacting Domestic Violence Firearm Bans in Conservative U.S. States
Authors: King, Julia
Advisors: Lee, Frances
Department: Politics
Certificate Program: Global Health and Health Policy Program
Class Year: 2024
Abstract: This thesis investigates the passage of domestic violence firearm restrictions in states that are typically hostile to any form of gun control. Through a quantitative analysis of passage, this study understands contentious legislation in deeply conservative American states through an analytical negotiation framework and systematic legislative histories. This process ultimately reveals that liberal states are not the ceiling when it comes to passing domestic violence firearm laws even in highly polarized legislative environments. Of the 148 domestic violence firearm laws passed in the United States since 1990, only 38 passed in state governments where the legislature and governorship were both Democrat-controlled. Innovative politicians and advocates are successful in overcoming hostility to create “win-win” legislation when they employ the emotional capital inherent to domestic violence and quietly engage with gun rights groups from the beginning. The thought of the National Rifle Association (NRA) drafting and supporting legislation that denies any group Second Amendment rights is unheard of in the public and political domain, but this thesis highlights quiet victories in surprising states to tell a different story.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp018049g844r
Type of Material: Princeton University Senior Theses
Language: en
Appears in Collections:Politics, 1927-2024
Global Health and Health Policy Program, 2017-2023

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