Gun Attitudes and Opinions of Self-Defense Laws among College Students

By 2024, 35 states had adopted self-defense laws, ranging from modified stand your ground (SYG) laws to expanding castle doctrine (CD) to apply beyond the home. Although these laws were intended to protect communities, states with these laws have higher firearm homicide rates. By surveying emerging adults, the current study examines how gun attitudes influence support for self-defense laws, such as CD and SYG. Participants were 444 students at a southeastern university recruited for a study on self-defense laws. Participants answered questions assessing their knowledge of SYG and CD laws, then received a brief description of each self-defense law and were asked whether they supported each law. Finally, participants were asked about their general gun attitudes and attitudes toward gun control. Results indicated that participants with more favorable gun control laws were less likely to support both stand your ground laws and castle doctrine. However, people with positive gun attitudes were more likely to support self-defense laws. People who previously or currently own a gun were more likely to support self-defense laws than those who have never owned one. Findings indicate that gun ownership and attitudes influence support for self-defense laws. Implications for policy and research are provided. The application of self-defense laws, such as stand your ground (SYG) laws and castle doctrine (CD), is increasing, reflecting a growing legal and cultural reliance on self-defense laws. Gun ownership and attitudes may influence support for self-defense laws, which have implications for the United States' criminal legal system.