While veterans are more likely to be supportive than nonvets of expanding civilians’ gun carrying rights – including supporting open carry laws – veterans with combat experience are 78% more likely than nonvets to favor banning AR-15s and other military-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips, Dr. “What we found was much more nuanced,” he says. Such factors might suggest that military service members would be more opposed to gun control than the average U.S. They had not, though many have assumptions about what veterans think of gun laws – particularly given that they’re more likely to own firearms than the general population, and given the trend toward political conservatism in the ranks since the end of conscription, Dr. “We thought, my goodness, surely somebody’s looked at this before – how combat experience and other types of military socialization may play into gun policy attitudes.” When Christopher Ellison, professor of sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, began researching the opinions of veterans on gun control, he and his colleagues were surprised how little social science there was on the topic. “Some gun manufacturers are selling the idea that we can have unfettered freedom without responsibility – but you can’t have one without the other.” Combat experience pivotal “If you don’t rent a car to someone under 25, because you don’t trust them, or if we don’t trust you with a beer, we probably shouldn’t trust you with some of these weapons,” Dr. The bill tightens up registrations for firearms dealers, makes it easier to remove guns from people convicted of domestic violence, and enhances background checks for gun buyers between ages 18 and 21 (the Uvalde shooter legally bought his assault rifle the day after he turned 18). Such efforts at compromise, from vets and others, paid off this week as Congress passed its first major gun safety legislation in a quarter century – with a Senate vote Thursday followed by House action Friday to set up an expected signature by President Joe Biden. A Democrat, she is among a number of military veterans in Congress, from Delaware and Pennsylvania to Arizona and California, who support more national gun safety measures. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. In many cases, their efforts represent a change in tack to get laws enacted, even if they fall short of the bans on certain weapons many would like to see, says Jason Dempsey, who served as an infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. veterans are increasingly weighing in to provide reality checks on policy proposals and endeavoring to encourage cooperation and forge compromise in what is – it’s widely agreed across the political aisle – a critical quest for the safety of vulnerable schoolchildren. In the heated debate over guns in America, U.S. He doesn’t have a job and would love to do this,” he recalls. Forsling garnered plaudits from fellow veterans but pushback from the people who love them, including responses along the lines of, “You’re wrong – veterans can do anything!” and “My cousin Kevin was in the Navy. “There’s a reason why special operations forces are held in such high regard.” Yet they share wider public concerns about gun safety – often supporting restrictions on military-style firearms. military in some ways trend conservative.

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