Common Sense or Gun Control? Political Communication and News Media Framing of Firearm Sale Background Checks after Newtown
Common Sense or Gun Control? Political Communication and News Media Framing of Firearm Sale Background Checks after Newtown
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DOI：
10.1215/03616878-3445592
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发表时间：
2016-02-01
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Webster, Daniel W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
McGinty, Emma E.;Wolfson, Julia A.;Webster, Daniel W.
枪支暴力在美国是一个严重的公共卫生问题，但它很少在公共政策议程的顶部。2012年康涅狄格州纽敦的大规模枪击事件为美国加强枪支政策打开了一扇难得的机会之窗。在这项研究中，我们研究了美国公众的接触竞争的论点，支持和反对联邦和国家一级的普遍背景调查法，这将需要背景调查之前，每一个枪支销售，在一个大样本的国家和地区的新闻故事（n = 486）发表在一年后的纽敦枪击案。关于背景调查法的相互竞争的信息可能会通过改变枪支拥有者和保守派等关键选区的支持和政治参与来影响政策辩论的结果。我们发现，支持普遍背景调查的新闻媒体信息是基于事实并使用理性论点的，而反对的信息通常使用基于权利的框架，旨在激活参与政治的枪支拥有者的核心价值观。重新制定有关背景调查政策的支持性信息，以符合枪支拥有者和保守派的核心价值观，这可能是一个有希望的战略，可以提高这些群体对扩大枪支销售背景调查的支持。
Gun violence is a critical public health problem in the United States, but it is rarely at the top of the public policy agenda. The 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, opened a rare window of opportunity to strengthen firearm policies in the United States. In this study, we examine the American public's exposure to competing arguments for and against federal- and state-level universal background check laws, which would require a background check prior to every firearm sale, in a large sample of national and regional news stories (n = 486) published in the year following the Newtown shooting. Competing messages about background check laws could influence the outcome of policy debates by shifting support and political engagement among key constituencies such as gun owners and conservatives. We found that news media messages in support of universal background checks were fact-based and used rational arguments, and opposing messages often used rights-based frames designed to activate the core values of politically engaged gun owners. Reframing supportive messages about background check policies to align with gun owners' and conservatives' core values could be a promising strategy to increase these groups' willingness to vocalize their support for expanding background checks for firearm sales.