Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Keywords

Gun control, gun violence prevention, gun lobby groups, gun control legislation, United States Congress, political action frames, public opinion, background checks, Second Amendment

Department

Political Science

Major

Political Science and Sociology

Abstract

This paper uses and expands upon the theoretical framework of political framing theory to analyze the messages that came out of different gun lobby groups during the early 2013 debate on gun control legislation that was being discussed within the United States Congress. My research question is what are the elements of a political action frame for a piece of legislation that can lead to positive or negative public opinion of it? To conduct my research I use a mixed-methods research approach to analyze recent political framing in regards to American gun control policy. For the qualitative part of the paper, I conduct a content analysis of both pro and anti-gun control messaging that came from the major gun lobby groups during the earlier part of 2013. For the quantitative part, I conduct a questionnaire experiment in which individuals are randomly assigned one of three potential frames, and I analyze the reception that each frame receives from participants.

See the author's related senior thesis.

Faculty Mentor

Brian Newman and Candice Ortbals

Funding Source or Research Program

Political Science Honors Program

Presentation Session

Session A

Location

Plaza Classroom 190

Start Date

21-3-2014 4:00 PM

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Mar 21st, 4:00 PM

Finding a Frame that Fits: Analyzing and Comparing Rival Framing of American Gun Control Policy in 2013

Plaza Classroom 190

This paper uses and expands upon the theoretical framework of political framing theory to analyze the messages that came out of different gun lobby groups during the early 2013 debate on gun control legislation that was being discussed within the United States Congress. My research question is what are the elements of a political action frame for a piece of legislation that can lead to positive or negative public opinion of it? To conduct my research I use a mixed-methods research approach to analyze recent political framing in regards to American gun control policy. For the qualitative part of the paper, I conduct a content analysis of both pro and anti-gun control messaging that came from the major gun lobby groups during the earlier part of 2013. For the quantitative part, I conduct a questionnaire experiment in which individuals are randomly assigned one of three potential frames, and I analyze the reception that each frame receives from participants.

See the author's related senior thesis.

 

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