Previous research has shown that nearly 1 in 4 immigrant adults are very worried about being a victim of gun violence compared with about 1 in 10 citizens in California.

In this age of renewed anti-immigrant rhetoric, how does that affect gun ownership among immigrants — and citizens?

Using 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data, a new study of the state’s largest immigrant groups — Latino and Asian adults — compares firearm ownership and storage practices among immigrants and citizens, and contrasts ownership with attitudes toward being a victim of gun violence.

The results are an eye-opening look at who is likely to own a gun and whether those gun owners are fearful of being a victim of gun violence — or not. The study also compares safe firearm storage practices among immigrants and citizens and how that could guide gun safety policies in the future.

Speakers:

George E. Tita, PhD, is a Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Director of the Livable Cities Lab at the University of California – Irvine.

Michael Rodriguez, MD, MPH, is Executive Director of the California Alliance of Academics and Communities for Public Health Equity, senior advisor at the California Academic Health Department Project, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Clarissa Iliff, MPP, is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California – Irvine.