Life

What Do Millennials Think About Gun Reform?

by Emma Cueto

Gun reform is a controversial topic in the United States right now, and people in the U.S. clearly hold a wide variety of views and positions surrounding the debate. But what do millennials think of gun reform? Surprisingly, based on the polling that's been done on the subject, millennials don't seem to be as firmly left on the issue as we are on many other political questions. In fact, millennials' views on gun reform seem pretty complicated. So to get a more well-rounded picture, social media platform Yik Yak decided to ask their users to talk about it.

Yik Yak, a social network that allows people to anonymously post messages and view messages that are posted within a five-mile radius, is typically locally focused (for better or worse). But they also have a section on the app called "herds" where they allow people from across the country to participate in conversations on specific topics. Worth noting is that Yik Yak can only identify the location a message was sent from and can't verify the precise age of individual users (although all users are 18 and over, as required by the app's terms of service); however, they do report that overall, 98 percent of their users are millennials, meaning the responses they get on any given topic probably represent a spectrum of millennial opinions on the subject.

And they do indeed reflect a wide variety of nuanced views across the ideological spectrum.

In the wake of Orlando, we've been reminded of just how important the issue of gun reform is. So on June 21, Yik Yak gave their users the following prompt: "Yesterday the Senate gave a thumbs down to gun control measures. What's your take on gun control and how can we tackle such a tough topic?" The social media app received hundreds of responses, but here are just a few, including their location stamps.

Some People Take A Pretty Hard Line Against Guns:

Other People Don't Believe Gun Reform Is The Answer:

Many People Seem To Feel Strongly About The Second Amendment:

Although even those responses are often nuanced.

Others Don't Think The Second Amendment Is Inviolable:

Overall, millennials seem to have a very nuanced view of guns and gun reform. Few people seem to be in support of banning all guns; and at the same time, few seem to be in support of making all guns and gun sales legal. Everyone, it appears, has their own understanding.

Millennial opinions on gun reform are broad and varied, but it's clear that our generation does care deeply and think deeply about the issue. Our lack of consensus seems to show that we tend to approach the topic individually and make up our own minds. And whatever that means for gun reform, it is a good sign to see that we are so independent and engaged on the topic.

Images: Courtesy of Yik Yak

This post has been updated for clarity.