Research Reports

“Columbine Generation” Ranks School Shootings as Top Issue Facing America’s Future

The generation of young Americans growing up in the post-Columbine era of school shootings and active shooter drills has no doubt about the top issue facing America’s future. And they are determined to stop the bloodshed by pushing for tougher gun laws.

A new national poll finds that school shootings top a list of 15 issues for Americans ages 14-29, and that there is broad support for stricter gun laws -- even among those who own guns. Among voting-age respondents, the concern about school shootings is even greater.

“While talk of school shootings may have quieted in the media, this Columbine Generation that has grown up facing the threat of school shootings every day has been traumatized and remains energized unlike any time since September 11th,” said study director John Della Volpe.

Said a participant in one of the focus groups that helped shape the survey questionnaire:

“An older generation would not understand walking into a classroom … and thinking, ‘this could be a really easy room for someone to shoot up.’”

Other top issues of concern for these young people were access to higher education, health care reform, and job creation.

Among other findings in the poll conducted by Della Volpe, CEO of SocialSphere, a Cambridge, Mass. opinion research firm and Director of Polling at Harvard’s Kennedy School Institute of Politics:

  • 70 percent of young Americans believe gun laws should be stricter, with 37 percent of them advocating for gun laws that are a “lot more strict.”
  • Among voting-age respondents, 80 percent favor stricter gun laws and 67 percent think current gun laws make the country less safe.

The SocialSphere research, conducted in September, was funded by the Joyce Foundation.

Said Nina Vinik, director of the foundation’s Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform Program:

“This research shows that concern about school shootings lasts long beyond any particular incident. For the 'Columbine Generation' who have grown up with school shootings and lockdown drills, this is a unifying issue. Policy makers should pay close attention to these findings.”

Additional findings from the survey will be released in coming weeks. Further information on the initial results can be found here.

About The Joyce Foundation

Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

Related Content

News

Two Great Lakes States Launch Data Dashboards to Report Violent Deaths & Develop Prevention Strategies

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently launched MiDVRS and MNDVRS presenting data collected by the NVDRS, the most comprehensive source of data on violent deaths.

In The Media

How a Philanthropic Bet on Violence Intervention Is Winning Public Dollars

State, local, and city agencies are investing about $150 million this year in a variety of community violence-intervention strategies that philanthropy is road-testing. Read more about how the Joyce Foundation and others are stepping in to fund CVI work.

Source
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

News

Poll Gauges Public Attitudes toward Political Violence in the United States

The Joyce Foundation, Trusted Elections Fund, and The Klarman Family Foundation initiated a public opinion research project exploring the public’s view of, and reaction to, political violence and extremism.

Research Report

Toward a Fair and Just Response to Gun Violence: Recommendations to Advance Policy, Practice and Research

Report with recommendations to advance policy, practice and research by a group of experts convened by the Joyce Foundation beginning in 2019 under the banner “Toward a Fair and Just Response to Gun Violence.”

News

Landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to reduce gun violence

The Joyce Foundation applauds the bipartisan effort to pass the Safer Communities Act, which brings us closer to the safer America we all seek and deserve. 

News

The Foundation's statement on the Bruen case ruling

The Supreme Court’s ruling today in the Bruen case will make communities across America less safe. A large and growing body of evidence demonstrates that the mere presence of a firearm increases the risk of injury and death.

News

Checking the facts on “red flag laws”

The latest research into “red flag laws” and other gun safety measures was highlighted at a recent webinar series for journalists produced by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and its PolitiFact fact-checking arm.

Webinar

Examining the Rise of Armed Extremists and Militias in Michigan

Recent political violence issues have been on the rise in the U.S. During this webinar, panelists discussed these trends, their implications on democratic institutions specifically in Michigan, and what policy makers might be poised to do about it.