To dive into the demographic change and its fascinating implications, we have two academics who were involved in a new edition of the magazine Vital City that focused on women and guns. Kerri Raissian, Executive Director of Yale’s Firearm Injury Prevention Team, co-edited the wide-ranging edition. University of Kansas professor Margaret Kelley, author of A Gun of Her Own: The Everyday Lives of Women Who Shoot, wrote what I think is one of the magazine's best pieces.

They both join the show to explore the ins and outs of why women are buying more guns.

Raissian said she got a grant to put the edition together with Vital City. She said the goal was to bring a focus on the unique ways guns and gun ownership impact women. She argued women are a growing portion of gun owners, but much of the research, discussion, and even laws are focused on how men use guns.

That's where Kelley's research comes in. Her piece, an offshoot of her book, focuses on actual conversations and surveys with female gun owners. She said her evidence points to specific motivations women cite for gun ownership, primarily as an extension of their impulse to care for others, that may differ from men. She said they also tend to weigh considerations, like moral injury, very heavily.

Special Guests: Kerri Raissian and Margaret Kelley.

Who better to do that with than one of the analysts who actually conducted the poll? That's why we have Micah Roberts of Public Opinion Strategies on the show this week. He and his company run surveys for NBC, CNBC, and a number of political operations.

He said the biggest takeaway from the latest NBC poll on guns was the substantial spike in ownership, especially among Democrats and suburban voters. He noted gun ownership has increased ten points in just ten years, which he argued is highly unusual because gun ownership is a trait that tends not to swing much over time. He also pointed out the remarkable 17-point increase in gun ownership among Black Americans.

Roberts explained how the poll found, like many others before it, that gun ownership has a significant effect on how people view gun control. Gun owners, as you might expect, are less likely to support new gun restrictions. So, the influx of new gun owners could shape the nation's gun politics.

However, he also identified a surprising trend. Democrats have seen the greatest increase in gun ownership since the poll started. But they've also seen the greatest increase in concern the government won't do enough to restrict access to guns. He said there is still an identifiable difference in how Democrats view guns based on whether they own one, but partisanship appears to have a greater effect on those views.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the failed Senate "assault weapons" ban vote.

Special Guest: Micah Roberts.