Gun Stories: How Evidence Shapes Firearm Policy in the United States

This article examines the role of evidence in the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence's firearm policy debate proximate to the December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. The groups’ member-directed policy narratives are operationalized with The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), and new categories of evidence for the framework are developed. Analysis of 2,535 paragraphs of member newsletters indicates the groups display different patterns of narrative components. Evidence is associated with narrative elements, and that narrative strategy has a significant, but mixed relationship with evidence. Most importantly, findings indicate that evidence frequently co-occurs with characters, leading us to conclude that evidence has a buttressing, or supportive, role in policy narrative closely associated with character attributions. The findings expand the understanding of evidence in contentious policy debates and offer a new component for NPF theory. Related Articles Nevbahar, Ertas. 2015. “Policy Narratives and Public Opinion Concerning Charter Schools.” Politics & Policy 43 (3): 426-451. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12120/abstract Raile, Eric D., Amber N. W. Raile, Charles T. Salmon, and Lori Ann Post. 2014. “Defining Public Will.” Politics & Policy 42 (1): 103-130. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12063/abstract Shanahan, Elizabeth A., Mark K. McBeth, and Paul T. Hathaway. 2011. “Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narratives on Public Opinion.” Politics & Policy 39 (3): 373-400. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00295.x/abstract Related Media Brady Campaign YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/BradyCampaign National Rifle Association YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/NRAVideos