| Summary: | In this mixed-methods study, 1,205 participants were surveyed about their
likelihood of engaging in First Amendment behaviors at a protest with and without firearms
and asked to explain what factors they considered when selecting their answers. Armed
protests are becoming frequent events in our polarized national climate. Although the
Supreme Court has provided guidance on individual Second Amendment rights in the home, open
carry in public has not been clarified. Lower courts have interpreted this issue
differently, leaving local policy makers with unclear guidance on how to balance public
safety and civil liberties at these events. Legal scholars have identified a need to
understand protest participants' perceptions of firearms to accurately consider First
Amendment and Second Amendment arguments, but empirical review indicated a scarcity of data
on protest participants' perceptions of firearms. Findings revealed a comprehensive
description of sample participants' perceptions of firearms at protests. In the
quantitative element of the study, differences in expressive behavior were analyzed in the
condition with no firearms and the condition with firearms. The analysis showed that
participants were less likely to engage in expressive behaviors when firearms were present.
Within the qualitative element of the study, descriptions of what caused the difference
emerged. Themes including mistrust of others and fear of violence appeared in the condition
with firearms, and themes of wanting to be heard and caring about civic responsibility and
support for issues appeared in the condition without firearms. Results may be helpful for
policy makers seeking to regulate armed protests and lay a foundation for future
research.--Author's abstract
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