According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2023, white respondents were more likely to either personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household than their non-white counterparts. During the survey, 35 percent of white Americans reported that they personally owned a firearm, compared to 22 percent of non-white respondents.

The statistic shows the percentage of population in the United States with one or more firearms in the household between 2007 and 2012, by ethnicity. Between 2007 and 2010, about ** percent of the black U.S. population had at least one gun in their household.

This study was undertaken to obtain information on the characteristics of gun ownership, gun-carrying practices, and weapons-related incidents in the United States -- specifically, gun use and other weapons used in self-defense against humans and animals. Data were gathered using a national random-digit-dial telephone survey. The respondents were comprised of 1,905 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and older living in the 50 United States. All interviews were completed between May 28 and July 2, 1996. The sample was designed to be a representative sample of households, not of individuals, so researchers did not interview more than one adult from each household. To start the interview, six qualifying questions were asked, dealing with (1) gun ownership, (2) gun-carrying practices, (3) gun display against the respondent, (4) gun use in self-defense against animals, (5) gun use in self-defense against people, and (6) other weapons used in self-defense. A "yes" response to a qualifying question led to a series of additional questions on the same topic as the qualifying question. Part 1, Survey Data, contains the coded data obtained during the interviews, and Part 2, Open-Ended-Verbatim Responses, consists of the answers to open-ended questions provided by the respondents. Information collected for Part 1 covers how many firearms were owned by household members, types of firearms owned (handguns, revolvers, pistols, fully automatic weapons, and assault weapons), whether the respondent personally owned a gun, reasons for owning a gun, type of gun carried, whether the gun was ever kept loaded, kept concealed, used for personal protection, or used for work, and whether the respondent had a permit to carry the gun. Additional questions focused on incidents in which a gun was displayed in a hostile manner against the respondent, including the number of times such an incident took place, the location of the event in which the gun was displayed against the respondent, whether the police were contacted, whether the individual displaying the gun was known to the respondent, whether the incident was a burglary, robbery, or other planned assault, and the number of shots fired during the incident. Variables concerning gun use by the respondent in self-defense against an animal include the number of times the respondent used a gun in this manner and whether the respondent was hunting at the time of the incident. Other variables in Part 1 deal with gun use in self-defense against people, such as the location of the event, if the other individual knew the respondent had a gun, the type of gun used, any injuries to the respondent or to the individual that required medical attention or hospitalization, whether the incident was reported to the police, whether there were any arrests, whether other weapons were used in self-defense, the type of other weapon used, location of the incident in which the other weapon was used, and whether the respondent was working as a police officer or security guard or was in the military at the time of the event. Demographic variables in Part 1 include the gender, race, age, household income, and type of community (city, suburb, or rural) in which the respondent lived. Open-ended questions asked during the interview comprise the variables in Part 2. Responses include descriptions of where the respondent was when he or she displayed a gun (in self-defense or otherwise), specific reasons why the respondent displayed a gun, how the other individual reacted when the respondent displayed the gun, how the individual knew the respondent had a gun, whether the police were contacted for specific self-defense events, and if not, why not.

There was a large spike in gun purchases and gun violence during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. We used an online U.S. national survey (N = 1036) to examine the characteristics of people who purchased a gun between March 2020 and October 2021 (n = 103) and compared them to non-gun owners (n = 763) and people who own a gun but did not purchase a gun during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 170). Compared to non-gun owners, pandemic gun buyers were younger and more likely to be male, White race, and to affiliate with the Republican party. Compared to non-gun owners and pre-pandemic gun owners, pandemic gun buyers exhibited extreme elevations on a constellation of political (QAnon beliefs, pro-gun attitudes, Christian Nationalism, approval of former President Donald Trump, anti-vax beliefs, COVID-19 skepticism; mean Cohen’s d = 1.15), behavioral (intimate partner violence, antisocial behavior; mean d = 1.38), mental health (suicidality, depression, anxiety, substance use; mean d = 1.21), and personality (desire for power, belief in a dangerous world, low agreeableness, low conscientiousness; mean d = 0.95) characteristics. In contrast, pre-pandemic gun owners only endorsed more pro-gun attitudes (d = 0.67), lower approval of President Joe Biden (d = -0.41) and were more likely to be male and affiliate with the Republican party relative to non-gun owners. Pandemic gun buyers represent an extreme group in terms of political and psychological characteristics including several risk-factors for violence and self-harm.

In the United States, Black people have higher rates of gun homicide than White people across all age groups. As of 2022, gun homicide rates were highest among Black people aged between 15 and 24 years, at ***** gun homicides per 100,000 of the population. In comparison, there were only **** gun homicides per 100,000 of the White population within this age range. However, the risk for gun homicide was greatest among all adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 to 44 in that year. The impact of guns on young Americans In the last few years, firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers aged one to 19 years old, accounting for more deaths than car crashes and diseases. School shootings also remain on the rise recently, with the U.S. recording ** times as many school shootings than other high-income nations from 2009 to 2018. Black students in particular experience a disproportionately high number of school shootings relative to their population, and K-12 teachers at schools made up mostly of students of color are more likely to report feeling afraid that they or their students would be a victim of attack or harm. The right to bear arms Despite increasingly high rates of gun-related violence, gun ownership remains a significant part of American culture, largely due to the fact that the right to bear arms is written into the U.S. Constitution. Although firearms are the most common murder weapon used in the U.S., accounting for approximately ****** homicides in 2022, almost **** of American households have at least one firearm in their possession. Consequently, it is evident that firearms remain easily accessible nationwide, even though gun laws may vary from state to state. However, the topic of gun control still causes political controversy, as the majority of Republicans agree that it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while Democrats are more inclined to believe that it is more important to limit gun ownership.

This poll, conducted April 13-16, 2005, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency and issues such as the economy and the campaign against terrorism. Respondents were asked how well the United States Congress and their own representatives were doing their jobs, and gave their opinions of the Republican and Democratic parties, House Majority Leader Tom Delay, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and the late Pope John Paul II. Respondents voiced their concerns about the most important problem facing the country, whether the United States did the right thing by taking military action against Iraq, and how well the United States was doing to restore stability in Iraq. A set of questions addressed the recent death of Pope John Paul II, the Catholic church and priesthood, the church's handling of the sexual abuse of children by priests, and the position the next Pope should take on issues such as birth control and the ordainment of women. Additional topics focused on abortion, Social Security, the Patriot Act, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the use of stun guns, gasoline prices, and laws regarding life and death. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, religious affiliation, frequency of religious service attendance, political party affiliation, political philosophy, education level, marital status, household income, voter registration and participation history, gun ownership, and whether there were children in the household.

This survey was undertaken to obtain information on the characteristics of gun ownership, gun storage and gun carrying practices, and weapons-related incidents in the United States--specifically, use of guns and other weapons in self-defense against other people. Data were collected using national random-digit dial telephone surveys completed between March 19, 1999 and July 13, 1999. Sampling was suspended after the school shooting in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999, and resumed after a cool-down period. Part 1, Survey Data, contains the coded data obtained during the interviews, and Part 2, Open-Ended Verbatim Responses, consists of open-ended answers provided by the respondents. Four qualifying questions were asked, dealing with: (1) gun ownership, (2) gun display against the respondent, (3) gun use in self-defense against another person, and (4) the use of a weapon other than a gun in self-defense against another person. A "yes" response to a qualifying question led to a series of additional questions on the same topic as the qualifying question. Information was collected from all respondents on the perceived safety of their neighborhood, whether they would feel safer if more people owned guns, whether guns should be allowed in public places, whether gun injuries were a problem in their community, whether they would favor or oppose a program to reduce gun injuries, and whether they had ever been shot with a gun. Respondents living in households that currently contained a gun were asked how many and what type of guns were present, the main reasons for owning a gun, whether any of the guns were loaded and unlocked, and whether they had received formal firearms training. Questions about incidents in which a gun was displayed in a hostile manner against the respondent included the number of times it took place, how long ago it had occurred, whether the respondent was in the military or police force at the time, the location of the incident, whether the individual displaying the gun was known to the respondent, whether the respondent had a gun, and whether the police were contacted. Respondents who had used a gun or other weapon in self-defense in the last five years were asked about the number of times it took place, the location of the incident, whether they were in the military or police force at the time, the type of weapon used, whether they knew the other person, whether this individual also had a weapon, whether the police were contacted and arrests made, and what crime was committed. Additional questions asked respondents whether they smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, whether they had gotten married, had had a fire in their home, and had been hospitalized for a fracture in the past year, and whether they had ever had contact with extraterrestrial life. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, household income, type of residential area (e.g., urban, rural, etc.), and age and number of children in the household.

Gun ownership in the United States is the highest in the world, and constitutionally protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Firearms are widely used in the United States for self-defence, hunting, and recreational uses, such as target shooting.

Source: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/nidzsharma/us-mass-shootings-19822023

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Data columns:

• 0 case
• 1 location
• 2 date
• 3 summary
• 4 fatalities
• 5 injured
• 6 total_victims
• 7 location.1
• 8 age_of_shooter
• 9 prior_signs_mental_health_issues - Cleaned
• 10 mental_health_details - Cleaned
• 11 weapons_obtained_legally
• 12 where_obtained
• 13 weapon_type
• 14 weapon_details
• 15 race - cleaned
• 16 gender - cleaned
• 17 latitude - filled from location with Google Maps API
• 18 longitude - filled from location with Google Maps API
• 19 type
• 20 year - retrieved from date column
• 21 quarter - retrieved from date column
• 22 half - retrieved from date column
• 23 month_name - retrieved from date column
• 24 day_of_week - retrieved from date column
• 25 age_group - "Teenage", "Early Adulthood", "Middle Adulthood", "Old Age"
• 26 decade - retrieved from date
• 27 name - retrieved from splitting summary
• 28 current_age - retrieved from splitting summary
• 29 description - retrieved from splitting summary

This nationally representative, anonymous, household telephone survey was conducted to explore the distribution of privately owned firearms in the United States, as well as firearm acquisition, disposal, and storage in households with guns. The study updates an earlier (1994) study by Cook and Ludwig that examined household firearm ownership in the United States (Cook P.J., Ludwig J. Guns in America: Results of a comprehensive national survey of firearms ownership and use. Washington DC: Police Foundation 1997.) Other domains of the survey included (1) past year firearm use both by respondents with firearms in their households and those without (e.g., "In the past 12 months, have you handled any gun"); (2) guns and youth (e.g., "In the last 12 months, have you ever asked another parent whether their home contains guns?"); (3) awareness of and opinions regarding state and federal firearm laws (e.g., "To the best of your knowledge, does your state have a law that holds adults liable for misuse of their guns by children or minors"; "Do you favor or oppose the sale of military style firearms?"); (4) depression and suicide (e.g., "If the Golden Gate Bridge had a barrier to prevent suicide, about how many of the 1,000 jumpers (who have committed suicide by jumping off the bridge since 1937) do you think would have found some other way to kill themselves?") and (5) aggressive driving (e.g., "In the past 12 months, have you made obscene or rude gestures at another motorist"). The survey also included extensive demographic information about the respondent and his or her family. The demographic information that was collected includes respondents' sex, age, race, education level, household income, criminal arrest history, armed forces membership status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), and political philosophy.

This data collection is a nationwide survey of issues surrounding assault weapons. Topics covered include legislation regulating the importation, sale, and manufacture of assault weapons, the sale and use of handguns, and the National Rifle Association. Respondents also were asked to rate the performance of George Bush as president and to specify what they thought was the most important problem facing the country. Background information on respondents includes political party affiliation, sex, age, education, firearm ownership, and race.

This survey was conducted among residents of the South (another sample of Non Southern states is also included) on many topics including homosexual marriage, religious beliefs, gun ownership, time spent at home, Y2K preparations, inter-race and inter-faith marriages, and presidential nominees. Demographic data include education, religious affiliation, marital status, employment status, income, race, household composition, party affiliation, political ideology,

This poll, fielded August 15, 1999, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress. They were also asked to recall the April 1999 high school shooting in Colorado, as well as the recent office shootings in Georgia and Alabama, and the previous week's shooting at a Los Angeles, California, community center and day camp. Their views were sought on the reasons behind those shootings and whether the incidents could have been prevented. A series of questions addressed the issue of gun ownership and gun control in the United States, including the depth of the Second Amendment. On the topic of gun control, respondents were asked whether they believed that regulations should be stricter, including requiring gun manufacturers to put trigger locks/safety devices on guns, extending the waiting period for background checks, requiring a three-day waiting period between when a gun is bought and when it is sold, and requiring gun owners to register each firearm with the government. Those queried were asked whether stricter laws would reduce violent crime. Additional questions addressed respondents' views regarding bans on assault weapons and all handguns, permitting individuals to carry concealed weapons, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and whether Congress would enact stricter gun control laws during 1999. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party, political orientation, Hispanic descent, marital status, gun ownership, computer access, stock market investments, age of children in household, and family income.

Abstract (en): The Home Safety Project was a population-based case control study of homicide in the home with control households matched to cases by victim age range, race, gender, and neighborhood (a proxy for socioeconomic status). The study was conducted in the following locations: Shelby County, Tennessee (August 23, 1987-August 23, 1992), King County, Washington (August 23, 1987-August 23, 1992), and Cuyahoga County, Ohio (January 1, 1990-August 23, 1992). The purpose of the data collection was to study risk and protective factors for homicide in the home and to identify individual and household factors associated with homicide (both behavioral and environmental). Respondents were asked a series of questions related to alcohol consumption, such as whether drinking ever created problems between household members, whether any household members had had trouble at work because of drinking, whether any physical fights or other violence had occurred in the home or outside the home due to drinking, and whether any injuries or hospital stays had resulted from drinking/fighting episodes. Additional queries covered whether any adult in the household had ever been arrested for any reason, whether anyone in the household used illicit drugs, and, if so, which ones. Questions on home safety features included whether the home had a burglar alarm, bars on the windows, exterior door deadbolt, security door, dogs, and any restricted access to the residence. Items on gun ownership covered whether there were any guns in the home and, if so, what type. Information also was elicited on the homicide that had taken place in the home, including whether the suspect was intimate with the victim, whether there was evidence of forced entry or entry without consent, whether the victim attempted to resist, and the respondent's assumption of the method of death as well as the medical examiner's determination. Demographic information includes victims' age, sex, and race, and respondents' age and sex. The unit of analysis is individual cases of homicide. ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.. All homicides in homes that involved residents of the three study counties (Shelby County, Tennessee, King County, Washington, and Cuyahoga County, Ohio) during the study interval. Any death that was ruled a homicide was included, regardless of method. Assaults were included if the victim died within three months due to injury. 2006-03-30 File CB6898.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.1997-11-18 One variable was recoded in Part 1, Homicide Data, and corresponding changes were made to the codebook and data definition statements. Also, in the codebook and data definition statements, several value labels were changed and the order of two variables was switched. Funding insitution(s): United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCR 402424 and CCR 403519). All individual identifiers were removed by the principal investigators to protect confidentiality.

This poll, fielded June 12-15, 2008, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,125 adults was surveyed, including an oversample of African Americans, for a total of 201 African American respondents. Views were sought on how well George W. Bush was handling the presidency and whether the country was moving in the right direction. Respondents were asked how closely they were following the 2008 presidential race, the likelihood that they would vote in the general election in November, for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held that day, their opinions of the candidates, and the most important issues in their vote for president. Those who identified themselves as Democrats were asked how they felt about the outcome of the Democratic primary, whether they had wanted Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination, and who Obama should choose as a vice presidential running mate. Respondents were also asked whether they would vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate for United States House of Representatives if the election were held that day, and to give their impressions of the spouses of the presidential candidates, Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. Additional topics addressed abortion, the war in Iraq, health care coverage, alternative energy, gun ownership, race relations in the United States, increases in gasoline prices, and a recent United States Supreme Court ruling that noncitizens suspected of terrorism who are being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be allowed to challenge their detentions in the United States civilian court system. Information was also collected on whether respondents thought African Americans living in their community experienced racial discrimination, whether they had a close friend of a different race, whether they themselves had feelings of racial prejudice, and whether they considered themselves a feminist. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, education level, religious preference, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.

This poll, conducted after President George Bush's 1992 State of the Union address, asked respondents to rate the way things were going in the United States, indicate whether the future for the next generation of Americans would be better, give their approval rating of George Bush with respect to his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, and give their approval rating of Congress. The survey posed questions pertaining to the 1992 presidential campaign, the national economy, tax cuts, improving education, making health care affordable, reducing the federal budget deficit, ending the recession, protecting family values, defense spending, the Persian Gulf War, priorities in federal spending, and the financial situation of respondents compared to four years ago. Respondents were also asked whether Bush or a Democratic president would do a better job dealing with issues such as trade with Japan, abortion, the needs of the middle class, race relations, and gaining respect for the United States from other countries. Additional questions covered topics including federal loans to college students, national health insurance, Bill Clinton, job discrimination against women and Blacks, the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union and continued threats from Iran and Iraq on defense spending, welfare, the assassination of John Kennedy, Social Security, marital infidelity among presidential candidates, handguns, assault weapons, the National Rifle Association, the Super Bowl, and whether the respondent had seen the film "JFK." Background information on respondents includes sex, age, race, marital status, parental status, employment, education, religious preference, family income, political orientation, party preference, 1988 presidential vote choice, and gun ownership.

This special topic poll explored issues of concern to residents of New Jersey, focusing primarily on the 1993 gubernatorial race between Jim Florio and Christine Todd Whitman. Questions specific to the campaign assessed respondents' opinions of the two candidates, the voting intentions of respondents, Jim Florio's performance as governor with regard to his handling of taxes and automobile insurance, Whitman's relationship to the National Rifle Association, Florio's closeness to Clinton, the effect that each candidate would have on taxes if elected, and the honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, ability, and experience of Florio and Whitman. General questions concerned the future of New Jersey, the New Jersey state legislature, the New Jersey economy, assault weapons, the National Rifle Association, welfare benefits for children born to welfare mothers, the New Jersey public schools, Ross Perot, moving the New York Yankees to New Jersey, and the Clinton presidency. Background information on respondents includes voter registration status, financial situation, employment situation, crime victimization, vote choice in the 1992 presidential election, in the 1990 New Jersey election for the United States Senate, and in the 1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election, gun ownership, political party, political orientation, religion, education, household income, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

This special topic poll, fielded June 21-29, 2000, queried residents of New York State on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton, New York State Governor George Pataki, Republican Senate candidate Rick Lazio, First Lady/Democratic Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and former State Senator Al D'Amato. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding the current race for the United States Senate in New York and the presidential election. Issues addressed included respondents' feelings about abortion, whether vouchers should be issued to pay for private schooling, how best to deal with the budget surplus, and whether all guns should be registered with the state. Additionally, respondents were asked for their views on the nature of the Senate campaign, the importance of candidates' political experience, the relevance of a candidate being a naturalized New York citizen, and whether the current Senate campaign tactics were overly divisive. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party, political orientation, Hispanic descent, marital status, gun ownership, computer access, stock market investments, age of children in household, and family income.

Since 1982, an astonishing 145 mass shootings have been carried out in the United States by male shooters. In contrast, only four mass shootings (defined by the source as a single attack in a public place in which four or more victims were killed) have been carried out by women. Gun ownership in the U.S. Possession of firearms in the United States is protected by the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution and has been a defining aspect of American civil liberties since the writing of the Bill of Rights. It is estimated that the United States has the highest rate of civilian-owned firearms in the world, and Americans continually poll against handgun restrictions. Mass shootings However, with high gun ownership comes high responsibility. The United States consistently faces numerous mass shootings each year, particularly in schools. The five deadliest mass shootings have all occurred since 2007, with the deadliest being the Las Vegas Strip massacre in 2017, which claimed the lives of 58 people and injured 546 more.

The deadliest school shooting in the United States as of September 4, 2024, was the Virginia Tech massacre, with 32 fatalities and 23 injuries. The next deadliest school shooting (based on fatalities) was the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, with 27 fatalities. School shootings in the U.S. Mass shootings in the United States have become a disturbingly common occurrence, and sadly, so have school shootings. The Columbine school shooting is perhaps the most famous in the country’s history, and since 1999 (when the shooting occurred), the number of school shootings has only increased. Many measures have been used to try to prevent school shootings, including security guards and metal detectors being deployed in schools, and even the suggestion that teachers be allowed to carry guns in schools. Gun control Gun control in the United States is a sticky issue, since gun ownership is enshrined in the Constitution. Some advocate for stricter gun control laws to try to prevent future mass shootings, while others say that this is unconstitutional. Gun ownership rates in the U.S. are high, with the share of American households owning at least one firearm remaining relatively steady since 1972.

This special topic poll, conducted October 22-25, 2001, was undertaken to assess respondents' views and awareness of the race for governor in the state of Virginia as well as their opinions on the recent anthrax terrorist attacks and abortion. Respondents were asked if they were registered to vote in the state of Virginia, how certain they were that they would vote in the upcoming election for governor, how closely they were following the governor's race in Virginia, whether they would vote for the Republican candidate Mark Earley, the Democratic candidate Mark Warner, or the Libertarian candidate William Redpath, and if they were strong supporters of and had a favorable impression of any of the candidates. Those queried were asked if they approved of the way Governor Jim Gilmore was handling his job, whether they wanted a governor who could get the state going in a new direction or a governor who would keep the state moving in the same direction, how much they knew about Mark Earley and Mark Warner, whether the two candidates were conducting positive campaigns, and whether the respondent thought either candidate would raise taxes if elected. In regards to Mark Earley and Mark Warner, respondents were asked if they agreed that either candidate had the right qualifications to be governor, would work to hold taxes down, would look out for the interests of people like the respondent, would strengthen the state's economy, would say anything to get elected, would improve transportation and roads, would work effectively with the legislature to get a state budget passed, and would make sure Virginia was prepared to deal with any terrorist threats. In addition, respondents were asked how important the following issues were in voting for governor: fully eliminating the car tax, holding down taxes generally, improving transportation and roads, improving public education, strengthening the state's economy, handling the issue of gun control, and handling the abortion issue. Respondents were also asked if they favored or opposed allowing Northern Virginian voters to hold a tax referendum, whether it would cause a tax hike in the rest of the state if those voters voted to raise taxes, how respondents rated the Virginia economy, whether abortion in all cases should be legal, and if they were worried that a friend, relative, or they themselves would be the victim of a future terrorist attack. Background information includes political party, voting history, party orientation, years of residency in Virginia, area of residence with respect to the Beltway, education, affiliation with the religious right, military service, marital status, gun ownership, Hispanic origin, household income, gender, and age.