Objective

At the time, the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, was the most devastating mass shooting in the United States, with 49 people dead and dozens more injured. We examined American attitudes about gun legislation in its aftermath, paying particular attention to the importance of media exposure to the event.

Method

Starting 5 days after the shooting, data were collected anonymously among a nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 3,199); 95% completed the survey online. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression models.

Results

Most respondents favored gun restrictions in the aftermath of the shootings (i.e., 80%, weighted, favored universal background checks; 61%, weighted, desired stricter laws covering the sale of firearms). Multinomial logistic regressions identified traditional (Republican identity, gun ownership, age, gender, education) and novel (media exposure, recent history of violence) predictors of gun attitudes. Individuals who consumed a minimum of 1 hr average daily media coverage in the event’s aftermath were significantly more likely to prefer stricter gun laws and favor universal background checks (p < .05) than those who consumed less than 1 hr, adjusting for relevant covariates. Direct exposure to the shooting was not significantly associated with gun attitudes.

Conclusion

Media coverage of mass shootings may be critical in shaping contemporary public attitudes around gun violence. Research on gun violence should therefore include information on media exposure and explore whether mass shooting media coverage can shift individual attitudes toward preventive policy efforts.