Latino Voices in Florida: Thinking, Talking & Voting about Gun Violence
WASHINGTON – Today, GIFFORDS Florida, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released a new report: “Latino Voices in Florida: Thinking, Talking & Voting about Gun Violence.” More than 400 Latinos are killed by guns in Florida each year, on average and nationally, gun violence fatalities among Latino Americans increased by 94% between 2014 and 2022.
Over several months in 2024, GIFFORDS embarked on a qualitative research project to better understand Latinos’ perspectives on gun violence, their attitudes on guns and gun policy, and how their cultural background influences their views on these topics. The interviews conducted shed light on how communities, families, and individuals in Florida are affected by gun violence, and provide policymakers with unique insight into their thoughts and fears.
“As a Floridian, mother, and gun safety advocate, I know what this report shows to be true: Latinos in Florida are very concerned about gun violence in our communities and more must be done,” said GIFFORDS Florida State Director, Samantha Barrios. “Too many people and too many children are dying from gun violence in our state. Our current leadership is failing to act to make our communities safer. GIFFORDS Florida will continue to hold them accountable and fight for our community’s safety. Our children and all Floridians deserve a future free from gun violence.”
“Gun violence is preventable. There are commonsense policies elected leaders can pass, but Florida’s leaders have failed to do so. In our study we found one thing to ring true, the Latino community in Florida is sick and tired of gun violence and they want it to stop,” said GIFFORDS Law Center Research Director, Kelly Drane.
Some key findings:
- Mirroring quantitative data from across the country, gun violence is a top concern for Latinos in Florida, especially in this election: One participant described how she felt “enveloped” by gun violence; another described gun violence as “practically a disease that is destroying and eating up the foundations of American society.”
- Florida Latinos have diverse views on gun ownership: In general, participants whose families had been in the US longer were more likely to express strong feelings that gun ownership and access were fundamental rights.
- Florida Latinos believe more can and should be done to prevent gun violence: The participants overwhelmingly supported gun safety policies that would keep guns out of the hands of people at elevated risk for violence and ensure that gun owners receive proper training to handle and secure firearms.
- Gun safety is an important voting issue for Florida Latinos: Participants all agreed that a candidate’s stance on gun violence prevention would be important to them in selecting a candidate to vote for, but they also wanted more information, including information in Spanish, about where candidates stand on gun safety issues.
Read the full report here.
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