PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Melissa Barragan
AU  - Kelsie Y. Chesnut
AU  - Jason Gravel
AU  - Natalie A. Pifer
AU  - Keramet Reiter
AU  - Nicole Sherman
AU  - George Tita
TI  - Prohibited Possessors and the Law: How Inmates in Los Angeles Jails Understand Firearm and Ammunition Regulations
AID  - 10.7758/RSF.2017.3.5.07
DP  - 2017 Oct 01
TA  - RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
PG  - 141--163
VI  - 3
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/3/5/141.short
4100  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/3/5/141.full
AB  - Using data from 140 interviews with individuals detained in the Los Angeles County Jail system, this article examines what gun offenders know about gun and ammunition regulation in California. Though most respondents had a consistent, albeit general, understanding of the regulations limiting gun acquisition and possession, analysis suggests that their understanding of ammunition restrictions was more limited. Our sample’s awareness of firearms law is especially important to consider given that they are the very population targeted by firearms regulations and prohibitions at the local, state, and federal level. By examining what detained offenders know about firearms laws, we can better theorize about individual gaps in legal knowledge and the realistic expectations for how understanding of the law can affect behavior.