ABSTRACT
Gun owner communities on Facebook, YouTube, and online discussion forums are presented in this chapter. Facebook group membership of both gun rights and gun control advocates is considered. That is, to what other Facebook groups do members of the National Rifle Association’s Facebook group also belong? Relatedly, what about other Facebook groups of members of the Brady Campaign’s (to Prevent Gun Violence) Facebook group? As in real life, there is a strong online community of gun owners, reflecting different gun-related subgroups (e.g., sport shooting, hunting) and demonstrating the principle of homophily in action. Gun owners signal and reinforce to one another, as well as the greater online community, the norms, values and activities of gun subcultures.
