
Trent “Tate” Steidley, PhD
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology at the University of Denver (pictured above). I am currently working on research projects that (1) explore the determinants of firearm demand in the United States, (2) explore how state social control efforts are, or are not, influenced by racial demographics, and (3) explore how political sociology and social movements theories speak to criminal justice outcomes, with a particular focus on firearms.
This blog is where I’ll share things from my research, readings, or writings that I hope others will find interesting or useful. Links to my published work can be found at my Google Scholar profile. People interested in accessing data from my published work should check out the Data page.
Shouting into the void since 2020 (recent blog posts)
Introducing the Concealed Carry Weapons License Database
This blog post is a bit strange to write, but I have two items I wanted to share with other gun researchers. The first is that I have completed data collection for a new database of state and county level records for concealed carry license applications, issuances, and denials. The second is that this is…
Despite strong gun sales, NRA membership apparently shrank in 2020
2020 was a gangbusters year for gun sales with a likely 20 million total gun sales. And the gun industry has been willing to say this is a strong sign of future support for gun rights going forward. An August press release from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) even inferred that at least 5…
NICS checks: January 2021 Edition
Someday I will blog about things I research besides these NICS posts. I promise. January most likely had over 2 million gun sales (using the raw NICS numbers for Handgun, Long gun, Other, Multiple, Private Handgun, Private Long Gun, and Private other NICS checks, I get 1.98 million, pretty darn close). I caught a news…