Young adults fear mass shootings but are divided along gender and party lines when it comes to gun control, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Contrary to common assumptions that mass violence might help unite a young and influential voting bloc in favor of stricter gun control, the study shows that the political and gender divide over gun control is deepening.

“This is a generation of people who live with significant fear and anxiety over mass violence,” said senior author Jillian Turanovic, associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. “But we found that those shared fears do not unite them in attitudes on gun policy. In fact, they polarize them.”

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