Mark Heirigs, graduate student in sociology, is looking for answers about where Iowa State students stand on the issue of gun control legislation and how much they know about existing laws.

Heirigs sent a survey to Iowa State’s entire student body Monday. The survey is titled, “Study Relating to Gun Violence & Current Gun Legislation” and asks questions about a variety of topics surrounding guns. Personal information will be kept confidential.

Heirigs said the objective of the study is to find out how background knowledge of the subject could impact a person’s opinion on gun legislation.

The study is part of a larger examination of students’ opinions from other campuses. Heirigs is working with two graduate students, Richard Wentling and Nate Kruis, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The others have started survey work of their own on their campus and gathered data.

When asked about whether he expects to see a noticeable difference between Iowa State’s students and those in Pennsylvania, Heirigs said he thinks that Iowa State’s campus could be unique for a few reasons.

Firstly, the university has more students from a rural background. What they are finding is people from rural areas are less likely to be supportive of gun control legislation.

Another reason Iowa State could be different comes from the breakdown of male and female students. Heirigs said Iowa State’s student body is about 60 percent male and 40 percent female.

Heirigs said women who also knew a victim of a gun crime supported gun control at significantly higher rates.

Heirigs said he decided to study college students because they are an easy population to reach but also because of an increase in their political activity.

“We’re seeing, over the last year, young people specifically around 18-22, that undergrad age, are getting really involved with politics,” Heirigs said.

Heirigs said the increased political activism from students is having an effect on how they view gun legislation.

According to the data they have so far, Democrats are significantly in favor of stricter gun control legislation while Republicans may vary slightly. Of those who have identified as Republican, they have been less in favor of gun control legislation but haven’t produced a statistically significant result.

Heirigs said he hopes more students participate in the survey in order to gain more insight on areas that aren’t statistically clear yet.

“I think this campus will the tipping point in some of those close calls,” Heirigs said.