Americans Googled 'gun control' more than 'gun shop' in the past week

Two weeks after the Parkland shooting, the gun control debate shows no signs of fading out like it has after previous mass shootings. A recent Google Trends analysis shows that people are more open to learning about the issue, as searches for "gun control" topped searches for "gun shop" this past week.

Google Trends are determined based on the total volume of searches related to a topic, divided by location and time range. Then the numbers are proportionately scaled from 0 to 100 based on the volume of searches on all topics. Different states that may have the same number of searches may have different volumes of searches.

Data from the past year shows that searches for "gun shop" were more prevalent than searches for "gun control" in a majority of the United States. "Gun control" was searched more in states that tend to vote liberal in national elections, like New York and California, but it was still a relatively low search volume: 15 to 12 in New York and 16 to 10 in California.

Compare those results to searches for "gun control" this past week -- the map shows that even in deeply conservative states like West Virginia and Wyoming, the two states that had the highest percentage of votes for Trump during the 2016 election, there were more searches for "gun control" than for "gun shops." In Wyoming, the search volume for "gun control" was 63 in the past week, compared to 14 for "gun shop." In West Virginia, it was 46 to 28, respectively.

In Tennessee, one of the two states where searches for gun shops were more prevalent than searches for gun control, it's still close: 44 for "gun control" and 45 for "gun shop."

Even in Virginia, where the NRA is based, the search volume for "gun control" was significantly higher than the search volume for "gun shop" -- 59 to 19.

Although it's unclear if Americans are willing to vote for greater restrictions on gun purchases, Google's data shows that people may be more open to discussion.

Some students that survived the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School have become advocates for gun control, raising awareness through social media and televised town halls.

As Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight pointed out in a tweet on Feb. 18, the topic isn't dying down like discussions after mass shootings usually do. The Google Trends analysis shows that "gun control" is still a frequently searched term. He attributes this to the students' activism.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Other frequently searched questions about gun control over the past week include "What is gun control?" and "What can I do about gun control?"

"What did Obama do for gun control?" and "How many school shootings happened in 2018" were also top questions, according to Trends analysis.

Shifts in American stances on gun control have also shifted in large corporations, such as DICK'S Sporting Goods and WalMart, which both released statements on Wednesday pledging to end firearm sales to anyone under 21 and promised to stop selling high-capacity magazines.

In a tweet, DICK'S implored lawmakers to "enact common sense gun reform," like requiring universal background checks and closing the private sale loophole that waives background checks.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The Google Trends analysis may show that even though the country remains divided on gun control, more Americans are open to learning about it.