John Anthony "Jack" Kappelman

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at UCLA, where I study American Politics and Methodology. My research examines how citizens respond to political signals—particularly elections that signal sharp policy swings—and how political and institutional contexts shape behavior, markets, and policy implementation. In much of my work, I focus on the politics of firearm ownership and gun violence, investigating how partisan control over state and local governments influences enforcement patterns, firearm purchasing behavior, and the effects of mass shootings on legislative action. A key component of my research explores the spatial dynamics of firearm violence, using high-resolution geographic data to understand the relationship between place, politics, and patterns of gun availability and harm. Across these projects, my work advances understanding of how politics, polarization, place, and policy interact to shape both individual behavior and policy-relevant outcomes.

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At UCLA, I am a member of the PHACT Lab & the Practical Causal Inference Lab, an affiliate with the California Center for Population Research, and a GSR at the Fielding School for Public Health.