Mary Lee

My name is Mary Lee and I’m a Ph.D. student in Criminology, Law and Society at University of California, Irvine. My research interests revolve around firearm ownership and violence, and their implications for justice and public safety.

I’m especially interested in how ownership decisions change across personal backgrounds, beliefs, and structural environments. My dissertation thesis focuses on firearm divestment: when and why people voluntarily relinquish firearms, and what policies can support safe, timely removal. My works are often derived from mixed methods, such as quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and administrative/historical data.