My name is Melissa Hurtado and I am a first-year Sociology PhD student at Rice University. I am looking for immigrants born in Latin America or the Caribbean who own a firearm and live in Houston. In the U.S., there are 393 million privately owned guns, however previous studies on gun ownership have not captured the experiences of people from Latin America or the Caribbean. Without Latino immigrant gun owners' perspectives, we have an incomplete picture of what guns represent to owners.

Please note your participation is voluntary. If you agree, you may be asked to participate in an interview. Interviews will last approximately 60 minutes and will be scheduled at times that are convenient for participants. All conversations are completely confidential. You will be compensated $45 for your time. 

For questions about your rights as a research participant, or to discuss problems, concerns or suggestions related to the research, or to obtain information or offer input about the research, you should contact the Compliance Administrator, at Rice University. Email: irb@rice.edu or Telephone: 713-348-4820