Gun Ownership Rates Rise in USA According to Gallup Poll
According to a Gallup Poll conducted earlier this month: “47% percent of American adults currently report that they have a gun in their home or on their property. This is up from 41% a year ago and is the highest Gallup has recorded since 1993, albeit marginally above the 44% and 45% highs seen during that period.” The numbers for personal (as opposed to household) gun ownership are a bit lower. One in three Americans reports owning a gun — but there remains a significant “gender gap”: 46% of adult men personally own a gun vs. 23% of adult women. MORE RESULTS from Gallup Gun Poll.
As Expected, Republican and Southern Households Have More Guns
While nearly half of Americans acknowledge gun ownership, there remain important differences in gun ownership rates — depending on political affiliation and geographic location. As you might expect, Republicans are more gun friendly — 55% of Republicans keep a firearm at their home or property vs. just 40% for Democrats (and democrat-leaning independents). Likewise, there are regional differences in gun ownership rates. Southerners have the most households with guns, Easterners the least.
A Rising Number of Women Have Guns in Households
The poll also revealed that an increasing number of American women report that they currently have a gun in their household. In 2011, 43% of women surveyed report that they keep a firearm at their home or property. This is a significant rise from a low of 32% in 2006.
Gallup pollsters didn’t know if more women have guns because of rising crime fears or simply because women are more willing to acknowledge gun ownership than before. The Gallup survey analysts surmise that Americans have become more tolerant of guns in recent years:
Charts by Gallup based on Gallup data from nationwide telephone poll conducted October 6-9, 2011.Gallup Gun Ownership Poll Summary
“A clear societal change took place regarding gun ownership in the early 1990s, when the percentage of Americans saying there was a gun in their home or on their property dropped from the low to mid-50s into the low to mid-40s and remained at that level for the next 15 years. Whether this reflected a true decline in gun ownership or a cultural shift in Americans’ willingness to say they had guns is unclear. However, the new data suggest that attitudes may again be changing. At 47%, reported gun ownership is the highest it has been in nearly two decades — a finding that may be related to Americans’ dampened support for gun-control laws. However, to ensure that this year’s increase reflects a meaningful rebound in reported gun ownership, it will be important to see whether the uptick continues in future polling.”
