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Gun Reports - News

Self-Reported Gun Ownership in U.S.
Is Highest Since 1993

(GunReports.com) -- Forty-seven percent of American adults currently report that they have a gun in their home or elsewhere 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 new result comes from Gallup's Oct. 6-9 Crime poll, which also finds public support for personal gun rights at a high-water mark. Given this, the latest increase in self-reported gun ownership could reflect a change in Americans' comfort with publicly stating that they have a gun as much as it reflects a real uptick in gun ownership.

Republicans (including independents who lean Republican) are more likely than Democrats (including Democratic leaners) to say they have a gun in their household: 55% to 40%. While sizable, this partisan gap is narrower than that seen in recent years, as Democrats' self-reported gun ownership spiked to 40% this year.

The percentage of women who report household gun ownership is also at a new high, now registering 43%.

Gun ownership is more common in the South (54%) and Midwest (51%) than in the East (36%) or West (43%) -- a finding typical of Gallup's trends in gun ownership by region.

Since 2000, Gallup has asked respondents with guns in their households a follow-up question to determine if the gun belongs to the respondent or to someone else. On this basis, Gallup finds that 34% of all Americans personally own a gun.

The gender gap in personal gun ownership is wider than that seen for household ownership, as 46% of all adult men vs. 23% of all women say they personally own a gun.

Middle-aged adults -- those 35 to 54 years of age -- and adults with no college education are more likely than their counterparts to be gun owners.

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.

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Reader Comments

Too bad they didn't separate big city, small town, suburban, and rural folks. I bet the facts would have been interesting.

Comment by: Mister E | November 3, 2011

This upward trend in gun ownership apparently also tracks with the changes in governance that we have seen in the last few years. While it's no secret that having a left-wing president and congress serves as stimuli toward the purchase and ownership of firearms, there also seems to be a general move toward the realization that when seconds count, the police are minutes away. What would really be a great spin-off from all of this increase in gun ownership, would be an increase in membership in Second Amendment rights organizations, such as the NRA, SAF, CCRKBA, GOA,and NAGR. With strong memberships in these associations we would be less prone to the threats of increased anti-Second Amendment legislation, policies, and rules. It continues to mystify me that there are so many gun owners who do not have membership in these organizations.

Comment by: canovack | November 3, 2011

The numbers make me wonder about the number of folks who did not admit to having guns. I suspect there are more who did NOT admit to ownership in places like NY, NJ and IL even CA. Some folks may have moved there not knowing they were violators, and just wanting to hide that fact now.

I would also expect some higher number of owners lying about it in rural areas where privacy is more respected and expected than in urban areas.

Comment by: david b | November 3, 2011

See David - you aren't the only democrat who owns guns! ;)

I agree that many in NJ, NY, et al won't report ownership.

Comment by: PVB | November 11, 2011