Pew Research has released a new survey on gun ownership which compliments surveys they have carried out over the last 20 years.
The main takeaways that they highlight are that whereas in the 90's the primary reason for owning a gun was hunting, people now cite security as the most common reason
A national survey finds that nearly half of gun owners (48%) volunteer that the main reason they own a gun is for protection; just 32% say they have a gun primarily for hunting and even fewer cite other reasons, such as target shooting. In 1999, 49% said they owned a gun mostly for hunting, while just 26% cited protection as the biggest factor.
Another interesting take away is that, in line with other surveys, they report that the number of people living in households with guns and the number of gun owners is declining over the last twenty years, and currently 37% of homes have a firearm in the house, but only 24% personally own a firearm. Assuming 300 million guns in the country, that means the average gun owner has over 4 firearms each.
Delving into more detail, it seems that the highest rate of gun ownership is older white males - hello Bubba, and unsurprisingly the rate is higher in rural areas than urban areas - must be where al the hunters are.
The general profile of gun owners in America differs substantially from the general public. Roughly three-quarters (74%) of gun owners are men, and 82% are white. Taken together, 61% of adults who own guns are white men. Nationwide, white men make up only 32% of the U.S. adult population.
It's definitely worth reading.