In June 2023, Pew Research surveyed over 5,000 adults on their perceptions of gun ownership in the US, which gave some insightful looks into what Americans, whether they own guns or not, think about the topic on gun ownership.
So Why Own a Gun?
71% of gun owners state that they enjoy owning a gun, however a larger 81% say they feel more safer owning a gun.
Interestingly, only 12% of gun owners worry about having a gun in the house.
Reasons Why People Own a Gun
The most popular major reason cited by gun owners for owning a gun is for protection (72%), although hunting (32%), sports shooting (30%), collecting (15%) or as part of the job (7%) are also mentioned.
Demographics of Gun Ownership
Generally, gun ownership is much more common in more rural areas (47%) than in suburban (30%) or urban (20%) areas.
Politics of Gun Ownership
Unsurprisingly there is a big disparity between feelings of Republican and Republican-leaning people and Democrat and Democrat-leaning people – 45% of the former report gun ownership, compared with 20% of the latter.
Non-Gun Owner Perceptions
The view is fairly split down the middle, with 52% of non-gun owning respondents saying they would never own one.
Non-Gun Owner Perceptions – Gender
That said, among non-gun owners, perceptions vary according to gender – 56% of men could see themselves owning a gun in the future, and 58% of women saying they could never do so.
Non-Gun Owner Perceptions – Race
On race, 61% of Asian non-gun owners could never see themselves owning a gun, the largest proportion among White, Black, Hispanic and Asian respondents, with Black respondents being the least to respond at 44%.
On the contrary, 56% of Black non-gun owners could see themselves owning a gun in the future, with only 38% of Asian non-gun owners saying they could see themselves owning a gun in the future.
Non-Gun Owner Perceptions – Politics
61% Republican and Republican-leaning non-gun owners say they would consider owning a gun in the future, whereas almost the same proportion (60%) of Democrat and Democrat-leaning non-gun owners say they would never consider owning a gun.
Ease of Legally Obtaining a Gun
61% of Americans believe that it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in the US, with only 9% saying it is too hard.
The survey references a second report published in June which says 58% of respondents believe gun laws should be stricter, whereas only 15% support laxer gun laws.
Where You Are Affects Whether You Think It Is Too Easy to Get a Gun
72% of urban dwellers and 63% of suburbanites say it is too easy to obtain a gun, whereas only 47% of rural people think it is too easy to procure a gun.
Gun Owners vs Non-Gun Owners
73% of non-gun owners believe it is too easy to procure a gun, whereas only 38% of non-owners believe it is too easy – almost twice as much.
Political Views on Whether it is Too Easy to Get a Gun
The vast majority of Democrats – 86% – believe it is too easy to obtain a gun, whereas only 34% of Republicans feel the same.
Demographics of Gun Ownership
Overall 32% of adults own a gun.
Gender – 40% of male respondents say they own a gun, compared with 25% of female respondents.
Race – white respondents are far more likely to own guns than Black, Asian or Hispanic people.
Politics and Gun Ownership
Politics – 45% of Republicans apparently own guns, with more than half of conservative Republicans – 51% – do so, whereas only 20% of Democrats are likely to own a gun.
Feel-good Factor
Gun owners, compared to people who have guns in the house but are not gun owners, are far more likely to have positive feelings about having a gun in the house – 81% compared to 57%.
Non-gun owners with guns in the same household are also more than twice as likely – 27% – to worry about having guns in the house than gun owners.
Politics and Gun Safety
Meanwhile, politics plays a role in how likely gun owners are to say guns make them feel safer – Republicans say 91%, whereas Democrats say 63%.
Politics and Gun Enjoyment
81% Republicans are likely to say they enjoy owning a gun, whereas only 53% of Democrat gun owners would do so.
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