Declining gun ownership in USA?

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Cousin Pat

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Reuters is saying the following today:

"Demographic trends are working against the NRA as well. Fewer than one-third of U.S. households owned guns in 2011, down from 54 percent in 1977, according to the University of Chicago's General Social Survey."

This does not seem likely to me -- does anybody have any data?
 
Probably there is a large majority of brainwashed middle class that openly fear guns. On either side of the spectrum there are those who on the lower end know and need their utility in daily life or recreation. or the upper class that through proper education understand the purpose and benefits of owning a firearm for defense and protection.

Not saying all middle class but those are the ones easiest to convince.
 
I have a hard time believing any of these statistics. You never know where they are getting their numbers. Last few gun shows I went to were packed, and my lgs has stock running through constantly, I doubt they are all repeats.
 
I think it would be interesting if they polled people they knew for certain owned guns to see how many of them would deny it.

During the election I had several friends who would mess with pollsters for sport. (This might be a trend...messing with pollsters.)
 
Those numbers may be correct, considering who conducted the survey.... University of Chicago. In state and city where restrictive gun control is one of the highest in the nation and has been getting worse in recent years, wouldn't surprise me.
 
From what I've seen it's an increasing number of folks who never before have had firearms obtaining firearms (and doing what is necessary to legally obtain them - such as getting an FOID in Illinois). In fact, FOID application numbers in Illinois are very high over the past months since Sandy Hook.
 
I don't believe that many households would admit to owning firearms to someone conducting a poll in this political environment.

Personally, in my circles I've seen firearm ownership and concealed carry licenses expanding.

The anti gun groups are simply throwing out stats to try to sway people to their cause and all are questionable and or out right lies.

90% of crime guns in Mexico come from the USA....

90% of citizens want expanded background checks.....

Only 1/3 of all homes own firearms.....

Keep in mind, you can get any statistic you want depending on how you ask the question.
 
We're pushing 350 million guns in this country with the recent (since Obama) sales runs, far more than were around in 1977. I seriously doubt it's fewer than 1/3 of households hoarding them all.
 
I think few people are going to tell a person on the phone, "yes, I have guns in my home". (please rob me).

If so few people own guns then why are NICS checks up 4 fold?!?!?

They lie to make headlines and to meet their agenda. If you pay attention they will contradict themselves in the same week. ie; 1/5 of kids are starving in America but we're all obese, you can't have it both ways.
 
We've had 58,000,000 NICS checks [pdf] performed since 2010. That number doesn't include private sales, or sales exempted from NICS checks in states with exceptions for permit holders.

It's impossible to come up with a hard number, but it wouldn't be out of bounds to assume a lowball number of 90,000,000.

Where are all those guns going? Is there a small minority of people hoarding thousands of guns each, or could it be that the average gun owner doesn't want to disclose what he has to a census taker?
 
Tom,
Great stat! If we take their BS # of 40% of all guns sold don't do the check then you get 81.2 Million, which still doesn't include the exemptions you mentioned which could put it at 100 million easily.

Yeah, less gun owners, that's the ticket!
 
I don't have any data other than my own observations, but just last night, as my wife was filling out a 4473, there were at the table with her, a young black woman, and a Muslim couple. They sure didn't strike me as what I think of as average, everyday gun owners.

Just a snapshot, I admit, but I thought it was interesting.
 
All these polls are absolute drivel, and used by the media to further brainwash the people. I don't buy it either. With all the first time gun buyers, including women joining our ranks there are definitely a lot more guns in private ownership than ever before.
 
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So even though guns were being manufactured for the 34 years between 1977 and 2011, and guns have a shelf life as long as the steel used to build them, only about half as many households have them. I find that odd, considering that NICS checks have doubled in the past 7 years. I wish we knew where all these guns that aren't in US households were, because if we did, we could get them into the empty racks and cases.
 
If Reuters -- or any news organization -- were to call me and ask if I own any guns, I would decline to participate in their study. It's none of Reuters' business if I own guns, or how many.

I suspect I am not alone in that sentiment.
 
I have been asking my friends and relatives about guns for the last several months. Every single household I have asked about have guns for protection and most have handguns in addition to long guns. I was happy to find out that at least 2 of my motorcycle riding friends always carry (especially the Special Forces vet.).
 
I think it is much more likely that people are less than truthful about owning guns for a variety of reasons. Least of which is that it's none of the pollsters business and probably to a degree there is some mistrust of how this "collected" information could be used.
 
In light of the current political climate, if someone randomly called you for a survey and asked if you owned a gun or guns, would you say yes? I would not. If your doctor asked if you owned guns during a routine exam, would you say yes? I wouldn't. If a mall opinion survey taker asked if you had any guns in your household, would you say yes? I wouldn't. Point is, it's nobody's business but my own if I own guns or not. Polls cannot be believed. Ask Obama where he got his 90% of Americans favor some sort of background checks info from, an open poll at the White House?
 
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