Gun Control & RKBA
Related: About this forumShare of Homes With Guns Shows 4-Decade Decline
The gun ownership rate has fallen across a broad cross section of households since the early 1970s, according to data from the General Social Survey, a public opinion survey conducted every two years that asks a sample of American adults if they have guns at home, among other questions.
The rate has dropped in cities large and small, in suburbs and rural areas and in all regions of the country. It has fallen among households with children, and among those without. It has declined for households that say they are very happy, and for those that say they are not. It is down among churchgoers and those who never sit in pews.
The household gun ownership rate has fallen from an average of 50 percent in the 1970s to 49 percent in the 1980s, 43 percent in the 1990s and 35 percent in the 2000s, according to the survey data, analyzed by The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?hp&_r=0
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
thucythucy
(8,047 posts)
thucythucy
(8,047 posts)
jimmy the one
(2,708 posts)GSS: ... household gun ownership rate has fallen from an average of 50% in the 1970s to 49% in the 1980s, 43% in the 1990s and 35% in the 2000s..
In 2012, the share of American households with guns was 34%, according to survey results released {march2013}.
Obviously gunownership remains a minority faction in america, and it's not 'more guns less crime', it's MORE GUNS, MORE AMERICANS WITHOUT GUNS, as most of the new ones get siphoned into existing gun zealots holsters.
When we combine the 2ndAmendment accd'g to the gunnuts individual rkba theory, with the senate filibuster protecting minorities, we have, uh, what the founding fathers intended?:
>> Guns galore across america with few restrictions because of minority rule by filibuster, with absolutely no need to join a well regulated militia or the dreaded standing army, the latter of which is one of the most respected orgs in america today... and when belligerent religious hordes come across the seas to invade america, will ultra armed gunnuts owning dozens of guns come out to greet them? hell no, most all will stay within their bunker basements praising the lord & passing the ammunition & eating kippered herring out of a can, more worried about 'gubmint' collusion with the enemy.
gss factoids: only a quarter of men {25%} in 2012 said they hunted, compared with about 40% when the question was asked in 1977.
.. The Northeast, where the household ownership rate is lowest, changed the least, at 22% this decade, compared with 29% in the 1970s.
.. ownership among young Americans plummeted. Household gun ownership among Americans under the age of 30 fell to 23% this decade from 47% in the 1970s. The survey showed a similar decline for Americans ages 30 to 44.
.. Many Americans were introduced to guns through military service, which involved a large part of the population in the Vietnam War era.. Now that the Army is volunteer and a small fraction of the population, it is less a gateway for gun ownership..
.. Urbanization also helped drive the decline. Rural areas, where gun ownership is the highest, are now home to about 17% of Americans, down from 27% in the 1970s.
.. increase of Hispanics as a share of the American population is also probably having an effect, as they are far less likely to own guns.. survey results since 2000, about 14% of Hispanics reported having a gun in their house
Thanks for the heads up, secular motion; I've come to think of your posts as 'SecMo's Daily Briefings'!!
benEzra
(12,148 posts)
FWIW, hunting is irrelevant; the overwhelming majority of those of us who own guns are nonhunters.
Gun ownership is a deeply personal choice and isn't for everyone, but ownership levels have been fairly consistent over the last few decades even as the demographics have shifted, and even with all the underreporting in polls. And keep in mind that that's per-household data, not per capita (since the number of single-parent and single-occupant households has increased faster than the population since the 1960s, the per-capita numbers would show even less of a decline).
Here's an interesting tidbit to me, and IMO explains why Bloomberg is spending so much money right now to try to purge the Democratic party of pro-gun Dems:
Look at that uptick in Dem ownership over the last few years. The "respect my authoritah" types like Bloomberg can't have that, now, can they?
jimmy the one
(2,708 posts)ezra: Look at that uptick in Dem ownership over the last few years. The "respect my authoritah" types like Bloomberg can't have that, now, can they?
That's not an uptick in gun ownership, it's an uptick in people saying there is a gun in their home. A newly married wife who doesn't own a gun but marries a gun owner now has to say her household has a gun in it. Ten people in a household with 1 gun have a 'gun in their household' but only 10% are gun owners. HH ownership rates will always be higher than personal gun ownership rates.
This is from gallup site itself, so dunno if it's the latest 'gun ownership' rate:
gallup Do you personally own a handgun, rifle, shotgun or any kind of firearm?
.......................... Yes..... No... No opinion
2007 May ........... 30 .....69.... 1
2007 May ............32......65 ....2
2004 Nov ........... 31 .....66 ....3
2004 Oct ........... 32 .....66 ....2
2000 May ............33 .....64 ....2 http://www.gallup.com/poll/1645/Guns.aspx
If you look at your graph, Household gun rates for the years in my table above, 2000, 2004, 2007, are about at 42 or 43%, while gallup lists gun ownership at 33, 31, & 32% (on my table). So gallup's 2012 reading of 47% might equate to an uptick in personal gun ownership of perhaps 35% or so.
If you were in a public place such as a restaurant or movie theater, would you feel more safe -- or less safe -- if you knew concealed firearms were allowed?
................More safe... Less safe ..No difference
2004 Nov ........ 25% .......65 .......8
Also that could be an outlier poll from gallup since it increased HH guns a bit from previous polls as per your graph; this years' gallup gun poll should provide insight whether it was outlier. Gallup also had romney winning the election by a point, did badly in election 2012 & has promised recently to try to improve it's methods. 2012 was not a good year for gallup, could extend to this gun poll as well, & explain things.
benEzra
(12,148 posts)But since average household size has been declining for generations, per-household ownership would show a slow decline even if per-capita ownership remained constant, so IMO a decline from 50% to 43% of households does not mean a large drop in per-capita ownership.
There are is also undoubtedly a long-term trend toward less self-reporting. Given the personal animosity toward gun owners that some people exhibit, and the fact that there is an organized and well-funded lobby trying to ban what I own, I most certainly would not self-report ownership to a stranger who contacted me, any more than I'd tell said stranger what other valuables I own and where I keep them. I have been quite open here on DU about what I own, certainly, but I would not share that information on a 1:1 basis with someone I didn't trust.
FWIW, the biggest shift in gun ownership since the 1960s has been the decline in hunting, which is why the "we support hunting, we just want to ban those other guns" meme the DLC has been pushing since 1994 was and is so out of touch.
jimmy the one
(2,708 posts)ezra: There are is also undoubtedly a long-term trend toward less self-reporting. Given the personal animosity toward gun owners that some people exhibit, and the fact that there is an organized and well-funded lobby trying to ban what I own
Since these are polls are of about 2,000 people (gss iirc), I suspect these reluctant gunowners would be relatively easy for the pollster to detect, that is if a person refused to say how many guns he owned.
If what you say is true, as soon as the pollster asked if there were any guns in the house, many of your reluctant gunowners would hang up. Others would ask if they had to reply, or would say they wished not to reply. Any of these responses could/would be recognized for what they were, & dismissed from the poll sample.
Only a cagey gunowner would say he didn't own any guns; & then voila, whose fault would it be for the 'decline' in gun ownership (hhs or personal).
benEzra
(12,148 posts)I am not so stupid as to be unable to convincingly answer "no" to a stranger who wants to pry into my personal life regarding gun ownership or anything else I deem not within her/his purview. Particularly within this climate.
My point exactly. Glad you grokked it.
holdencaufield
(2,927 posts)... who is no longer around ... claimed he could detect anyone carrying simply by looking at the person. He was unclear whether he was using ESP or X-Ray vision.
Do you also claim such superhuman powers?
Are you using the for good?
jimmy the one
(2,708 posts)ezra: I am not so stupid as to be unable to convincingly answer "no" to a stranger who wants to pry into my personal life regarding gun ownership or anything else I deem not within her/his purview.
So, for the record, you would lie to the pollster & say you didn't own any guns at all? You would portray yourself as a non-gun-owner?
How would you respond to the pollster, 1 just say NO, 2 refuse to answer either yes or no, or 3 ask if you had to reply?
Would you 'lie' to both possession of a personal firearm, AND having one in the house (does not apply if you live alone).
I'm pretty sure this is a small segment of gunowners who have this fear of acknowledging a firearm. And the skewed poll results would likely not fall outside the margin of error, tho it would of course tilt it a tad, but that's really what a margin of error compensates for.
But, I guess it's another expedient to be added to the 2nd Amendment Mythology Bible, to explain why gun ownership is slipping in america.
you My point exactly. Glad you grokked it.
dunno what grokked means. I'll google when I get the time, if I remember.
caufield: Do you also claim such superhuman powers? Are you using the for good?
Am I using the 'what' for good? the 'powers'? false dilemma, still beat wife etc..
Hey, I've got this carpenter friend who does good work fixing troll bridges, troll bridge repairman in a sense, leaks, creaks, weaks; if you ever need one just let me know, reasonable rates.
BAT21
(42 posts)I wouldn't tell anyone who asked me if I have guns or not and that's quite possible what's going on now.
Hey do you own any small valuable objects? You do, could you tell me how you store them? What do you do for a living? About how many hours per week?
Thank you very much you have been very helpful.
The only surprising thing about the op is that so many households said yes.
hack89
(39,171 posts)that still looks like a net growth in gun owners.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Continue efforts to publish and reveal gun owners for everyone to see! And... and push for registration! Instant decline! Sadly, that will never happen with our pro-gun media. Oh, woe is me.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)
Remmah2
(3,291 posts)"It's none of your damn business".
Don't ask, don't tell.
What I own or don't own is no one's concern and I'll bet that's what accounts for more households reporting of no firearms.
Remmah2
(3,291 posts)Like credit card and social security numbers.
BAT21
(42 posts)Remmah2
(3,291 posts)This is what happens when you make an industry of criminalizing honest citizens.
If my neighbor grows a little hemp in his garden for private use, no problem. I expect the same respect in return. I don't smoke it and will not deny others their privacy.
iiibbb
(1,448 posts)Can't make clothes.
Can't fix anything
Can't grow anything from seed produced by plants in their possession.
Pretty much the collective effectiveness of individuals is at an all-time low.
