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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust three percent of adults own half of America’s guns
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/19/just-three-percent-of-adults-own-half-of-americas-guns/Just 3 percent of American adults own half of the nation's firearms, according to the results of a Harvard-Northeastern survey of 4,000 gun owners.
The survey's findings support other research showing that as overall rates of gun ownership has declined, the number of firearms in circulation has skyrocketed. The implication is that there are more guns in fewer hands than ever before. The top 3 percent of American adults own, on average, 17 guns apiece, according to the survey's estimates.
The survey is particularly useful to researchers because it asked respondents not just whether they own guns, but how many and what types of guns they own. This makes for one of the clearest pictures yet of American gun ownership, showing the concentration of most guns in the hands of a small fraction of American adults.
The study found that 22 percent of American adults say they personally own a firearm. This is lower than the percentages reported in some other recent surveys, such as those by the Pew Research Center (31 percent) and Gallup (28 percent).
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geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)PSPS
(15,347 posts)Skittles
(172,184 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)It really is an issue.
muntrv
(14,505 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)Gun hoarders...it is a real issue. I don't really know how or why they think they will be able to use all of those firearms - or do they plan on arming a small army of wackadoodles?
It is like when people get the 1% and the .001% mixed up. Yeah they are both rich, but only one group own HALF of all the money!
aikoaiko
(34,214 posts)When is the last time someone filled their wheelbarrel with their 17 firearms (on average) and went on a rampage?
All it takes is one firearm. Most criminal shooters are only carrying one or two firearms when they commit their crimes.
But yet you think it is the relatively small group of collectors or shooting enthusiasts that are the "real problem"?
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
maxsolomon
(38,919 posts)gun hoarder, left the arsenal unsecured. only 5 guns, though, so you might not consider than hoarding.
aikoaiko
(34,214 posts)Lanza used three guns in his mirder spree.
A 22lr hunting rifle (to kill his mother), an AR15 (to kill the victims at the school), and a Glock pistol to kill himself.
hack89
(39,181 posts)I doubt the criminals killing people on a regular basis hoard guns.
As for collectors, I know people that collect guns for their historic value or simply as investments. They are seldom fired (especially the older weapons). They pose no danger - it is nothing more than an expensive hobby.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)citood
(550 posts)A possible window into the thought process:
A local land developer was recently indicted for fraud. What was his fraud?
Immediately prior to bankruptcy, during a 16 month period, he bought 103 guns worth $80k, and did not disclose this.
Guns aren't subject to banking disclosure laws, and usually hold their value on par with inflation. This was his 'play' to exit bankruptcy with some liquid assets.
So these large scale collectors think they are collecting something of value, that perhaps could be passed down, etc.
Smarter than collecting Beanie Babies.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Much more then I ever spent on a gun!
Sold them for others on EBay, got a commission. (hmm...which I likely spent on a gun)
Well some people (looking in mirror with wife) wasted their time with Beanie Babies.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)sold the Number 1 bear when they were getting $$$.
Not sure what they are worth now.
(Sold the original Obama daughter dolls too - did Ok on that 1 too)
citood
(550 posts)Who can't figure out how to sell their own stuff on Ebay
jmg257
(11,996 posts)CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)procon
(15,805 posts)Look at all the wacky sales promotions the NRA has foisted off on the public to get everyone to buy more guns and believe their bankable gun $logan$.
Amishman
(5,929 posts)I think I would be happier of it was a more even spread and fewer people with really massive hordes of gun and ammunition
enough
(13,766 posts)19% of American adults own the other 50% of the nation's firearms.
78% of American adults don't own any guns.
madokie
(51,076 posts)co2 powered ones. 68 year old Vietnam Vet and I see no reason to own a firearm that is capable of killing another human being.
Initech
(108,958 posts)My hobby is playing PC games and building PCs. That shit gets expensive. I also brew my own beer occasionally. That shit gets expensive. Guns are no different in that the hobby gets expensive. But the difference is more people are killed by guns than by my two hobbies. Yet the republican run Congress who will look for any scapegoat to distract us from the real problem, thinks that they should be regulating and policing video games because... violence.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)MowCowWhoHow III
(2,103 posts)
UTUSN
(77,795 posts)Bozvotros
(963 posts)And a substantial percentage of the 19% as well. Liberals and progressives used to be gun owners too and just maybe a few more of us should consider one. I am more concerned about gun violence if Hillary wins than if Hillary loses. There are a whole lot of very well armed Republican whackjobs out there who are itching to shoot someone in a group they despise. One of those groups are liberals, particularly articulate outspoken ones.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)70-80 million people, around 1/4 of the population are gun owners.
Seems about right, though some estimates put it closer to 1/3 of the country. Figure they are a bit low on total # of guns, but that has always been an estimate....ever increasing amount are sold each year, with increases in CC.
ileus
(15,396 posts)The biggest problem I see is the low ownership rate. 22% is pretty low, we need to get that rate up.
hunter
(40,768 posts)Orrex
(67,232 posts)DLevine
(1,791 posts)duncang
(3,767 posts)Just because you have guns doesn't make you crazy, a gun humper and all the other fine "well thought out" examples some use. Pretty much the same example as set by dipshit donnie saying all muslims need to be watched or removed from this country.
And as I said before here is my stance on gun policies. First anyone on either the terrorist watch list or the no fly list should not be able to buy guns of any form. Even the violent felon restriction proposals. This is actually stronger statement then the recent proposed law which just asked for the no fly list. Next I believe in closing the loop holes in both on line and gun show gun sales on back ground checks. I believe in stronger communication between states and other government entities to prevent some sales of guns to individuals who wouldn't be able to get guns otherwise. I do not conceal carry or open carry. But for some I can see the reason for the conceal carry. My daughter works at a job where she gets off late at night. She has a concealed carry license and does carry one. I don't agree with the open carry though. Even though it hasn't been a "major" problem. I can see as people polarize it could become more of one. Something like the protests or at different rallies it to me has a real good chance of escalating violence.
So anyways I am one of that 3%. I own 19 guns. Have you ever wondered how some of us may come across those guns. Or why we might have them?
First there are the guns I actually shoot. I have 2 deer rifles. One is lever action the other a bolt. Different guns for different situations. Next a 22 rifle. I like using it target shooting these are a lot cheaper for plinking. Next a shotgun for duck season. Next what I consider the home defense pistol. Next 3 are ones given to me when my father died and my father in law died. One a ww II rifle (My father), another from the time during the Korean conflict of my father in law, and one from his father. None of which I shoot. I consider myself as more of a caretaker. Next a friend of ours husband died. When he did she did not want the gun and didn't want to sell to some random stranger. So she gave it to me.
Last group of guns. And yes they would be considered in a generic poll asking about how many guns someone owns. The rest are black powder guns. I really like crafting the kits and shooting them. Also received some when my father in law died.
So I guess I'm one of those paranoid gun humpers
hunter
(40,768 posts)I don't need a "home defense pistol." I have a dragon.

I'm not sure if I inherited him, or he inherited me.
Sometimes I find half digested guns in his poop.
Keeping guns for "self defense" is about as fanciful as keeping dragons, but much more dangerous.
duncang
(3,767 posts)You made the post in response to mine and even directly the home defense part. By saying "Keeping guns for "self defense" is about as fanciful as keeping dragons, but much more dangerous." That is about the same as a child saying "because". You make some kind of cute blanket statement as if everyone with a home defense gun is stupid or negligent. That is about the same as saying be afraid of every muslim because there are some muslim terrorist. You made the statement toward me with out any actual knowledge of me.
I have known people who are totally negligent about having guns. You can see people in the news who leave guns laying around and children get them. That doesn't mean everyone is. If you came in to my house you would not be able to access any of my guns with out a sledge hammer and a couple pry bars. And even then it would take you a long time to get in a large well rated, bolted to the floor safe.
So yes I do have a home defense weapon. And I gave thought about it even as to caliber and style before buying it. I even keep it locked up.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"if you came in to my house you would not be able to access any of my guns with out a sledge hammer and a couple pry bars. And even then it would take you a long time to get in a large well rated, bolted to the floor safe..."
I've little doubt many, many firearm owners would allege precisely the same thing, regardless of whether it's true or not. Another creative variation on the "because" rationalization.
duncang
(3,767 posts)Casting judgement with out any proof other then by alleging is a symptom of what is wrong with our political system. Is there a purity test you would like to see for democrats. That is what really is killing the repubs. They have spent years trying to out "right" each other. Trying to toss someone in the basket of deplorables is the same thought process some of dipshit donnie's supporters do with muslims or other races. I know a lot of gun owners some are responsible others are not. I know better then to make mass judgements on any group of people.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)My shotguns, rifles, hand-me downs, wall-hangers are in a safe.
sarisataka
(22,716 posts)Stated he does not need guns for self defense as he is a large and intimidating fellow. Therefore you do not need a gun for self-defense.
Now you may wonder 'what if I am not a large and intimidating fellow?' Well that's your problem.
Personally I'm big and ugly. Have tattoos, beard, and long hair. Someone people would feel uncomfortable to see me in a dark alley. Most think I'm some kind of thug automatically on first sight. I don't even drink, take drugs, smoke pot, etc. Had TSA clearance, a scoutmaster for 7 years of a BSA troop, a Bernie voter, worked for, and retired from a major American company. People aren't always what they appear to look like. Automatically making assumptions about someone else to me is wrong.
Over the years and until recently in the neighborhood I lived in "tough" area. I saw a group of bandidos come in. They actually weren't too bad. They seemed to keep quiet around their houses. I guess not wanting to attract attention. They moved out. To neighborhood baby gangs. To crips coming in the area. July 4 and New years eve a lot of people all around the neighborhood would go out in their yards and start firing weapons. Even heard fully auto fire a few times. Really stupid and wrong.
hunter
(40,768 posts)... and a gun grabber too.
My mom's mom fought off the police and paramedics for several hours when they came to remove her from her house as a danger to herself and others.
My great grandmas were hard steely eyed women of the Wild West. I knew three of them as a child, and they scared me sometimes. Curiously, they did most of the hunting and fishing in their families, their husbands busy taking care of the cows or the cattle or playing with useless things like radios or automobiles.
I used to watch in utter amazement one of my grandmas cutting up fish, birds, and smaller mammals for dinner. Her hands moved so fast I couldn't follow. I think she was the sort of person who could kill a bad man and reasonably expect her friend the sheriff-coroner to clean up the mess and file the proper papers.
Anyways, size doesn't matter, it's how you use it, right?
As I've said before, I've been in some rough situations, a few too many involving "bad guys" with guns. I've seen the police shoot people, I've been a bystander when gangsters are shooting at one another, I've confronted armed people on my property, I've been threatened and robbed by people with guns and knives, I've been physically assaulted... but not once have I been in a situation where outcomes might have been improved had I been holding a gun.
Guns turn ordinary human conflicts into tragedies, including suicides, where the conflict is entirely internal to a person. Guns don't make people any more powerful, mostly they make people stupid and dangerous, police officers included.
Piss on guns.
sarisataka
(22,716 posts)I have not had to deal with so many conflicts in my half-century plus on Earth. I have twice had people attempt to rob me, I was armed both times. In neither case did I have to resort to the firearm. The situations were resolved without them even becoming aware that I was armed and I kept my money.
Avoidance, deterrence and de-escalation are good precepts to live by.
On the other hand I do not have the hubris to believe my experiences are universal.
hunter
(40,768 posts)If the "bad guy" is gonna shoot you, he's gonna shoot you.
It doesn't matter if you've got a gun on your person or not.
Shooting first usually makes YOU the bad guy.
Even if you are a cop.
I can't think of anyone I'd care to shoot, therefore I don't need to trouble myself carrying a gun.
My wife and I live in a rough city with a very high gun homicide rate. Our current neighborhood is one of the best, aside from the gated fortresses, but there's still gang graffiti on our back wall that reappears almost as soon as I paint it over. All the kids at the school down the street get free lunches because it's not worth accounting for those who can pay. Our own kids got free lunches whenever they didn't bring their own. I also walk past places where kids have been shot and killed, some of these places decorated with little monuments put up by family and friends, with plastic flowers, photographs, and seasonal decorations, Halloween stuff these past few days. It's also a short walk from our home to one of our city's homeless encampments, a place of blue tarps, abandoned furniture, and very dirty tents. (I should probably volunteer for the needle exchange gig again, but my own health is a little iffy lately, I'm slowly adapting to some newly prescribed meds. A quarter of me is my bad-ass berserker crazy grandma, a half of me my bad-ass crazy mom.)
It's not the worst neighborhood my wife and I have lived in. Our previous house had bullet holes in it, our next door neighbor's oldest son was shot and killed in a drug deal gone bad, and the previous renter had run a chop-shop in the back yard. We eventually got stuff to grow in the backyard by dumping tons of compost on it. When our children were preschoolers we'd go to the back bedroom and play on the floor whenever we heard gunshots out front.
When my wife and I first met, we were big city public school science teachers, as if that explains anything. Our youngest kid is following a similar path, so it's those damned altruism genes, or something like that. My wife has another career now, but she still volunteers at a school that's pretty good at diverting kids from the gangster lifestyle. My own approach to these problems is a little more direct. In my most amusing encounter with fourteen and fifteen year old gangster kids armed with guns stolen in burglaries, they told the cops I was a Russian mobster.
My own relationship with the police has always been friendly enough, but seriously, I think all cops should serve a few years as teachers in rough public schools. Teachers are not allowed to shoot or physically assault the troublemakers.
It's also possible my attitudes arise with my mom's family's pacifism. Her ancestors ended up in the Wild West as pacifists and religious dissidents dodging wars in Europe, and the Civil War in the U.S.. My mom's dad was a conscientious objector in World War II who wouldn't take up arms. He was also a welder so they gave him a choice of prison or building and repairing war-damaged ships for the Merchant Marine. He built and repaired ships. He also got beaten by the cops once, protesting the internment of his Japanese American neighbors.
So I'll be entirely sincere and serious here: Why should I let anyone I'd care to shoot live in my head?
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Luckily plenty of decent ones arent as expensive as a nice Martin or Gibson.
Throd
(7,208 posts)But like guns, I can only use one at a time.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Response to jpak (Original post)
Post removed
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Thats a pretty big chunk.
With trends going to more "for self defense", more handguns, and more CC, so many people only owning 1 or 2 makes some sense.
JonathanRackham
(1,604 posts)As opposed to undocumented gun owners?
Should only the government be allowed to hoard guns?
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Of course, 10 of them are over 100 years old....
And none have ever been used to commit a crime while owned by me.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)So they usually trade in when buying another of the same type. A person who owns a handgun for self defense will rarely see need for more than one or two, same for hunters with rifles or shotguns.
Heck, I teach firearms safety and have guns I haven't fired in years just because I want examples of all kinds of actions so my students learn to safely handle them and I still am not in that top 3%.
But like collectors of anything, people who collect and see them as an investment will have a lot more.
Pretty much all those people DU is mocking and vilifying here will be those who are collecting 50-100+ year old guns and will be very law abiding, well educated people who won't ever commit a crime with their vintage WWI bolt action rifles or WWII M1 Garand or 1920's shotgun.
Of course, I question any poll that asks about firearms- I will post here about what I own because I am very careful about online anonymity, but if someone called my home or cell phone asking about how many guns I own the answer would be none- because that would be a great way for criminals to try and find places to rob.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)ileus
(15,396 posts)And 90% haven't been shot in 4 or 5 years, others 10-15 years...
sarisataka
(22,716 posts)a sufficiently large sample to make sweeping statements on a national level?
B2G
(9,766 posts)That they aren't spread around more widely in the population.
Right?
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I doubt the gun owners in Chicago who were responsible for 70 plus shootings on Memorial Day weekend were counted in this study.
B2G
(9,766 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Scary.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Don't worry - they'll likely be included in the "dangers of owning a gun" studies.
They did that in Phili a few years back.
virginia mountainman
(5,046 posts)Was discarded because by many, because of sample size...
His sample size was 5,000, so why is a even smaller sample being applauded, and held up by the same people that panned the Kleck study??
http://www.armedwithreason.com/npr-segment-the-myth-of-defensive-gun-use/
DEFILIPPIS: Well, this number comes from a study in 1992 conducted by professors at Florida State University, Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. What happened was that these researchers called a random sub-sample of 5,000 Americans. 66 of them reported that they had used a gun in self-defense, so thats a little bit more than 1 percent. And then from that number, the researchers simply scale it up to the entire American population to get around 2.5 million defensive gun uses a year.
BOB: Now it can be legitimate to take a sample of data and project it based on larger populations, but there are statistical protocols for doing that. Was the sample size too small?
BTW, many academics have taken on Mr Kleck...and Failed...
maxsolomon
(38,919 posts)2.5 million DGUs/year, or >6,800 per day, is an absurd number. America would be a crime-ridden hellscape if it were so.
This study is probably flawed as well. The only way to know for sure is to license and register every firearm, and require active militia duties for all gun owners. 2 weekends a year marching up and down parade grounds in sweltering humidity ought to do it.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)maxsolomon
(38,919 posts)A Well-Regulated Militia is essential to the security of a Free State!
cheers!
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Cheers!
sarisataka
(22,716 posts)I have a book I'm reading...
sarisataka
(22,716 posts)this study supports preconceived conclusions
Peacetrain
(24,291 posts)SwankyXomb
(2,030 posts)Gone and riled up the III%ers