Second Amendment Scoreboard

[Uncle Joe]

66. I never said that and the report doesn't state that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?_r=1&

That decline, which has been studied by researchers for years but is relatively unknown among the general public, suggests that even as the conversation on guns remains contentious, a broad shift away from gun ownership is under way in a growing number of American homes. It also raises questions about the future politics of gun control. Will efforts to regulate guns eventually meet with less resistance if they are increasingly concentrated in fewer hands — or more resistance?

(snip)

But researchers say the survey done by the center at the University of Chicago is crucial because it has consistently tracked gun ownership since 1973, asking if respondents “happen to have in your home (or garage) any guns or revolvers.”

(snip)

Gallup, which asks a similar question but has a different survey design, shows a higher ownership rate and a more moderate decrease. No national survey tracks the number of guns within households.

(snip)


Tom W. Smith, the director of the General Social Survey, which is financed by the National Science Foundation, said he was confident in the trend. It lines up, he said, with two evolving patterns in American life: the decline of hunting and a sharp drop in violent crime, which has made the argument for self-protection much less urgent.

The report states there are several dynamics which back up this reduction in the rate of guns owned by the general populace.

1. Rural areas where gun ownership is highest is decreasing as urbanization spreads.

2. The decline of hunting.

3. More women are single head of households and women have a lower rate ( less than a third of men) of gun ownership.

4. A growing Hispanic and Latino population which also has lower a rate of gun ownership 14%.

5. A smaller % of the population in the military as compared to the days of Vietnam, the military being an introduction to guns for many people.

6. While gun ownership among the elderly has stayed constant since the early 70s, it has dropped dramatically among people 44 or younger.