Gun ownership rates haven’t changed much since the 1960s, Gallup pollsters would have you believe. Gun ownership is actually two points lower today than it was in the 60s, the polling giant claims. According to Gallup, gun ownership data has been roughly the same for more than six decades: about 44% of Americans admit they have a gun in their home, but only 30% say the gun is theirs. This data, plus or minus a point or two, has been used in Gallup’s stories for years.
From an 11-year-old Gallup story titled Men, Married, Southerners Most Likely to Be Gun Owners . . .
…an average of 30% of Americans said they personally own a gun. Another 14% did not personally own a gun but live in a household with someone who does.
From a Gallup story published just weeks ago titled Gun Ownership Rates Have Spiked Among Republican Women . . .
A steady 31% of U.S. adults personally own a gun, while another 13% say there is a gun in their household that belongs to someone else.
Almost all of Gallup’s gun-related stories use this data to support their points, while some use the faulty data to support a long list of ever-changing claims.
“The stability in the overall figures obscures an increase in ownership among women in general, driven by Republican women,” the most recent story suggested.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Second Amendment Foundation and other firearm groups strongly disagree with Gallup’s claimed gun ownership numbers.
“I don’t believe that number is representative of the true number of gun owners in America today,” said National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman Mark Oliva. “Everyone dismisses Gallup’s polling data.”
Those two Gallup stories aren’t alone. Gallup’s pollsters have based hundreds of stories on their 44% have guns, 30% own the guns premise.
“Majority in U.S. Continues to Favor Stricter Gun Laws,” which was published by Gallup Oct. 21, 2023, claims “Forty-four percent of U.S. adults say they have a gun in their home or on their property, with 30% saying the gun belongs to them personally and the remainder saying it belongs to another household member. “
“U.S. Opinion and the Election: Guns, Immigration, Climate,” which was published Oct. 21, 2022, states: “It is notable that Gallup data show 44% of Americans say either that they own a gun personally or that there is a gun in their household, making this a large constituency with a direct interest in legislation that would affect their gun ownership.”
“Gun Owners Increasingly Cite Crime as Reason for Ownership,” which was published Nov. 17, 2021, states, “It is notable that Gallup data show 44% of Americans say either that they own a gun personally or that there is a gun in their household, making this a large constituency with a direct interest in legislation that would affect their gun ownership.
“What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?” which was published Nov. 13, 2020, claims “Thirty-two percent of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun, while a larger percentage, 44%, report living in a gun household.”
In an online story page titled Guns, Gallup has a graphic that shares their firearm ownership data from the 1960s to today, which is simply titled: “Do you have a gun in your home?”
To be clear, Gallup has stated in stories that it didn’t track gun ownership data until around 2000, so it’s not known how the organization gathered gun ownership data from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Polling concerns
The NSSF’s Oliva and many others doubt that Gallup can obtain their data legitimately through phone calls, which the firm continues to use.
“If I were to be cold-called by a polling company and asked about guns, I would hang up on them,” Oliva told the Second Amendment Foundation, Monday.
Gun owners, he said, don’t want to become crime victims, so they’re very careful who they talk to about their guns, especially since several anti-gun state governments have already released their gun-owner data. “New York published the names of those who had permits,” Oliva said. “California ‘accidentally’ released private concealed-carriers information.”
“Other groups may use the gun-owner information for malicious purposes. That’s why a lot of gun owners opt out of these surveys and aren’t well represented,” Oliva said.
Data problems
It isn’t known how Gallup came up with or why they maintain their gun ownership numbers. The firm didn’t respond to SAF’s emails or phone calls seeking comment for this story. Their data, however, is clearly wrong, especially the gun-sales numbers.
For the past 25 years, between 8 and 39 million firearms were sold each year, according to FBI data, which is based on the ATF Form 4473. Actual firearms transfer data, which includes private sales that do not require federal forms, is higher.
“Gallup’s polling data would have you believe that 30 percent of gun owners are just adding to their collections,” Oliva said. “We don’t think this is true, especially when we’ve seen that millions of new gun owners are buying guns for the first time.”
Gallup certainly isn’t alone. In a story published in July, Pew Research said roughly 40% of Americans have a firearm in their home and 32% claimed ownership. This claim, too, appears to be wrong.
No government agency or private firm like Gallup knows how many Americans own firearms or how many guns have guns in their homes. The reason for this is simple: American gun owners don’t trust the government or private firms like The Gallup Organization or Pew Research with their gun data. It’s actually pretty simple, really.
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This story is part of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and is published here with their permission.
Because polls only reflect the ideology and agendas of the people who are paying for them. You never see the poll if it doesn’t.
They’re also still talking about 10 million illegals in the country which was a lie a decade ago. A realistic Yale study put the number at 20-30 million over six years ago. We’re easily looking at well over 30 million, and possibly over 40 million, after the Puppet allowed 10 million to cross over. Yet this year, Chuck Schumer mentioned 10-11 million total in the country. They’re intentionally lying of course. That’s all they do. Very few people would support them if they knew the truth.
Remember every time they talk about a gun “buy back” those same people say deporting illegal immigrants is impossible, as they continue to invite them in.
The only possible way that I can see the firearm ownership rate staying fairly steady involves two simple factors:
1) Our nation’s “traditional” population is shrinking.*
2) Our nation’s Far-Left educational indoctrination system really hit its stride in the early 2000s and has convinced many up-and-coming young people to NOT own firearms.
Hence, if our nation’s traditional population is declining and the latest batch of young people are less inclined to own firearms, the ownership rate could be steady or possibly even declining.
Or look at it this way. Our nation’s population bubble of Baby Boomers are rapidly dying off. Do we really think that the youngest generations replacing them have the same somewhat positive mindset on firearm ownership? I don’t.
* I use the term “traditional” population to refer to legal resident aliens and citizens who have been in our nation for decades–and I exclude illegal aliens as well as newly minted legal migrants who overwhelming avoid firearm ownership early-on for various reasons.
I have read too many BS polls about how many people want to ban handguns. Yet, when actually given the chance to do so, in very left Massachusetts, this was the result! It tells you just how wrong polling usually is.
https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Question_5,_Handguns_Ban_Initiative_(1976)