GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
Gun ownership in the United States appears to be on the decline, according to Gallup polls surveying American attitudes on the issue. Thirty-six percent of Americans responding to a February Gallup poll said they keep a gun in their home-the lowest percentage in 40 years of polling, reinforcing a trend evident across several recent Gallup surveys. Additionally, the percentage of Americans who say they have personally fired a gun has also dropped to 67%, down from 74% in a 1993 Gallup poll.
The specific percentage of Americans who report having a gun in the home has varied from survey to survey over the past forty years, but the general, broad trend has been a decline. Gallup polls taken between 1959 and 1975 showed a 47% average rate of gun ownership. The rate fell to 44% in Gallup polls taken between 1980 and 1989, but rose to 48% in the period between 1990 and 1993. The overall average for the period between 1996 and 1999 stands at 40%, including Gallup's most recent poll conducted February 8-9, with 36% gun ownership.
The Gallup poll paints a distinct picture of the average American gun owner. He is likely to be white, middle-aged, conservative, live in a rural area, and be a resident of the South or Midwest.
- Forty-seven percent of men report having a gun at home,
compared to 27% of women.
- Forty percent of whites have a gun at home, compared to 19% of
non-whites.
- Gun ownership is most likely to be found among middle-aged
Americans, 50-64, and is least likely to be found among younger
Americans, 18-29: 46% of those aged 50 to 64 own a gun, compared to
28% of those aged 18 to 29, 37% of those between the ages of 30 and
49, and 36% of those 65 or over.
- Gun ownership is highest in the South (46%) and Midwest (39%),
and lowest in the East (26%) and West (33%).
- Perhaps not surprisingly, guns are much more likely to be found
in rural homes than they are in urban or suburban dwellings.
Fifty-two percent of rural Americans admit to keeping a gun at
home, compared to 25% of urban residents and 36% of suburban
residents.
- Politically, gun owners tend to be more conservative and Republican.
While about two thirds of all Americans say that they have fired a gun in their lifetime, the percentage is much higher among men than among women (86% of men have fired a gun compared to 51% of women.). Additionally, perhaps a harbinger of things to come in the future, only 55% of those aged 18-29 say they have ever fired a gun, compared to significantly higher percentages among those who are older.
Two different Gallup surveys conducted over the past six years have shown that a surprisingly high number of Americans-about a third-say that someone close to them has been shot by a gun in circumstances other than military combat. The exact percentage in Gallup's March survey is 31%, down slightly from 36% in 1993.
The probability of knowing someone who has been shot by a gun follows significantly different patterns among population sub-groups than does the pattern of gun ownership. Although gun ownership is much lower among non-whites, the percentage of this group that knows someone who has been shot is much higher than it is among whites. In fact, forty-seven percent of non-whites say that they have a friend or relative who has been shot by a gun, compared to only 28% among whites. Younger Americans are also more likely to know someone who has been shot than are those who are older. And, even though gun ownership is much lower in urban areas than it is in rural areas, the percentage of urban dwellers that knows someone who has been shot is at 36%, compared to 31% among those living in rural areas.
For results based on the survey conducted February 8-9, 1999 (N=1,054) the margin of error is ±3 percentage points.
Do you have a gun in your home?
Based on National Adults
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99 Feb 8-9 | 36% | 62% | 2% |
| 97 Aug 22-25 | 42 | 57 | 1 |
| 96 Nov 21-24 | 44 | 54 | 2 |
| 96 Jul 25-28 | 38 | 60 | 2 |
| 93 Oct 13-18 | 51 | 48 | 1 |
| 93 Mar 12-14 | 48 | 51 | 1 |
| 1991 | 46 | 53 | 1 |
| 1990 | 47 | 52 | 1 |
| 1989 | 47 | 51 | 2 |
| 1985 | 44 | 55 | 1 |
| 1983 | 40 | 58 | 2 |
| 1980 | 45 | 53 | 2 |
| 1975 | 44 | 54 | 2 |
| 1972 | 43 | 55 | 2 |
| 1968 | 50 | 50 | -- |
| 1965 | 48 | 52 | -- |
| 1959 | 49 | 51 | -- |
| By Gender - 99 Feb 8-9 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | |
| (508) | (546) | |
| Yes | 47% | 27% |
| No | 51 | 71 |
| No opinion | 2 | 2 |
| 100% | 100% | |
| By Race - 99 Feb 8-9 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Whites | Non-whites | |
| (893) | (154) | |
| Yes | 40% | 19% |
| No | 59 | 79 |
| No opinion | 1 | 2 |
| 100% | 100% | |
| By Age - 99 Feb 8-9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
| (195) | (417) | (255) | (175) | |
| Yes | 28% | 37% | 46% | 36% |
| No | 71 | 62 | 53 | 61 |
| No opinion | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
| By Region - 99 Feb 8-9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | Midwest | East | West | |
| (299) | (255) | (267) | (233) | |
| Yes | 46% | 39% | 26% | 33% |
| No | 52 | 60 | 73 | 65 |
| No opinion | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
For results based on the survey conducted March 5-7, 1999 (N=1,021) the margin of error is ±3 percentage points.
Have you ever fired a gun?
| Based on National Adults | ||
|---|---|---|
| 99 Mar 5-7 | 93 Dec 17-21 | |
| Yes | 67% | 74% |
| No | 33 | 26 |
| No opinion | * | * |
| 100% | 100% | |
| By Gender - 99 Mar 5-7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | |
| (491) | (530) | |
| Yes | 86% | 51% |
| No | 14 | 49 |
| No opinion | * | * |
| 100% | 100% | |
| By Income - 99 Mar 5-7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| More than $50K/year | Less than $20K/year | |
| (408) | (166) | |
| Yes | 73% | 59% |
| No | 27 | 41 |
| No opinion | * | * |
| 100% | 100% | |
Not including military combat, has anyone close to you--such as a friend or relative--ever been shot by a gun?
| 99 Mar 5-7 | 93 Dec 17-21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 31% | 36% |
| No | 69 | 64 |
| No opinion | * | * |
| 100% | 100% |
* Mentioned by less than 0.5% of respondents