MountainRaven
03-13-13, 21:05
My apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, before, but I thought I should share this:
Pew Research Center's "Why Own a Gun?" (http://www.people-press.org/2013/03/12/why-own-a-gun-protection-is-now-top-reason/).
It does include some no brainers, like people who own guns are much more likely to be against new gun legislation while people who do not are much more likely to be for it. Also unsurprisingly, most gun owners are white men, you're more likely to be a gun owner (or live in a household with a gun) in the South or Midwest, and those gun owners who are members of the NRA are more likely to support the Second Amendment than gun owners who are not (81% vs. 60%).
Interesting factoids:
-1-in-4 Americans own a gun. 1-in-3 Americans live in a household with a gun. These numbers are admittedly somewhat conservative by the PRC's own reckoning, on account of the likelihood of people who have guns and live with people who own guns reporting that they have none, either because they do not wish for it to be known or because they don't know they live with someone who does.
-Half of all gun owners are Independents. The other half is roughly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, favoring Republicans (48/28/21).
-Most Americans agree that new gun legislation would make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and give the government too much power over the citizenry, while slightly lower numbers believe that it would make it more difficult for a criminal to possess and use a firearm.
-Nearly half of all gun owners possess a firearm for their personal protection. This is the single largest reason for owning a firearm and it has swapped positions and very nearly numbers with hunting from a poll conducted in 1999. Of those who own a firearm for personal protection, roughly half are Republican or lean Republican while slightly less than half are Democrats or lean Democratic.
-The gap between Democrat gun owners and GOP gun owners is still considerable, and GOP gun owners are much more likely to own a gun for hunting.
Frankly, I think this should have an impact on the national "discussion" regarding gun control in a manner largely supportive of our cause: The President (and his cronies) can hardly claim that most gun owners are hunters and sport shooters who don't support the NRA's agenda when there is nonpartisan data that says that less than 40% of all gun owners own them for hunting and sport shooting combined while slightly less than half of all gun owners own them for personal protection. He, furthermore, cannot claim that it is a partisan issue and the GOP is out of touch, when nearly as many gun owners are Dems as Repubs.
Pew Research Center's "Why Own a Gun?" (http://www.people-press.org/2013/03/12/why-own-a-gun-protection-is-now-top-reason/).
It does include some no brainers, like people who own guns are much more likely to be against new gun legislation while people who do not are much more likely to be for it. Also unsurprisingly, most gun owners are white men, you're more likely to be a gun owner (or live in a household with a gun) in the South or Midwest, and those gun owners who are members of the NRA are more likely to support the Second Amendment than gun owners who are not (81% vs. 60%).
Interesting factoids:
-1-in-4 Americans own a gun. 1-in-3 Americans live in a household with a gun. These numbers are admittedly somewhat conservative by the PRC's own reckoning, on account of the likelihood of people who have guns and live with people who own guns reporting that they have none, either because they do not wish for it to be known or because they don't know they live with someone who does.
-Half of all gun owners are Independents. The other half is roughly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, favoring Republicans (48/28/21).
-Most Americans agree that new gun legislation would make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and give the government too much power over the citizenry, while slightly lower numbers believe that it would make it more difficult for a criminal to possess and use a firearm.
-Nearly half of all gun owners possess a firearm for their personal protection. This is the single largest reason for owning a firearm and it has swapped positions and very nearly numbers with hunting from a poll conducted in 1999. Of those who own a firearm for personal protection, roughly half are Republican or lean Republican while slightly less than half are Democrats or lean Democratic.
-The gap between Democrat gun owners and GOP gun owners is still considerable, and GOP gun owners are much more likely to own a gun for hunting.
Frankly, I think this should have an impact on the national "discussion" regarding gun control in a manner largely supportive of our cause: The President (and his cronies) can hardly claim that most gun owners are hunters and sport shooters who don't support the NRA's agenda when there is nonpartisan data that says that less than 40% of all gun owners own them for hunting and sport shooting combined while slightly less than half of all gun owners own them for personal protection. He, furthermore, cannot claim that it is a partisan issue and the GOP is out of touch, when nearly as many gun owners are Dems as Repubs.