Gun
s are deeply ingrained in American society and the nation’s political debates.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to bear arms, and about a third of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun. At the same time, President Joe Biden and other policymakers earlier this year proposed new restrictions on firearm access in an effort to address gun violence ranging from rising murder rates in some major cities to mass shootings.
Here are some key findings about Americans’ attitudes about gun violence, gun policy and other subjects, drawn from recent surveys by Pew Research Center and Gallup.
1 Four-in-ten U.S. adults say they live in a household with a gun, including 30% who say they personally own one, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in June 2021.
2 Personal protection tops the list of reasons why gun owners say they own a firearm.
3 Around half of Americans (48%) see gun violence as a very big problem in the country today, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in April 2021.
4 Attitudes about gun violence differ widely by race, ethnicity, party and community type.
5 Roughly half of Americans (53%) favor stricter gun laws, a decline since 2019, according to the Center’s April 2021 survey.
6 Americans are divided over whether restricting legal gun ownership would lead to fewer mass shootings.
7 There is broad partisan agreement on some gun policy proposals, but most are politically divisive,
8 Gun ownership is closely linked with views on gun policies. This is true even among gun owners and non-owners within the same political party, according to the April 2021 Center survey.
9 Americans in rural areas typically favor more expansive gun access, while Americans in urban places prefer more restrictive policies, according to the April 2021 survey.
Read more at https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/
