New York Times Claims American Household Gun Ownership is Trending Downward

March 10, 2013

An interesting article claiming a decline in firearms ownership among American households. Here is my comment to the person on FB who made me aware of the article:

[Name,] it's an interesting article and I'll keep it in mind. It claims a lower household ownership than I've read previously but it also acknowledges "various recent national polls reporting rates between 35 percent and 52 percent". That's a pretty wide margin and this survey is on the extreme low end of that range. The extremes of a range are not likely to be the truth. It also acknowledges that the design of surveys and questions can have an impact on the outcome, as I've seen in my own profession.

Even if it has declined to 35% of households, the 2nd Amendment is not a "majority rules" issue. It's a Constitutional right. For those wanting to repeal the 2nd Amendment (and there are some even if you're not one of them), there's a process for that. I think it's almost impossible to happen within our lifetimes. I think even overzealous gun control advocates recognize that so they are attempting to attack in as many ways as they can to advance their agenda without pursuit of what might be their ultimate goal.

Again, even if it's true, it'd be interesting to see the reasons for the decline. Some possibilities are given in the article and I think they're valid. I can think of several others that I think are equally valid. Among them are:

* The "gateways" to firearms ownership have declined significantly and steadily for past decades. The article mentions the military as one. Boy Scouts membership has been on the decline for many years. High school shooting teams are practically non-existent today. Shooting ranges have been under assault by gun control advocates for days and many have closed down.
* Firearms have been demonized by our educators, media and politicians for decades. The "zero tolerance" policies in our schools are ridiculous. There are incidents just this year of school suspensions and other discipline for: a "paper gun" (a rectangle of paper with a smaller rectangle torn out of it to make it an "L" shaped "gun"); a pastry formed into what might have been a gun shape (the student claims they were trying to form it into a mountain); toy WW II soldier decorations on cupcakes; a "Marines" t-shirt with crossed M-16 rifles on it; a young boy pretending to throw a hand grenade at bad guys during recess; and suspension of high school boys who DISARMED another student with a loaded gun who was threatening a student with it. This last incident should have awarded medals. Instead they were disciplined. (My 7th grade daughter received positive recognition from the local police department last year for disarming a fellow student who was carrying a knife and threatening to cut another classmate with it. The police believed the threat to be legitimate.)
* From personal experience, I know that not all firearms owners will respond in the positive when asked about ownership even with the assurance of an anonymous survey. Some see it as a privacy issue. Others are paranoid of gun registration (associating their phone number or other identifiable information with firearms ownership). Any survey is likely to err slightly to the low side because of this, though perhaps not statistically significantly so.
* Even growing up in a firearms household, not everyone will go get their own when they leave the nest. It doesn't mean they're against it or that they won't have firearms in their household in the future, perhaps with a later purchase, inheritance or other distribution. They just don't feel the need or perhaps desire right away, or they know they're accessible to them from family or friends when they want them. I have a former military friend who owns several firearms. His wife doesn't like guns. Out of respect for her, he keeps them at a friend's house. He or his wife could have answered these questions about "firearms in the household" honestly either way.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130310&_r=0

Rate of Gun Ownership Is Down, Survey Shows

www.nytimes.com