New Pew Survey Shows That Support For Gun Ownership Increasing

By John R Lott
New Pew Survey shows that support for gun ownership increasing, mirrors other surveys showing that people believe guns make them safer.

Gun Control and Right To Own Guns
Gun Control and Right To Own Guns
Crime Prevention Research Center
Crime Prevention Research Center

Colorado –-(Ammoland.com)- The newly released Pew Research Center survey shows that 52 percent of Americans want to “protect the right of Americans to own guns” versus 46 percent who support “control of gun ownership.”

As with a recent Gallup survey, most people think that guns make them safer.

57 percent believe gun ownership “protects people from becoming victims of crime” versus 37 percent believe that it “puts people’s safety at risk.” Every group except Democrats as a whole view gun ownership positively. Black Americans view gun ownership as being more likely to protect people’s lives than cause harm by a 54 to 41 percent margin, but they strongly support gun control by a 60 to 34 percent margin.

Women view gun ownership positively by a 51 to 43 percent margin, but again they strongly support gun control by a 54 to 43 percent margin.

The Christian Science Monitor noted:

The shift in views makes for grim reading for gun control advocates, who, according to Pew, have lost support among every demographic except Hispanics and liberal Democrats. City-dwellers, women, and blacks moved particularly hard toward a view put forth by pro-gun rights researcher John Lott: that an armed society is a polite society. . . .

About Crime Prevention Research Center
The Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) is a research and education organization dedicated to conducting academic quality research on the relationship between laws regulating the ownership or use of guns, crime, and public safety; educating the public on the results of such research; and supporting other organizations, projects, and initiatives that are organized and operated for similar purposes. Visit: www.crimepreventionresearchcenter.org