Study: Americans Overwhelmingly Own Firearms for Protection

Opinion

Women Shooter at Ready Range Ladies Lady Gun Holder IMG NRA-ILA
IMG NRA-ILA

NRA members know that there are plenty of excellent ways to exercise Second Amendment rights, such as continuing America’s hunting heritage, enjoying or competing in the shooting sports, or developing a firearm collection. However, the most important aspect of the Second Amendment is that it preserves the individual right to keep and bear arms to defend oneself, family, and community.

A new study published in the journal Injury Prevention on July 25 shows that protection is the overwhelming reason Americans exercise their Second Amendment rights. Titled, “Firearm ownership for protection in the USA, 2023: results from a nationally representative survey,” the authors from the University of Michigan found, “Of all firearm owners, 78.8%… owned a firearm for protection.”

Moreover, the results suggest that more than half of gun owners at least sometimes exercise their Right-to-Carry.”

“The researchers determined, “58.1%… carried a firearm outside their home in the last 12 months.”

As the researchers pointed out, the percentage of gun owners who cite protection as their reason for owning a firearm has increased in recent years. Further, the results comport with other research on this topic. A Pew Research Center survey from June 2023 found that 72-percent of gun owners cited protection as a “major reason” they own a gun and 91-percent cited it as a “major” or “minor” reason.

Another interesting excerpt from the Injury Prevention article found,

Gender and race/ethnicity emerged as robust sociodemographic correlates for ownership for protection. Women, black and Hispanic people were more likely to own firearms for protection than for other reasons. Decision tree analyses identified that black and Asian women (98.8%) almost exclusively owned for protection and, while men had a lower overall prevalence, owning for protection was more common among black (88.4%) than white men (69.7%; figure 2). Other characteristics, including political affiliation, were not significantly associated with motivation for firearm ownership;

This suggests that when anti-gun politicians target the types of firearms most useful for protection they are disproportionately harming women and minority gun owners.

As one might expect, some of the regime press wasn’t too keen on the results out of Ann Arbor. In a supposed news item on the study, that read more like an opinion piece, a CNN writer felt the need to refute the effectiveness of firearms for self-defense. The piece stated, “data from the National Crime Victimization Survey shows that guns are rarely used in self-defense during personal contact crimes.”

This ignores the profound evidence showing that firearms are used for protection at least hundreds of thousands of times per year.

In 1993, Florida State University Criminology Professor Gary Kleck conducted the National Self-Defense Survey to study the prevalence of defensive gun uses (DGUs), the results of which were published in a 1995 Journal of Law and Criminology article titled, “Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun.” The article stated that survey data indicated that “each year in the U.S. there are about 2.2 to 2.5 million DGUs of all types by civilians against humans.”

After Kleck’s findings were published, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted its own surveys of DGUs in its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey from 1996 to 1998. However, the agency didn’t make its research public at the time – perhaps because the results did not conform to the CDC’s institutional anti-gun bias.

The CDC survey data finally came to light in 2018. Analyzing the CDC survey along with his own survey, Kleck found that the CDC data indicated that there are likely more than 1 million DGUs per year.

A subsequent survey, conducted in 2021 by Georgetown University Political Economist William English, placed the number of DGUs somewhere in between what the CDC and Kleck’s survey data indicated. In a research paper summarizing his findings, English noted,

The survey further finds that approximately a third of gun owners (31.1%) have used a firearm to defend themselves or their property, often on more than one occasion, and it estimates that guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 1.67 million incidents per year.

Regardless of the media naysayers, gun rights supporters should take heart in that the data clearly show that an enormous portion, at the very least in the tens of millions, of Americans own firearms to exercise their Second Amendment right to armed self-defense.


About NRA-ILA:

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org

National Rifle Association Institute For Legislative Action (NRA-ILA)

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musicman44mag

You can use all the data that is available regarding for or against concealed carry you want. The truth is, not all the data is out there and how many robberies, thefts or rapes were stopped by a gun is never the complete story because not all of it is reported. Part of the reason why is because if you do report it, you are the bad guy to the police. Do you have a permit, why did you pull the gun, did you really need to pull the gun, let me inspect your gun, why do you feel you… Read more »

Grigori

You are absolutely right, MusicMan! There were a couple of times when I, as an off-duty cop, encountered individuals who I was certain were planning on robbing me. Both times, I was in public places but at a distance from where the public was. In both cases, I let my potential adversaries know that I was armed by lifting my shirt over my gun with my thumb and unsnapping my holster while looking straight at them. My gun never left the holster in either case, but my message was clear. In both instances, I was out of my jurisdiction and… Read more »

Enemy of Democracy

I have also had at least 2 similar encounters, my right hand going out of sight, along with “The Look” sends most predators scurrying away!
I detained another that had stolen 2 rifles from a vehicle as the owner was packing up. Caught up to him the next block over.
Responding Officer thanked me, he was glad he did not have to go looking for a perp with 2 FN~FALs.
IMEO Unreported out number Reported at least 3 to 1.

Grigori

Good job! I know the rifles owner was grateful to you, too!

Enemy of Democracy

Yes, He gave me a Colt 32~20 as a thank you!

Grigori

That was nice!

The other Jim

“That was nice!”. I don’t know, be careful; you might be censored on that comment next time.

Grigori

How’s that, Jim?

The other Jim

Thought it was you the web program kept censoring for commenting nice things, but I think it was someone else.

Grigori

Oh, okay.

Finnky

Your mileage will vary – often due to jurisdictional differences. In some states revealing you firearm at all qualifies as “brandishing” while drawing and pointing in someone’s direction qualifies as assault. Within those states, prosecutors vary as to what they’ll pursue. If in an unfriendly local, I would call if I think there’s any way that someone else will report me. Of course perp doesn’t know who I am, so if I’m gone before cops get there they are unlikely to be able to identify me as the one who “brandished.” In that case simply get out of Dodge –… Read more »

Montana454Casull

Protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government has always been Americans goal with gun ownership, not hunting ! Democrats are full of shit !

Ken

I’ve said before, on here, and I’ll say it once more: Nowadays, a cop is nothing more than a stranger with a gun. He/she’s ready and willing to use it, so be ready and willing to defend yourself.
Also, much to militant and aggressive. Remember, CCI. Not the ammo company but the cop beliefs:
Confrontation
Control
Intimidation
Don’t let it happen to you

Get Out

We’re our own 1st responder first. Waiting on LE to respond to a 911 call could be a long wait.

The other Jim

And police are shooting to death more law-abiding citizens then ever. Many police are trained that your 2nd. Amendment ends where my fear starts. Shoot them so you go home after the shift, shoot every homeowner if you have to. Even in your own home they will kill you if they see a gun. How abour Roger Fortson of Florida. And Sonya Massey of Illinois. Robert Dotson of New Mexico. And similiar to Roger Fortson is 78 year old Allen Seibert shot by police in his own home.

Grigori

It is getting really ridiculous. Mr Fortson was killed by a deputy of the same Sheriff’s Dept that had a deputy and his female Sgt mag dump the deputy’s patrol vehicle, which had a searched and handcuffed prisoner inside, after an acorn fell on the patrol vehicle and frightened the deputy. There appears to be some serious training and attitude issues within that Sheriff’s Dept that need to be rectified, and fast. Thankfully, the deputy who killed Mr Fortson has been fired and I believe criminally charged. The murder of Ms Massey was quite disturbing, also. There was no justification… Read more »

Last edited 2 months ago by Grigori
The other Jim

Yes, I would not put it past them with respect to State Assemblyman RJ May 3. Very strange so far that case. It is becomming a precedent that the local prosecutor clears the police when they should be prosecuted so they are empowered by this and go out and continue treating the law-abiding citizen as the enemy combatant. In May a Kent County Michigan Cop ran over and killed a kid named Riley Doggett. Deputy Josiah McMains didn’t want to get out of the car and chase on foot, and/or wait for other police to surround Doggett, so he ran… Read more »

PMinFl

I’ll bet that victims struck from behind and knocked down (or unconscious) rarely pull their firearms in self defense. Now study that!

Ledesma

There are liberals in cities like Manhattan and Boston, that live their entire lives and never once touch a firearm. Or know anybody who has. I’m serious. They think the idea of maintaining a weapon at the ready 24/7 year in and year out for some “hypothetical” emergency that might not ever even happen is madness. Liberal “studies” have shown that with loaded weapons on perpetual standby, spouses, loved ones, and other friendlies are most likely to be the ones shot in some bungled attempt at self-defense. Or accidently shoot yourself. Liberal “studies” revealed that.

Last edited 2 months ago by Ledesma
Autsin Miller III

Yeah, you can’t help stupid.

Cappy

Education fixes ignorance, but you can’t fix stupid.