Monday, August 09, 2021

Gun Owners and Non-Owners Disagree about Policies

Should the purchase of guns by the mentally ill be restricted? Fully 87 percent of Americans say yes, with gun owners and those who don't own guns in rare agreement, according to a Pew Research Center survey. When it comes to most other gun policies, however, gun owners and non-owners are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Take a look...

Percent who somewhat/strongly favor allowing people to carry concealed guns in more places
Gun owners: 70%
Not a gun owner: 30%

Percent who somewhat/strongly favor allowing teachers to carry guns in K-12 schools
Gun owners: 63%
Not a gun owner: 33%

Percent who somewhat/strongly favor banning assault-style weapons
Gun owners: 37%
Not a gun owner: 74%

Percent who somewhat/strongly favor banning high-capacity ammunition magazines
Gun owners: 40%
Not a gun owner: 74%

Percent who somewhat/strongly favor creating a federal database to track all gun sales
Gun owners: 46%
Not a gun owner: 77%

Gun owners are a large minority of adults in the United States. According to Pew, 30 percent of adults personally own a gun and another 11 percent say they don't own a gun but someone else in their household does. This large constituency is what makes gun safety laws so elusive.

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