The number of daily gun carriers increased from three million in 2015 to six million in 2019 according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
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The study also concludes that 16 million Americans carry at least once a month – up from nine million in 2015. The researchers used data from previously existing surveys and compared them to the most current data – a survey from 2019.
The previous surveys were completed in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 2015. In each survey, 2,000 gun owners from around the country participated in sharing their gun usage.
In 1994, 46% of respondents cited personal protection — as opposed to sports shooting or hunting — as their reason for carrying. By 2015, that number jumped up to 65% — and as of 2019, it reached 73%.
It seems that there is little doubt that self-defense is the primary reason Americans bear arms.
Of course, data from 2019 may not reflect carry habits over the past two years as the COVID-19 pandemic radically changed everything.
Americans, for example, were instructed by the gov’t to stay indoors for protracted periods and may not have left their home, let alone carried outside their home, for weeks or months.
However, data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association, indicate 2020 and 2021 were record years for gun sales.
So, while many Americans may not have been able to carry in public due to lockdown mandates, many were interested in ensuring they had arms on hand come what may.
In fact, the NSSF estimates that there were 4.5 million first-time gun buyers in 2021, and 8.4 million in 2020. That’s almost 13 million new gun owners added to the ranks in a two-year span.
The Joyce Foundation, a “private, nonpartisan philanthropy,” focused on “ending gun violence” provided partial funding for the research.
Dr.Ali Rowhani-Rahbar led the research team which ultimately concluded that there is no statistical difference between permitless carry states and shall-issue states with the exception that 10% of carriers in shall-issue states carried “illegally.”
Dr. Rowhani-Rahbar noted the importance of the study in light of the Supreme Court Ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen on November 3rd.
“This ruling could further catalyze the loosening of firearm-carrying regulations in different parts of the country at a time when, as our study indicates, trends in handgun carrying already point to more US adults carrying loaded handguns in public places, including without a permit when a permit is required,” Rowhani-Rahbar stated in the report.
“The effect of this loosening on firearm ownership and carrying as well as public safety and public health should be an important subject of research in the future,” he added.
Do you notice your friends and family carrying more often?
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