Is it any wonder only 6% of the American population trusts the mainstream media? That’s fewer than the number of Americans with serious mental illness, by the way (and that explains a lot).
Here’s his story:
Average gun owner now owns 8 guns, twice what it used to be
(Miami Herald / Washington Post) – There are nearly twice as many guns in the average gun-owning household today as there were 20 years ago, according to new Wonkblog estimates based data from surveys and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Because surveys are so very accurate and infallible, right?
Could it be the average American doesn’t respond well to some stranger calling them up on the phone and asking them if they have any guns and if so, how many? Such foolishness will get about the same accuracy as surveys asking if the respondents have venereal disease(s) and how many, extramarital affairs (and how often) or how much cash they keep in the home.
In 2013, there were an estimated 8.1 firearms in the typical gun-owning household, according to these data. In 1994, the average gun-owning household owned 4.2 guns.
These numbers comport with what survey research has shown for several years now: the share of gun-owning households has been declining over the past 20 years and possibly more, according to numbers from Gallup and the General Social Survey. On the other hand, domestic firearm production and imports of firearms have risen sharply, particularly in recent years. If those numbers are correct, it follows that increasing gun purchases are being driven primarily by existing owners stocking up rather than first-time buyers.
Plenty has been written about the decline in overall gun ownership rates.
Plenty has been written about global warming, but writing about a topic doesn’t make it come true (except maybe in the mind of the writer if they repeat it enough times). The same goes for conspiracy theories too.
Many of these stories are based on the General Social Survey’s data, which shows household ownership rates falling from over 50 percent in the 1970s to around 32 percent today. Some gun rights advocates dispute these numbers, preferring to use Gallup’s household ownership rates instead, which have remained essentially flat over the same period.
But even Gallup’s numbers show a decline in gun ownership since the early 1990s, from 54 percent of households in late 1993 to 43 percent as of this fall.
Why rely on surveys when there’s hard data out there about gun ownership.
Take Illinois: Firearm owners are required to be registered with the state and possess a valid Firearms Owners Identification card to own or possess a firearm or ammunition in The Prairie State. It costs $10 and is valid for 10 years from the date of issuance.
How have the number of FOID cards changed?
Just as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into office in January 2009, there were 1,260,521 valid FOID cards in Illinois.
At the end of May 2016, there were 2,016,929 valid FOID cards, per the Illinois State Police.
That’s a 60% growth in the number of gun owners in Illinois.
Obviously, not every state shared Illinois’ 60% growth.
There are other hard numbers one can follow to track the growth of gun ownership: Concealed Carry licenses, nationwide.
In 2007, there were only about 4.7 million licenses to carry.
In 2015, there were over 12.8 million – 5.2% of the adult population – people with carry licenses. That’s a mere 272% increase in all of eight years.
Those don’t really count the 22.4 million people who today live in the 20% of the nation where no license is required to carry concealed for law-abiding residents (usually age 21+).
Sometimes the truth doesn’t make for good reporting.
The Washington Post can’t be troubled with either.
Here’s some things I found in a quick search of surveys. In short, you just never know what you’re going to get:
As many as 18% Americans believe that the Earth is the center of the universe. And one in four Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth.
One thing’s for sure, I’m not telling any strange schmuck that calls me on the phone if I’ve got guns at home. I’d tell them: “Hell no! Guns are dangerous!” I think most of my friends would do the same.
Actually I’d prefer to tell them “GO F__K YOURSELF”. Solves the problem of providing private information without kowtowing like a sheeple.
I actually had someone do a gun related survey a while back and my reply was “Nope, I own no guns” None of their business. I have a packed safe full lol
Average gun owner now owns 8 guns, Hot damn!! It took me 60 years, but i’m finally way above average at something!!!
Don’t tell the other better half but, I’m going to get my eight.
My goal in dealing with silly surveys is to waste as much of their time as possible. Have them repeat the question. Ask for clarification. Pretend to be confused. When you are several questions in, put the receiver on a chair, cover it with a pillow, and get some coffee. The questioner will get behind schedule and end up with an incomplete answer that must be thrown away.
It is all about using rigged or faulty “surveys” to shape public policy, especially among the low information voters. Despicable, yes. Unethical, probably. Necessary to promote a flawed agenda, you bet.
No wonder nobody trusts the mainstream media.
Rigged? No silly dear, ENGINEERED. This is not an inherently honest process that is occasionally corrupted by those with malicious intent.
In today’s world of politics and multi-billion dollar PR firms, there are entire industries that exist to manufacture “Studies”, “Polls”, “New Reports” and “Expert opinions” from whole cloth to support whatever their client’s agenda is.
Its the next generation of political science – the evolution of manipulating and controlling more people with less effort.
Does your average news anchor or WaPo columnist have a clue that they’re being spoon-fed “stories” and “leads” by corporate handlers?
Nope. They’re just the useful idiots being used at the moment.
Everyone’s data is suspect though. The FOID stats, for example, can’t be used as a one for one correlation with gun ownership. While you need to have a FOID to own a gun, you don’t need to own a gun to have a FOID. I know a few people who have a FOID without owning any guns. It’s a good stat to have and shows support for gun rights, but we have to be careful with what we claim the numbers represent.
Likewise, the stats for the total amount of issued concealed carry licenses don’t necessarily represent how many individuals are licensed to carry. Frequently people will get multiple licenses to get as many states as possible through reciprocity. Having both Utah and Florida is fairly common. Personally, I have Illinois, Utah, Florida, and New Hampshire. No real reason for New Hampshire other than to get one more state on my reciprocity map and it was a simple mail in application. As an aside, I would really like to get Oregon, Colorado, and South Carolina.
Anyway, my point is that while the anti-gun rights people use bad statistics to bolster their argument, we need to be careful not to do the same.
I cant think of a lot of people who submit to all that gav scrutiby and spend $10 for nothing.
Yean, you may have 4 licenses, but you’re not the average guy. Btw, I had a NH license many years ago. Until they jacked it to $100 or more.
I can appreciate getting as many states as possible. But unless you actually live in Colorado you’ll never get it. Oregon is another strange one. Unless you live in a state that borders Oregon, your chances are zero.
The Left keeps going by percentage. Yes, the percentage is down, only because the total number of households has increased faster than households owning guns. According to Gallup, in 1960 49% of households had guns, which was about 25 million, give or take. In 2025 it is 43% and that is about 52 MILLION. So it has more than doubled.
2015 in previous post. darn keyboard! Or fat fingers and watching what I’m typing.
” darn keyboard! ” – always blame it on the cat that sits on my desk and helps
I wonder how much ammo the average gun owner possesses…..it has been estimated there is 12 trillion rounds of ammo in the hands of private US citizens….I have by far and away much more money invested in ammo than I do in my entire gun inventory and I keep buying more when I get paid….if or when “the shit hits the fan” …ammo will be more valuable than gold or silver…..we may end up trading ammo for food in a worse case scenario.
And I bet illegal drug use and gang activity is down… if you ask the residents of Southside Chicago.
Surveys,polls, editorials are just like the media. USELESS, full of crap and all lies. IMO.
Heck, I’ve taught my kids to never talk about our guns to anyone they don’t know. Their answer is no, mommy and daddy don’t own any. Oshit forced that question onto hospital forms and that’s an easy lie.