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.
Comments are closed.