Gun lobby defends not the Constitution but a cynical business model

[SecularMotion]

There's a little known fact about guns in America, and it's one that the firearms industry and its political allies don't like to dwell on: The rate of gun ownership in America is declining.

This has been the case for decades. Rates peaked way back in the 1970s, the era of disco balls and bell bottoms. In 1977, 54 percent of American households reported owning guns. In 2010, the last time the General Social Survey data was compiled, the percentage had shrunk to 32.

The Violence Policy Center follows such data, as analyzed by the National Opinion Research Center. The center's last report was "A Shrinking Minority: The Continuing Decline of Gun Ownership in America."

The trend is expected to continue. It seems counterintuitive, given all the recent headlines about people lining up at gun stores and given the stranglehold the gun lobby has on American politics. It raises all sorts of questions. Who owns guns, who doesn't, and why? For the nation to handle its problems with gun violence effectively, we need to grasp the nitty-gritty realities of gun ownership.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-22/news/sns-201302221500--tms--msanchezctnms-a20130222-20130222_1_gun-ownership-gun-lobby-guns-and-ammunition

[upaloopa]

1. Well a bit of good news for the rest of us.

Fear drives the gun industry. Fear you will lose your gun, fear the brown race will wreck your life, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

[safeinOhio]

2. "First of all, whatever upticks have been observed in the purchases of guns and ammunition seems to

reflect stockpiling by those who were already gun owners." Guns are like crack, more is never enough.

[Mojorabbit]

3. I could swear I have seen multiple articles saying

that gun ownership has increased quite a bit? I will look later if I feel better.

[Mojorabbit]

4. Here is one I had recently read

Over that span, the percentage of households with guns dropped from more than half in 1977 to just more than 30 percent in 2010.
Gallup, meanwhile, shows a similar drop — though it found 41 percent of households still had guns as of 2010.
But then something happened in 2011. Gun ownership spiked to its highest level since 1994 — 47 percent.

The people who suddenly had more guns? Not the white males, the Southerners, and the Republicans most associated with guns. Instead they were mostly Democrats….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/19/a-gun-ownership-renaissance/

[gejohnston]

5. Southerners?

More like Westerners.
http://usliberals.about.com/od/Election2012Factors/a/Gun-Owners-As-Percentage-Of-Each-States-Population.htm

[Mojorabbit]

6. The article also names women and

people in every region instead of the south. Lots of graphs also.

[gejohnston]

7. cool, the shooting sports community needs

more diversity

[DonP]

8. Her primary source if a VPC survey - that's not too biased I'm sure.

Ahhh, more Google Dumping.

But if she's right, that's fine. All you have to do is wait around and everybody will get tired of guns and go play golf instead.

But the dozens of people getting new FOID cards while I waited in line, the last time I went over to a local gun store obviously haven't read her column yet. That one store is doing an average of 80 new cards a day and there's a 3+ week wait to get into a "Introduction to Basic Handguns" class.

Must be those same people going over and over again.

[holdencaufield]

9. What do you call a Democrat with a gun?

A Democrat

[Aaronquah]

10. Re: Gun lobby defends not the Constitution but a cynical business model

If our Founding Father had knew this in advance, they would have skipped the Second Amendment.

[jimmy the one]

11. gun ownership rates by polls

OP link: ..what about all of those news stories of women flocking to shooting ranges, eagerly buying up pink-handled pistols and bedazzled accessories to hold extra clips? The rate of gun ownership among women peaked back in 1982 at about 14%. It fluctuates more for women than for other categories of people, but it was just under 10% in 2010. those news stories about female gun fascination reveal is not so much reality as a gun industry fairy tale. It's marketing. Gun manufacturers, the NRA, hunting organizations and shooting ranges want to drum up interest in guns that has been slipping away for decades. SECOND AMENDMENT MYTHOLOGY -ARMED FANTASY DOCTRINE

mojorabbit: Over that span, the percentage of households with guns dropped from more than half in 1977 to just more than 30 percent in 2010.
Gallup, meanwhile, shows a similar drop — though it found 41% of households still had guns as of 2010. But then something happened in 2011. Gun ownership spiked to its highest level since 1994 — 47%.

Or the gallup poll showing 47% gun ownership (in a household, not individual) could've been an outlier (it seems high). This years poll (of 2012) should shed light on whether the 2011 poll was accurate.

"Do you happen to have any guns, rifles or pistols in your home?"
Pew:................Yes No Unsure/Refused
1/9-13/13............33 61 6
12/17-19/12..........35 61 4
2/22 - 3/1/11........37 60 4

Now, thinking about your own situation: Do you have a gun in your home?"
gallup: Yes No Unsure (gallup)
... (2011).. 47 yes
10/7-10/10 ..39 59 2
10/1-4/09 ...40 57 4
10/3-5/08 ...42 56 2
10/4-7/07 ...42 57 1
10/9-12/06 ..43 54 3
10/13-16/05 .40 59 1
10/11-14/04 .38 61 1
10/6-8/03 ...43 56 1

Are you a gun owner?"Yes No (assoc press)
4/17-19/07...........32-- 67
10/4-6/04............31-- 68
9/7-9/04.............33 --67
http://www.pollingreport.com/guns2.htm