Gun ownership throughout America is continuing to grow. Now 52% of American voters say that they or someone in their home owns a firearm, according to a recent NBC News national poll.
The figure builds upon data from 2013 and 2019, where similar polls found that 42% and 46% of Americans said they or someone in their household owned a gun, respectively, according to polls conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal.
“In the last 10 years, we’ve grown [10 points] in gun ownership. That’s a very stunning number,” said Micah Roberts of Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling firm that co-conducted the poll with members of the Democratic polling firm Hart Research.
“By and large, things don’t change that dramatically that quickly when it comes to something as fundamental as whether you own a gun,” said Roberts.
This sustained growth in gun ownership comes in tandem with data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which found that more than one million background checks were conducted for the purchase of a firearm via the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in September. This marked the 50th month consecutively that the NICS figure had exceeded one million adjusted background checks in a single month.
In addition to the growth in firearms ownership, constitutional carry has also spread in recent years. A few decades ago, just one state didn’t insert itself between a citizen and their constitutionally protected rights, and now 27 states leave the government out of the way of this freedom.
Studies, polls, votes, and more all show that Americans increasingly value their Second Amendment rights. This is all taking place as the Biden administration ramps up its hostility toward our right to keep and bear arms, including its creation of a federal office designed explicitly limit this right.
