What Can Pew Research Tell Us About NRA And Gun Owners?

A recent survey from the Pew Research Center has some gun owners and gun haters alike cheering the findings. And while an obviously incorrect claim in the study raises questions about the validity of some responses, the research largely paints a very bright picture of freedom’s future.

First, that flaw I mentioned.

The survey found—based on the percentage saying “yes” to the question about whether they are NRA members—that more than 14 million Americans consider themselves NRA members. That’s far higher than the actual NRA membership of about 5 million, even accounting for any statistical error the survey produced.

What this means in terms of polling … is that Pew did not survey actual NRA members. Any views, beliefs or opinions ascribed to “NRA members” is a simple guess on the part of those writing the report.

The Pew study … revealed interesting responses under this broad topic. More than seven in 10 gun owners (72 percent) said they own a handgun, and, of those, more than one-fourth (26 percent) said they carry it outside their home all or most of the time, with 11 percent saying they always carry a handgun.

Democrats and Democrats in the U.S. Congress as far as concealed carry of firearms is concerned. Unlike 15 years ago, it’s hard to find a pro-gun Democrat in Congress nowadays, with near unanimous support for just about any anti-gun legislation. Yet nearly half (45 percent) of Democrats or Democrat-leaning Independents who own a handgun say they carry it outside of their home at least some of the time. (Who’s out of touch with their membership?)

Additionally, three-fourths of gun owners (75 percent) said they feel safer with a gun in their household than they would without a gun. And interestingly, among those who neither own a gun nor live with someone who does, substantially more (28 percent) said they would feel safer if they had a gun in their household than those who would feel less safe (20 percent).

Pew revealed that a full 70 percent of gun owners said they had taken a gun safety course such as “weapons training, firearm training or hunter safety.” Additionally, gun owners who own multiple guns (about 77 percent) are more likely to have done so.

More than eight in 10 gun owners (83 percent of gun owners; 87 percent of non-gun owners) said that the ease of access to illegal guns is contributing a great deal or a fair amount to gun violence. The fact that the misnomer “gun violence” is being used here for what is actually violent criminal use of a firearm taints the question somewhat. But the response does raise the question of why anti-gun advocates and politicians constantly push proposals that would affect only law-abiding gun owners and “legal” guns.

66 percent of urban gun owners say people in their community generally have a positive view of most gun owners.

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