More Than Six in 10 Americans Say Guns Make Homes Safer

[spookyturtle 9,465]

The percentage of households with guns is on the decline and has been for decades.

But that doesn't really have any bearing on this poll. Some of the people may have said they feel a gun makes the home feel safer but don't own one. I think triple row razor wire and land mines would make my home safer, but I don't have either.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

More Than Six in 10 Americans Say Guns Make Homes Safer

Gallup asked Americans about their views

by Justin McCarthy

Story Highlights

• A record-high percentage in U.S. say guns make homes safer
• Number of Americans who have a gun at home up slightly from 2013
• Republicans, men, Southerners most likely to have guns at home

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The percentage of Americans who believe having a gun in the house makes it a safer place to be (63%) has nearly doubled since 2000, when about one in three agreed with this. Three in 10 Americans say having a gun in the house makes it a more dangerous place.

Gallup originally asked Americans about their views on the implications of having a gun in the home in 1993, and then updated the measure in 2000. Between 2000 and 2006, less than half of Americans believed having a gun at home makes it safer -- but since then, this percentage has significantly increased to a majority.

Republicans (81%) are about twice as likely as Democrats (41%) to believe having a gun improves home safety. About half of Democrats say having a gun makes a home a more dangerous place to be.

Although there is a gender gap in the results for this question, majorities of both men (67%) and women (58%) believe having a gun improves home safety. While one in three women say it makes for a more dangerous place to be, only one in four men say the same about guns in the home.

About two-thirds of whites and Southerners endorse having a gun to improve home safety, as do majorities of nonwhites (56%) and residents of the other three regions.

Since 2000, Americans of all political stripes have become more inclined to believe a gun makes a home more secure. But the rate of increase has been greatest among Republicans, with 81% now holding this position, up from 44% in 2000.

While those who identify with the GOP have seen a 37-percentage-point growth in this sense of safety, independents show a 29-point climb and Democrats show a 13-point increase.

More Than Four in 10 Americans Keep a Gun in Their Home

Forty-two percent of Americans report having a gun in their home, similar to the average reported to Gallup over the past decade. This self-reported measure has fluctuated from survey to survey, but is consistent with trends since 2004. Longer term, Gallup has found that household gun ownership has ranged from a low of 34% in 1999 to a high of 51% in 1993.

Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to have a gun in their house. A majority of Southerners say there is a gun in their home, much higher than the rate among those in the West and East.

Men are about equally as likely to have or not have a gun at home. About six in 10 women say they do not have a gun in the home.

Most survey respondents report that the gun in their household belongs to them personally (30%), as opposed to another household member (14%). This means that about one in three people who have a gun in their home are not personally owners, but are aware the gun is there. The personal ownership trend has been generally stable over the past 13 years.

Americans who have a gun in their household are significantly more likely than others to say that having a gun makes a home safer (86%), though one in 10 believe it makes a household more dangerous.

Bottom Line

While Gallup figures on U.S. gun ownership have not shifted much since 2006, the percentage of Americans who say that having a gun in the home makes that household safer has drastically climbed over the past eight years.

Americans own guns for a wide array of reasons, but the increase in the perceived safety value of owning them suggests that guns are taking on more of a protective role than they have in the past. Florida passed the nation's first "Stand Your Ground" law in 2005, followed by dozens of states that passed different versions of the law. In the decade since, Americans have become more likely to view guns as a means of self-protection.

Regardless of Americans' perceptions of crime and their need to protect themselves, violent crime rates fell significantly from 1993 to 2012. While it may be a contentious assertion, some attribute falling crime rates to increased gun sales.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 12-15, 2014, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 1,017 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

View complete question responses and trends.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/179213/six-americans-say-guns-homes-safer.aspx#sthash.lxaw1OAm.dpuf

the increase in the perceived safety value of owning them suggests that guns are taking on more of a protective role than they have in the past.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

But that doesn't really have any bearing on this poll. Some of the people may have said they feel a gun makes the home feel safer but don't own one. I think triple row razor wire and land mines would make my home safer, but I don't have either.

I don't think I claimed that the GSS has any bearing on the poll in the OP. Thank you for stating the obvious, though.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I don't think I claimed that the GSS has any bearing on the poll in the OP. Thank you for stating the obvious, though.

So if what I said was obvious, why did you bring something totally irrelevant into the discussion?

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

So if what I said was obvious, why did you bring something totally irrelevant into the discussion?

You'll notice that there are a particular two or three regular posters here who do it all the time. Their attempts at disdain for other users and facts is quite comical, actually. You have about as much likelihood of changing them as you do the president's policy on immigration.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

In 1996, the US had about 242 million guns. 13 years later in 2009, we had about 310,000. So while the percentages of households with guns has gone down, the raw numbers have gone up. Perhaps it's because there are more people in the US today and 1996, and less of those families can afford a gun? Not sure...

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

You'll notice that there are a particular two or three regular posters here who do it all the time. Their attempts at disdain for other users and facts is quite comical, actually. You have about as much likelihood of changing them as you do the president's policy on immigration.

it's called- You pointed out how absurd something I claimed is , so I will twirl off into something totally UN-releated to any facts, ignore my wrongness while telling you how dumb you are until you get tired of the game.

Or better known as

C. I have no idea idea how to respond to the overwhelming facts you presented, so I will just deflect the issue and move on. This covers the Tin foil hat nonsense , the Face Palm, The double Face Palm and of course the :rofl:

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

it's called- You pointed out how absurd something I claimed is , so I will twirl off into something totally UN-releated to any facts, ignore my wrongness while telling you how dumb you are until you get tired of the game.

Or better known as

C. I have no idea idea how to respond to the overwhelming facts you presented, so I will just deflect the issue and move on. This covers the Tin foil hat nonsense , the Face Palm, The double Face Palm and of course the :rofl:

You missed a facet of the arguments... a +1 and a deflection or snide remark will overcome (at least in their mind) several facts anyone else can post.

[Dakine10 5,452]

The catch 22 is the more guns there are out there, the more likely people feel they need to have a gun to be safe. If we reach the point where everyone walks around carrying old west style, then I would also feel the need to do that.

We should recognize that feeling safe does not equate to being safe. In relative terms, if we reach a point where no one feels safe without carrying a gun everywhere they go, we cannot equate that to being a safer society.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The catch 22 is the more guns there are out there, the more likely people feel they need to have a gun to be safe. If we reach the point where everyone walks around carrying old west style, then I would also feel the need to do that.

We should recognize that feeling safe does not equate to being safe. In relative terms, if we reach a point where no one feels safe without carrying a gun everywhere they go, we cannot equate that to being a safer society.

Very true. The idea that someone needs a gun to feel safe is a clear indication that something is very rotten in Denmark.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So if what I said was obvious, why did you bring something totally irrelevant into the discussion?

Context, spooks, context. The question was whether there are more home invasions and robberies. You said yes and said that this contributes to people feeling a gun makes a home more safe. If that was so, then one would expect more households having guns. But that's just not the case. It's the opposite. Fewer households have guns. That's a decades long trend and probably has to do with the urbanization of the country. People in cities are less likely to have guns in their homes than people out in the middle of nowhere.

Are there more house invasions and robberies now than in years past?

Yes, and that is probably part of the reason why more people feel a gun keeps the home safer.

The percentage of households with guns is on the decline and has been for decades.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Context, spooks, context. The question was whether there are more home invasions and robberies. You said yes and said that this contributes to people feeling a gun makes a home more safe. If that was so, then one would expect more households having guns. But that's just not the case. It's the opposite. Fewer households have guns. That's a decades long trend and probably has to do with the urbanization of the country. People in cities are less likely to have guns in their homes than people out in the middle of nowhere.

It has to do with the divorce rate . The man keeps the guns during a divorce .. The woman does not. Twice as many households with the same number of guns .

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

In 1996, the US had about 242 million guns. 13 years later in 2009, we had about 310,000. So while the percentages of households with guns has gone down, the raw numbers have gone up. Perhaps it's because there are more people in the US today and 1996, and less of those families can afford a gun? Not sure...

The divergent trends are largely because we have a special species in this country (a species I am not allowed to specify here) that seems to be hoarding guns.

It has to do with the divorce rate . The man keeps the guns during a divorce .. The woman does not. Twice as many households with the same number of guns .

Yes, sure. That's it. Stockpiling of guns by a certain group of people that is not to be named has nothing to do with it.

[Sousuke 1,214]

There are a couple of things I disagree with in in this thread.

1. Home invasion / House breakins - The per capita rate has been falling since he 1980s. In the US you are 1/2 as likely to have a break in than 30 years ago. Criminals ARE afraid of homeowners - they tend to break during work hours .

2. You are better served by a loud alarm than a firearm in most cases.

3. Safety as related to a fire arm is dependent on the household. A single male or female will have a greater degree of safety than say a family of 4. A history of depression lowers safety etc.

4. The rate of ownership per person is falling and the number of firearms per person is increasing though I disagree that the majority of people are stockpiling rather I believe there is more interest in collecting.

[UB6IB9 1]

No it doesn't

I doubt this family would agree with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire,_Connecticut,_home_invasion_murders