Posted on 03/13/2013 5:09:49 AM PDT by SJackson
There has been a surge in Americans buying guns for protection over the past 14 years, a trend that now beats hunting as the main reason for owning a firearm, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.
"The vast majority of gun owners say that having a gun makes them feel safer. And far more today than in 1999 cite protection - rather than hunting or other activities - as the main reason they own guns," said Pew.
According to the non-partisan polling agency, 48 percent say they have a gun for protection. Just 32 percent said they own a gun for hunting or target shooting. In 1999, said Pew, 49 percent said they owned a gun mostly for hunting, while 26 percent cited protection as the biggest factor.
Still, some 58 percent are uncomfortable having guns in the house, worried about accidental shootings.
Among the survey's other major findings from Pew's release:
-- Gun owners and non-gun owners have fundamental disagreements over the effectiveness of new gun laws. Two-thirds (66%) of those who live in households that do not have guns say stricter gun laws would reduce the number of deaths in mass shootings, compared with just 35% of gun owners.
-- While 79% of gun owner say that having a gun makes them feel safer, nearly as many - 78% - say that it is something they enjoy. Very few gun owners, just 7%, say that having a gun makes them feel uncomfortable.
-- Women make up just 26% of all gun owners. Most women say the main reason they own a gun is for protection; among men, protection also is the main reason, though men are more likely than women to say they own a gun for hunting.
-- Among those in households without guns, more women (65%) than men (47%) say they would be uncomfortable having a gun in the home.
-- Partisan differences in attitudes about many gun-related issues are at least as great as the differences between gun owners and non-gun owners. Fully 79% of Democrats say tougher gun laws would cut down on the number of deaths from mass shootings; just 29% of Republicans agree.
-- As some states consider laws that would attempt to nullify new federal gun laws, the survey finds that by a wide margin (60% to 36%) the public says that states should not be allowed to ignore federal gun laws: 58% of Republicans say that states should be allowed to ignore federal gun laws if they so choose, compared with 38% of independents and just 18% of Democrats.
Convenience. It’s lighter than a police officer, and I don’t have to buy dounuts.
While peace officers do sometimes run into bad guys on the streets, their primary role is to draw little chalk lines around victims of bad guys.
One category should have been....In case the State Militia is called up.
“I don’t know” - 1
I don’t get that - 1 - GB58
I do not believe that states should ignore federal gun laws that are constitutional. However, states have a moral obligation to ignore all unconstitutional federal laws, whether or not the Supreme Court steps up to overturn those unconstitutional laws. The people are the ultimate source of government power and thus the ultimate authority on when the government has overstepped its bounds, even if the Court fails in its duty.
She constantly worried that someone would break in and attack her with one of her own knives.
When I met her mother I instantly learned the root of the problem, the whole family is nuts.
Her niece was fired from a local fast food chain after I jokingly told her that tomatoes scream silently when you cut them. She walked into work the next day and refused to slice the tomatoes.
She was out in the street in a New Jersey heartbeat!
It was inevitable. It’s the only reason for large capacity magazines.
I own a shotgun and a .45ACP for protection. I own a .22 pistol and .22 rifle for target shooting. As for anything else that I may own, centerfire rifles are because the Second Amendment has a purpose, which is neither hunting nor putting holes in paper targets.
Two-thirds (66%) of those who live in households that do not have guns say stricter gun laws would reduce the number of deaths in mass shootings, compared with just 35% of gun owners.
How smart do you have to be before you can comprehend criminals break laws?
I consider my firearms as protection from the government.
Not very smart - just a little smarter than a liberal.
“Oh, how absurd! There’s absolutely no reason to be afraid of the government!”
/liberals’ true objection to gun ownership
My answer: “none of your business.” Next question?
“I do not believe that states should ignore federal gun laws that are constitutional.”
Do you mean laws that are constitutional? Or laws that the Supreme Court has ruled are constitutional?
There’s a big difference. The Constitution does not say that Supreme Court rulings on constitutionality are final. In fact, most of the founders regarded state decision as to constitutionality in this regard as an important check on the power of the feds.
Indeed - most leftists, being humanists, ascribe to the “no objective truth” worldview, which translates into “the truth is whatever those with power say it is”.
That's why I said, "However, states have a moral obligation to ignore all unconstitutional federal laws, whether or not the Supreme Court steps up to overturn those unconstitutional laws." The states and the people are the final arbiters of Constitutionality and the fundamental source of governmental power. We agree.
In that case, they should look at the fact that decent Americans now have at least 70 million more firearms than we had when Obama took office. They will have to accept the truth that we are free because we have the power to insist upon that freedom.
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