POLICE FOUNDATION RELEASES MOST COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION TO-DATE ON AMERICA’S PRIVATE STOCK OF FIREARMS

WASHINGTON, DC–There are 192 million privately owned firearms in the United States, of which 65 million are handguns, 70 million are rifles, and 49 million are shotguns. About 40 percent of handguns and long guns are semi-automatics, according to the results of a national survey of firearms ownership and use released today by the Police Foundation. The survey, funded by the National Institute of Justice, focused on four central issues: (1) the size, composition, and ownership of America’s gun stock; (2) how and why firearms are acquired; (3) gun storage and carrying; and (4) the defensive use of firearms against criminal attackers

Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use, by Philip J. Cook of Duke University, and Jens Ludwig of Georgetown University, provides for the first time a statistical description of the private gun stock by size, caliber, value, how the firearms were obtained, and when and how they are stored and used.

According to the survey, there are enough guns in private hands to provide every adult in America with one, although just one in four actually owns one and those who do usually own several. About 10 percent of the nation’s adults own 77 percent of the total stock of firearms: 9.7 million individuals own 105.5 million guns, while the remaining 86.6 million guns are dispersed among 34.4 million individuals. Gun ownership is most prevalent among middle-aged, middle-class whites from rural areas. Adults who have been arrested for a nontraffic offense are more likely to own a firearm than other adults.

"The reality of policing in America includes dealing with citizens who possess firearms," says Police Foundation President Hubert Williams. "The impact that guns have on our lives continues to generate passionate debate, but for the nation’s police the nexus of guns and drugs creates daily and deadly challenges to their ability to control crime and ensure public safety," notes Williams.

Overall, 46 percent of gun owners own some kind of gun primarily for protection against crime, and 14.2 million adults carried a gun for protection at least once during the 12 months preceding the survey. One out of every six handguns in the U.S. is usually kept on the owner’s person or in a motor vehicle. On any given day, 1 million adults carry a gun on their person and another 2 million have a firearm in their car or truck.

"Civil debate and rational policy about guns require that we arm ourselves with the facts about the extent and nature of gun ownership and use in America. As with all of the work which the Police Foundation has conducted for the past 27 years, the findings presented in Guns in America are an effort toward informing the debate," Williams concluded.

Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use can be obtained from the Police Foundation, (202) 833-1460.

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Established in 1970, the Police Foundation is an private, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovation and improvement in policing through research, technical assistance, and public education.