{"id":46062,"date":"2023-06-28T11:57:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T16:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2023\/06\/28\/views-of-u-s-gun-laws-impact-of-gun-ownership-on-safety\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T13:11:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:11:37","slug":"views-of-u-s-gun-laws-impact-of-gun-ownership-on-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/06\/28\/views-of-u-s-gun-laws-impact-of-gun-ownership-on-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Views of U.S. gun laws, impact of gun ownership on safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. adults are evenly divided over whether gun ownership does more to increase<\/em> safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, or more to reduce<\/em> safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse (49% each).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This question highlights the sharp contrasts between partisans over the role of guns in society: 79% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that gun ownership does more to increase safety, while a nearly identical share of Democrats and Democratic leaners (78%) say that it does more to decrease safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gun owners and non-owners also are divided. Among the 32% of adults who say they personally own a gun, 71% say that gun ownership increases safety. Among the 65% of adults who do not own a gun, just 37% say the same. A majority of non-owners (61%) say that gun ownership does more to decrease safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also large divisions among Americans based on community type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those who say they live in urban areas, 64% say gun ownership makes people less safe, while 34% say it does more to increase safety. Among those who live in rural areas, these shares are roughly reversed: 65% say gun ownership does more to increase safety, compared with 33% who say it does more to decrease safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who report living in suburban areas are about as likely to say that gun ownership increases safety (51%) as to say it decreases safety (47%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(About half of Americans \u2013 49% \u2013 say they live in suburban areas, while roughly a quarter report living in either rural (26%) or urban areas (24%). For more on self-reported community type, read our publication, \u201cEvaluating what makes a U.S. community urban, suburban or rural.\u201d<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majority of Americans say gun laws should be stricter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Views on whether gun laws in the United States should be stricter, less strict, or are about right have fluctuated modestly in recent years. Currently 58% say gun laws should be stricter, while 26% say laws are about right and 15% say they should be less strict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, 53% favored stricter gun laws. In 2019, 60% said laws should be stricter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demographic differences in views of gun policy have been stable in recent years. A majority of women (64%) say that gun laws should be stricter than they are today, compared with 51% of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly three-quarters of Black (77%) and Asian adults (74%) say this, compared with 68% of Hispanic adults and 51% of White adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Younger adults are somewhat more likely to support stricter gun laws than older adults, though majorities across age groups favor stricter laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There also are educational divides on this issue: 72% of adults with a postgraduate education say that gun laws should be stricter, compared with 52% of adults with a high school degree or less formal education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in recent years, Republicans who identify as moderate or liberal are more likely to favor stricter gun laws than those who describe themselves as conservatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roughly four-in-ten moderate or liberal Republicans (42%) say that laws should be stricter, while 40% say current laws are about right and 17% say they should be less strict. Among conservative Republicans, just 19% say laws should be stricter, while 33% say they should be less strict and 48% say current laws are about right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Large majorities of Democrats across ideological groups say that gun laws should be stricter than they are today: 92% of liberal Democrats and 81% of conservative or moderate Democrats say this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans who live in urban communities are substantially more likely than those who live in rural communities to favor stricter gun laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who don\u2019t own guns are about twice as likely as gun owners to say that gun laws should be stricter: 71% of non-owners say this, compared with 35% of gun owners. By contrast, gun owners are roughly twice as likely as non-owners to say that current laws are about right (39% vs. 20%) and about three times as likely to say that gun laws should be less strict (26% vs. 8%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within each party, there are divisions in the opinions of those who own guns and those who do not. Roughly four-in-ten Republicans who don\u2019t own guns (41%) say that gun laws should be stricter, compared with just 15% of Republican gun owners. Republican gun owners are more likely than non-owners to say that current laws are about right (49% vs. 41%) or that they should be less strict (35% vs. 17%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While large majorities of Democratic gun owners (73%) say that laws should be stricter, Democrats who don\u2019t own guns overwhelmingly hold this view (89%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. adults are evenly divided over whether gun ownership does more to increase safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, or more to reduce safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse (49% each). 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