Firearms in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Firearm ownership
In 2023, a survey found that around 42 percent of households in the U.S. reported owning one or more firearms. This makes the United States the most heavily armed civilian population in the world. A different survey recent survey found that 18 percent of gun owners stated they carry a gun on themselves daily, while only 42 percent of gun owners stated they never carry a gun.The majority of surveyed men, 49 percent, report living in a gun-owning household, and 41 percent personally own a gun. For women, these figures are slightly lower. Gun ownership is a highly partisan issue in the United States, with Republicans supporting the right of all Americans to own a gun, while Democrats tend to favor stricter gun control policies. With this in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that 66 percent of Republicans report living in a gun-owning household, while only 31 percent of Democrats say the same. Personal gun ownership is quite low for Democrats, with 20 percent reporting personally owning a gun.
Firearms and crime
Public disagreement over laws of firearm ownership has stemmed from the high number of firearm-related crimes, accidental deaths, and the proliferation of mass shootings. More than 76.37 percent of homicides in the United States in 2023 involved the use of a firearm. The state of affairs appears even more troublesome for Black Americans. The rate of gun deaths for Black male Americans was over double that of white Americans in the most recent data available.The United States has a severe societal problem in the number of mass shootings that occur in the country. In response, there have been repeated calls for bans on assault-style weapons, bump fire stocks, and high-capacity ammunition magazines. In 2023, it was found that 53 percent of all registered voters strongly supported a ban on assault-style weapons, however only 34 percent of Republicans strongly supported such a ban, while 73 percent of Democrats did, highlighting the political divide of this issue.