Gun violence in the United States – Statistics & Facts

The political culture of gunsDue to the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which states that citizens have the right to bear arms, the United States has remained reluctant to pass any gun control legislation on a national level. Instead, the topic of gun control has become a highly partisan issue in the United States, with 80 percent of Democrats believing that it was more important to limit gun ownership while 74 percent of Republicans felt it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns. In addition, gun laws in the U.S. vary from state to state, often based on differing political views, and states have several laws in place to determine whether residents are allowed to purchase or carry a gun without a permit, register their guns with the state, or openly carry a firearm in public. As of 2023, only eight U.S. states required residents to register their firearms with the state while seven states have banned residents from openly carrying a firearm in public, providing many Americans with easy access to purchase and carry firearms. The importance of gun lawsStudies have shown that states with strong gun safety laws in place generally experience less gun violence, indicating that easy access to firearms is one of the main drivers of gun violence. However, strong gun laws do not always protect states from gun violence. Some states with strong gun laws continue to face high rates of gun violence as a result of gun trafficking, as traffickers will cross state lines to distribute firearms illegally. While it’s difficult to accurately estimate the number of privately owned guns in the U.S. when many guns are unregistered and unaccounted for, almost half of American

Key facts about Americans and guns

A customer shops for a handgun at a gun store in Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Guns are deeply ingrained in American society and the nation’s political debates.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, and about a third of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun. At the same time, in response to concerns such as rising gun death rates and mass shootings, President Joe Biden has proposed gun policy legislation that would expand on the bipartisan gun safety bill Congress passed last year.

Here are some key findings about Americans’ views of gun ownership, gun policy and other subjects, drawn primarily from a Pew Research Center survey conducted in June 2023.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to summarize key facts about Americans and guns. We used data from recent Center surveys to provide insights into Americans’ views on gun policy and how those views have changed over time, as well as to examine the proportion of adults who own guns and their reasons for doing so.

The analysis draws primarily from a survey of 5,115 U.S. adults conducted from June 5 to June 11, 2023. Everyone who took part in the surveys cited is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for the analysis on gun ownership, the questions used for the analysis on gun policy, and the survey’s methodology.

Additional information about the fall 2022 survey of parents and its methodology can be found at the link in the text of this post.

Measuring gun ownership in the United States comes with unique challenges. Unlike many demographic measures, there is not a definitive data source from the government or elsewhere on how many American adults own guns.

The Pew Research Center survey conducted June 5-11, 2023, on the Center’s American Trends Panel, asks about gun ownership using two separate questions to measure personal and household ownership. About a third of adults (32%) say they own a gun, while another 10% say they do not personally own a gun but someone else in their household does. These shares have changed little from surveys conducted in 2021 and 2017. In each of those surveys, 30% reported they owned a gun.

Patriotism in the United States – Statistics & Facts

Military and veteransAmerican patriotism is rooted in conservative values which include honor, loyalty, and bravery. Americans serving in the military and fighting in a war are regarded highly. Joining the army is a reasonable choice for Americans to display their patriotism, but also a way to ensure financial stability. Veterans are respected, though in reality, they often struggle to find their place in society after returning from war. Most veterans live in the northern part of the United States, where unemployment rates are higher, and conservative voters are predominant. The most patriotic holiday Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, is probably the most patriotic holiday for Americans. It is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when the United States declared its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Although it is not officially connected to the military, it often includes the displaying of the American flag and respective merchandise, parades and political speeches but also fireworks and lots of food. Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with a cookout or a barbecue. Gun ownership in America When talking about patriotism, gun control is a topic which often comes up, especially since it has become the subject of controversial discussion. Since the right to bear arms is stated in the Constitution, many Americans feel it is their given right to own guns, while others consider controlling guns and gun ownership to be more important. One popular representative of the right to bear arms is the National Rifle Association (NRA), which supports gun ownership for everyone in the United States without restrictions and stresses the importance of self-defense. After several school shootings and killings without probable cause of civilians by the police, the topics of gun control and gun possession are now more fervently discussed than ever.