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Has Gun Ownership in American Homes Really Decreased This Dramatically?

Mar. 11, 2013 7:52am Billy Hallowell

Has the Rate of Gun Ownership in American Homes Really Decreased This Dramatically?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

As the debate over gun rights continues in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, there’s some interesting — and dueling — research emerging about Americans and firearms. According to a report in the New York Times, gun ownership in U.S. homes has allegedly declined dramatically over the past four decades.

The 40-year decrease was found in the General Social Survey (GSS), a research initiative that is conducted every two years in an effort to study and gauge basic trends among the American populace (NORC, a research organization at the University of Chicago, is responsible for implementing the survey). The latest results found a downward trend in gun ownership since the late 1970s.

In was in the 1970s that 50 percent of the population, on average, reported having a gun in their household. This proportion dropped to 49 percent in the 1980s. But by the 1990s, it fell more dramatically to 43 percent, dipping even lower to 35 percent in the 2000s, the Times reports. In 2012, the rate was 34 percent, showcasing a steep decline when looking back just a few decades.

In addition to this purported drop, surprising dips in home firearms possession occurred in the South and in Western mountain states. These declines are certainly noteworthy, but so is the fact that household gun ownership appears to be down in cohorts across the board. Whether talking about cities, suburbs, rural areas or homes with or without children — the rate, at least according to the GSS, has decreased.

The Times breaks down some of the most surprising demographic issues:

Gun ownership in both the South and the mountain region, which includes states like Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming, dropped to less than 40 percent of households this decade, down from 65 percent in the 1970s. The Northeast, where the household ownership rate is lowest, changed the least, at 22 percent this decade, compared with 29 percent in the 1970s.

Age groups presented another twist. While household ownership of guns among elderly Americans remained virtually unchanged from the 1970s to this decade at about 43 percent, ownership among young Americans plummeted. Household gun ownership among Americans under the age of 30 fell to 23 percent this decade from 47 percent in the 1970s. The survey showed a similar decline for Americans ages 30 to 44.

As for politics, the survey showed a steep drop in household gun ownership among Democrats and independents, and a very slight decline among Republicans. But the new data suggest a reversal among Republicans, with 51 percent since 2008 saying they have a gun in their home, up from 47 percent in surveys taken from 2000 through 2006. This leaves the Republican rate a bit below where it was in the 1970s, while ownership for Democrats is nearly half of what it was in that decade.

This February 4, 2013 photo illustration in Manassas, Virginia, shows a Remington 20-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a Colt .45 semi-auto handgun, a Walther PK380 semi-auto handgun and various ammunition clips with a copy of the US Constitution on top of the American flag. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Of course, this decrease may serve as a head-scratcher for anyone who’s seen media reports about Americans rushing out to purchase firearms as Congress debates enacting stricter gun control measures. After all, if more people are buying, shouldn’t the rate of gun ownership be increasing? Not so, explains Daniel Webster, director of John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.

“There are all these claims that gun ownership is going through the roof,” Webster told the Times. “But I suspect the increase in gun sales has been limited mostly to current gun owners. The most reputable surveys show a decline over time in the share of households with guns.”

Not everyone is buying into this notion, though. Tracking household gun ownership is difficult and few surveys have consistently done so. Considering that the GSS has tracked self-reported firearm ownership in homes since 1973, some herald the organization’s results as trustworthy.

NRA spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam, though, has his doubts about the purported decline.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people who would love to make the case that there are fewer gun owners in this country, but the stories we’ve been hearing and the data we’ve been seeing simply don’t support that,” he told the Times.

Arulanandam, among others, would also likely cite Gallup’s research, which seems, contrary to the GSS, to show an increase since 2009 when asking if respondents have a gun in their homes. While the survey group has observed some dips in ownership since 1991, 47 percent of Americans told the organization that they had a gun in their household in 2011.

In this photo illustration a Rock River Arms AR-15 rifle is seen on December 18, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The weapon is similar in style to the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle that was used during a massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Firearm sales have surged recently as speculation of stricter gun laws and a re-instatement of the assault weapons ban following the mass shooting. Credit: Getty Images

Gun expert John Lott addressed this issue and the Times report in a recent blog post, seemingly dismissing the GSS as being potentially biased against guns. He wrote:

The New York Times cites the General Social Survey to claim that the gun ownership rate is low and falling. Here is something that I wrote in my 2003 book The Bias Against Guns.

A few years ago, while I was doing research at the University of Chicago, I had lunch with Tom Smith, who is the director of the General Social Survey at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). This private organization conducts many important national surveys for the government as well as other clients. During lunch Tom mentioned how important he thought the General Social Survey was. He felt the large drop in gun ownership implied by his survey would “make it easier for politicians to do the right thing on guns” and pass more restrictive regulations. His surveys have traditionally shown one of the lowest gun ownership rates among any of the surveys: for example, almost 20 percentage points lower than recent polling by John Zogby. . . .Tom Smith is still the director of the GSS. It is interesting to note that both the JAMA study this week as well as Tom Smith have received funding from the Joyce Foundation.

The Joyce Foundation embraces gun control initiatives, as implied by Lott’s comments.

Perhaps differences in the question being asked by Gallup and the GSS could be at the root of the statistical disagreement. While the GSS asked 2,000 respondents the gun question between March and September 2012 (margin of sampling error plus or minus three percentage points), Gallup surveyed 1,005 people in October 2011 (margin of sampling error plus or minus four percentage points).

Here’s the GSS question, based on the 2010 survey, as the 2012 version is not yet available online: “Do you happen to have in your home (IF HOUSE: or garage) any guns or revolvers?” The Gallup version is a bit more expansive, also asking if guns are present inside one’s vehicle. It reads, “Do you have a gun in your home? (If no: Do you have a gun anywhere else on your property, such as in your garage, barn, shed, or in your car or truck?).

While these slight differences may impact results, others who support the GSS’s findings maintain that urbanization and changing demographics (increasing numbers of Hispanics and women-headed households — both of which are less likely to own guns) is helping fuel the decrease.

What do you think? You can read the Times’ analysis and Gallup’s latest gun poll and decide for yourself.

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Comments (437)

Choctaw25
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:32am
I have sold all my guns and ammo, no no wait it was all stolen, yea that’s right, it was all stolen years ago, by a HUGE gun theft ring that was operating in the area. They are all probably in Mexico by now, yea that’s where they are in Mexico.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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- old white guy
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:49am
  heh heh. the numbers probably reflect what you just said. i would wager a guess that people have decided not to tell anyone about their guns.
  
  Report this comment
- Bum thrower
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:05am
  Sold all my hunting rifles and shotguns 15 years ago when I joined PETA. Why would I need a gun if I am a membe of PETA…..???
  
  Eh…how much you want for that ‘bridge’?
  
  Report this comment
- retired_leo
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:05am
  I know nothing; I know nothing!
  
  Report this comment
- SLAPTHELEFT
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:14am
  I no longer have guns in my home due to the fact I’m likely to shoot myself by accident. I have used the defecation and regurgitation technique against intruders to protect my family successfully on three occasions. Plus the govt is always there to protect my constitutional rights and the police arrive pronto to any calls that I make when I hear spooky sounds. I have taught my young daughter to defecate on herself when threatened by a would be rapist. She also uses the urination technique as a means of self defense.
  
  I no longer need those scary looking pieces of metal. If I need help Ted Kennedy can come run over the attackers with his car.
  
  Report this comment
- Kneale
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:18am
  I loaded all my guns into the boat to take them to a buyback. Storm, Capsize all gone. Darn.
  
  Report this comment
- Quiata
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:20am
  If legal, law-abiding gun ownership is in fact measurably declining, then why is the government in a measurable TIZZY over it?
  
  Report this comment
- TAXEVERYONE
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:26am
  Is it April 1st already?
  
  Report this comment
- Wolf
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:26am
  Wut’s a ‘gun’? (scratchin’ head in bewilderment and trying to find dictionary)
  
  Report this comment
- banjarmon
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:28am
  I needed a good laugh today and I got it from reading this article!
  
  Report this comment
- jcldwl
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:28am
  All those numbers really show is how much distrust in the U.S. government has grown. Only a fool would answer yes to gun ownership on a survey.
  
  Report this comment
- FrankieBaby
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:28am
  I read a report from the FBI that said over 65 “MILLION” back ground checks have been done since Obama swore in 4 years ago. The only people getting back ground checks are those who have already picked out the gun they want to buy and are standing at the gun counter waiting on confirmation to walk out of the store with it.
  
  Lets keep in mind that the entire population of CANADA is 65 “million” that’s every man, woman, child and infant in the “ENTIRE”country.
  
  This report that gun ownership is declining is complete and utter BS! More BS propaganda from the LEFT.
  
  Report this comment
- dcatkin
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:28am
  The University of Chicago, do you really think that these morons know how to conduct a survey. They probably just surveyed the hippies, and the far left gun hating freaks likr Diane Hitlerstein.
  
  We all know that guns aren’t the problem, people are the problem. When was the last time you saw a gun shoot anybody all by itself. This survey is horsey poop.
  
  Gun Control
  
  Report this comment
- Daddy Hawg
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:38am
  They were all lost when the canoe sank from all the extra weight! They decided to move to less unfriendly state, they all hung themselves and are buried in an unmarked grave. The media will report anything they can use to prove their liberal agenda and this is more proof of that……
  
  Report this comment
- desertspeaks
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:39am
  hmm gun ownership is in decline, that’s quite interesting. I also heard that obama’s green energy program is on the rise! al gore invented the internet, all banks are solvent, and there is no such thing as a politician that lies!
  
  Report this comment
- dwf1
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:53am
  The politicians should pass regulation requiring all the gangs, thugs, and illegal gun holders to registrar. Yes, yes. what an wonderful idea.
  
  Report this comment
- EdtheK
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:54am
  I can see the under 35 crowd not having firearms. They are the first generation of the education system Indoctrinating (so-called teaching) that Guns are dangerous and evil. Unfortunately, the educators are now terrifying, no, indoctrinating and brainwashing our children into thinking all guns are evil.
  It is time to schedule another shooting outing with my Scout troop. These young men are not afraid of firearms. They have a respect for them, but not irrational fear, and quite are few are excellent marksmen.
  
  Report this comment
- Bluebonnet
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:55am
  I know nuthin’ but to be safe I went out and bought a pair of scissors to carry around with me for safety’s sake. In any event, I might pee on myself so Big Brother can watch and enjoy it.
  
  Report this comment
- tyuchic
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:00am
  i used to be rich with guns, but i lost it all, gambling in vegas…
  
  Report this comment
- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:02am
  Gabby Giffords Hubby testifies against ar-15′s than turns around and buys one. All liberals should be removed.
  
  http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/03/foghorn/gabby-giffords-husband-mark-kelly-testifies-against-ar-15s-then-goes-out-and-buys-one/
  
  Report this comment
- jburke4
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:16am
  My gun ownership is my business.
  
  Report this comment
- txswalker
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:24am
  I was gonna say I had a survey ask me a question like this a few years back and I stated no when I actually had about 5-6. Since then, like you I sold them all and have no weapons or ammo. Thats also my story
  
  Report this comment
- TennesseeScott
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:39am
  People in South will not tell ya where they got there Mason Jars buried in the Ground let alone tell ya if they have a gun or not, Here is some logic, look up the permits issued and the gun sales in the south, that should answer your question, do you think people in south will answer yes to a question such as ” Do you have a gun in your home” by some guy on a telephone! I can hear them now “Yep its behind the picture of George Wallace!” or its out in the back along with the crop of skunk weed Iam growing do ya want me to tell ya about the still Iam fixin to build cause Iam feeling its time to come clean!
  
  Report this comment
- SLAPTHELEFT
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:45am
  Somebody tried to rob our business, but we all threw feces at him and he ran out in fear. To celebrate we all peed on each other.
  
  Works every time.
  
  Report this comment
- Patrick
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:47am
  I have no idea what they are talking about. I sold it all. If someone called and asked me if I had guns in my house, I would tell them no. I keep the safe in my house because it looks pretty.
  
  Report this comment
- Melvin Spittle
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:53am
  Are you talking about those shooty-thingys? Heavens no! Why ever in the world would one need a shooty-thingy when you can hire a bodyguard that comes equipped with one? They are too loud and will unnerve my little Boopsy!
  
  Report this comment
- guntotinsquaw
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:10am
  I’m with you Choctaw..I sold my guns at a yard sale to a man named Jefferson.
  
  Report this comment
- kadster01
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:14am
  Yep. Given the current climate, if anyone asks me… Nope, I don’t have a gun.
  
  Report this comment
- Stoic one
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:20am
  DCATKIN
  (sarcasm on)
  
  I do. Last week, here on the Blaze, there was the disgruntled gun that shot the thief, that stole the said gun at the second break in at the same house. The thief put the AR 15 and a shotgun in the passenger side of a stolen truck. Well the AR 15 was really, REALLY, urinated off about this and and “discharged” a round in the said thief’s head and he was dead.
  
  (sarcasm off)
  
  Report this comment
- XinTX
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:27am
  Lost all of mine in that unfortunate boating accident on Lake Baikal.
  
  It was a three hour tour…..a three hour tour……
  The weather started getting rough, well, you know the rest.
  
  Report this comment
- Obama Snake Oil Co
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:31am
  You know that hurricane Irene that hit us here in the Carolinas? They were swept up in a tornado and never seen ever again. Anyone that tells me that gun ownership is down has never left their mamas basement. At a gunshop on Sunday afternoon, yes, they now remain open on Sunday, the store was packed. Of course I was only there to be a Daisy BB Gun.
  
  Report this comment
- thx1138v2
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:37am
  Bum Thrower: People Eating Tasty Animals? Seems you really would need them.
  
  Report this comment
- Bob_Palindrome
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:41am
  After that terrible boating accident on Lake Michigan when all my guns were lost and scattered on the lake bed, I vowed to never own a gun again. The loss was so devastating that I was scarred for life. I may never go fishing again.
  So, no, I do not own any firearms, and there are none in my home.
  
  Report this comment
- thereyougoagain
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:42am
  Me too!
  
  Me too!
  
  Got rid of all of my guns and now I am a vegan… now a lover, not a fighter! I do not know anyone that even has a gun!
  
  On the other hand I have picked up a bad habit from my progressive friends; I have become mendacious.
  
  Report this comment
- ChildOfTheKing
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:44am
  Guns, what guns? No guns here.
  
  Report this comment
- RedManBlueState
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:04pm
  This is my RIFLE,
  This is my GUN.
  This is for fightin’,
  This is for FUN.
  
  Report this comment
- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:06pm
  More likely the only drop is the amount of people admitting to owning a gun to pollsters. I bet less people trust poll takers and government now than in the 70′s.
  
  Report this comment
- cessna152
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:49pm
  When a Government that’s working for the people and NOT oppressive asks if you own a gun you answer honestly. However, when an OPPRESSIVE government asks if you have a gun, you LIE!
  
  DUH!
  
  Report this comment
- cessna152
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:53pm
  Just go to Walmart, Cabellas and all on line stores…NADA! Nothing! No ammo at all..
  4 Yeas ago, the ammo shortage lasted only a few months. Now it’s been about 6 months and there is NO ammo at all! No AR’s, No 10/22′s, 30-06, 30-30 and so forth are getting hard to find. Fewer hand guns as well. 2-3 month wait on Magazines (or longer). Conceal Carry permit wait times are much longer. In NJ, FOID wait times were 14-30 days now they are over 3-4 MONTHS!
  
  Report this comment
- Ailius
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:01pm
  I was driving to a buyback with all my guns in the trunk when I was carjacked. I called 911 and 10 police cars and a helicopter were all after the guy in 30 seconds. Unfortunately, in the ensuing chase the carjacker accidentally drove off a bridge and my guns were never seen again.
  
  I would have gotten more but I just remembered that I’m under 35.
  
  Report this comment
- SLAPTHELEFT
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:31pm
  Being that I am a diver, I feel compelled to dive and find all of the guns on the bottom of these waterways. Can you guys let me know where to start?
  
  Report this comment
- Ailius
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:50pm
  I’d be happy to, except that a few cement trucks accidentally drove off the bridge right in the same spot as the carjacker did. It’s one solid block of cement now, sorry.
  
  Report this comment
- CaliforniaBlues
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:14pm
  The decline must be from the increased sales of “assault” whistles and scissors. We all know how much more effective they are than guns!
  
  Report this comment
- Classical Liberal
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:16pm
  Fishing/boating/hunting accident.
  
  Nogunz here officer.
  
  Report this comment
- the bean
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:17pm
  Yeah….I got hard up for cash a couple 3 years ago and sold mosta my guns to various individuals in bars and parking lots and what-not…..mostly got rid of those black scary looking guns whit them high capacity clips or what cha cal’m.
  
  May have kept an old .22 and a single barrel shotgun for shootin squirrels and such….but that’s about it.
  
  Report this comment
- TotallyNotATroll
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:17pm
  Story should probably read ‘decline in number of US households self admitting that they own guns.’ I mean with all the gun control arguments going on, the hoplophobia of the left, not wanting the government or criminals to know you have guns (govt and criminals aren’t the same are they?). I know even in my own house my guns have gone missing, stolen or lost lately.
  
  Report this comment
- n2sooners
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:43pm
  “Hi, we are taking a poll for the government but your answers are completely confidential.
  
  Is your address ….. ?
  
  Do you happen to have a gun in your home?”
  
  Funny how that decline coincides with gun owner trust in the government. Surprised it’s so high.
  
  Report this comment
- AlansTigg
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:08pm
  that’s what I was thinking, with the way things have been going for awhile I would imagine lots of people would not admit to having a gun for any type of data collection…knowing they are coming for you tends to make ya a little paranoid
  
  Report this comment
- Red Meat
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:47pm
  The Blaze is now citing NY Times polls? Pathetic.
  
  Report this comment
- Stuffit
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:05pm
  obama’s boy holder stole my gun collection so now I use my cnc license to chop up cocaine. snicker snicker. And Harriet Feinstain borrowed my AR15 and never returned it. What Colt? Glock?? BROWNING makes guns??? Seriously? I’ve got one red rider bb gun and a sling shot.
  
  Report this comment
- Twobyfour
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:09pm
  FrankieBaby, Canada’s about 35 million, not 65 million.
  
  Report this comment
- Twobyfour
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:21pm
  In my side of woods (Canada, BC) the gun ownership is increasing after the long gun registry was sh1tcanned. Had one before, got 2 more since.
  
  Report this comment
- BenzinVasser
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:01pm
  OMG, “Slaptheleft” that was hysterical, I love it! and people think I’m weird at work for talking like that.
  
  Report this comment
- NavyDad87
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:31pm
  I have serious doubts about he surveys and the results. With the nanny state mentality and liberal culture bias in the media, what sane gun owner would provide any information voluntarily?
  
  I’m not sure what difference the numbers make anyway. Gun owners have rights regardless of whether they comprise 80% or 20% of the population. Correlating a decline in gun ownership with a corresponding increase in stupidity…now that’s a study to seriously consider.
  
  Anyway, it’s a moot point for me. When the canoe with the safe capsized crossing that huge stretch of deep water, all was lost.
  
  Report this comment
- TashaTchin
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:45pm
  This “survey” tells me a far different story, and it is a telling story. What I see, based on the survey, is this: During the first gun-grabbing Bush administration (you all remember the Ruby Ridge Massacre, don’t ya?) citizens started lying about their gun ownership. After Bush’s Ruby Ridge, you had Clinton’s Waco Massacre, another attempted gun-grab gone bad. Is it any wonder that reported gun ownership would drop? Then along comes Bush Junior and his anti-constitutional “Patriot Act” that pretends to be simply for our protection. No one trusted Junior on the gun issue any more than they trusted his gun-grabbing Poppy. Enter, stage (far) left, Barack Hussein Obama and his racist Attorney General, Eric “I’ll do and say anything to get guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens” Holder. Is it any wonder that gun owners would stop reporting gun ownership when gun-grabbing progressives, both Republican and Democrat, are in power? Besides, I doubt that the survey took into account all the black felons who cannot report owning guns because they are barred from gun ownership and the millions of illegal alien who also head households but are also barred from gun ownership by law. Between these two groups, who cannot cop to gun ownership because it is a crime, we are talking about many millions of households that could not answer truthfully on the gun ownership survey — even though millions of them do illegally own guns.
  
  Report this comment
- L80bug
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:45pm
  I completely agree. Anybody who answers a survey indicating that they possess one or more firearms has to be either very stupid or totally nuts, with all the leftists who want to confiscate our guns. Mine have all been sold.
  
  Report this comment
- Wolfgang the Gray
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:58pm
  Why would anyone with a brain larger than a pea tell the Obama regime if they own firearms? Maybe the NYT data was misread. Maybe it isn’t that people don’t own firearms as much as they used to, maybe they aren’t telling they own firearms.
  
  DHS now has 1.6Billion rounds of ammo, 7,000+ full-auto “Personal Defense Weapons”, 2,717 Light Armored Tanks (http://www.navistardefense.com/NavistarDefense/vehicles/maxxpromrap/maxxpro_mrap), drones flying overhead for “Public Safety”, and a President that wants new military leaders that are willing to shoot US civilians that refuse to give up their guns. Oh, I almost forgot, the new government shooting targets that look like little kids, pregnant young girls, & grandma standing in her kitchen in a bath robe so they can practice killing without any moral connundrums. They are just about ready.
  
  “All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
  
  Report this comment
- VS
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:41pm
  Hhey the same thing happened to me annd all my friends last week. … I know it was ALL of those THOUSANDS of ILLEGAL ALIENS that the US Government Released to Endanger Legal US Citizens that did it!! Since we can NO Longer Protect Ourselves We Now just Call the Police every 15 minutes or less with a complaint to keep them passing through the town!
  
  Report this comment
- Gorp
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:56pm
  All I have left is an airsoft gun without any CO2 to go with it. Does anybody have any airsoft pellets? I’m out and they are very hard to get. I think the IRS or Homeland Security is buying them all up.
  
  Report this comment
- Colorado7972
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:16pm
  Actually, if you think about this article, it’s dead on, remember, Liberal lefties always see the world in “opposite terms” so yes is no, and up is down. So when they say the ‘Gun purchases are DECLINING, they actually mean gun purchases are ACCELERATING!. Typical Liberals backwards in thinking.
  
  Report this comment
- grumpy1938
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:54pm
  I hear you friend as soon as i heard how violent guns were I got rid of all mine, who would want a gun that could just on a whim shot me.
  
  Report this comment
- DrSique
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 12:33am
  Odd, the ATF confiscated all my guns but I’m pretty sure that they ended up in Mexico too.
  
  Report this comment
- TheirMom
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:20am
  We don’t have any guns here!! Nope! No guns! Wait, you’re not with the government? Then go away before I shoot you!
  
  Report this comment
- TXBadOneToo
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:23am
  Obama (a guest a guest lecturer – never a professor) and Bill Ayers taught at University of Chicago so why would I ever trust a survey from this institution?
  
  Report this comment
- JakeDrennan
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:54am
  this report is pure bullcrap….the left always tries to bring us down and make us feel insignificant. america clearly has the highest rate of gun ownership EVER. btw frankiebaby, canada does not have even close to 65 million people lol, it has 34.8 million. But in America, we have roughly 1 gun for every man, woman, child, and baby. It’s been years now they’ve been saying we’ve had 300 million guns – well I personally think if we had that many 4+ years ago, we have in the neighborhood of at least 400 million now and that is more than 1 per human in this country. America is armed to the teeth and I’m proud to live here because of that. Every single day, every single state conducts at least a thousand background checks for gun buyers and that doesn’t include all of the private sales happening also. Americans are adding hundreds of thousands of new guns to their arsenals every single day.
  
  Report this comment
- dalek
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 3:22am
  That’s what I was thinking when I read this. If some stranger calls and asks me about guns, what guns? Now if some stranger comes to my door making trouble, he will know real quick if I have guns or not. He may not care in just a few seconds but he will know for that short period of time.
  
  Report this comment
- old white guy
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 5:09am
  frankie….. canada has about 32 million people not 65 million. it has about the same population as california.
  
  Report this comment
- John810
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 9:50am
  Guns what guns?!? I disposed of all my firearms as soon as Senator Feinstein, in her infininte wisdom, decided that firearms and insane veterans together are a threat to the well being of America. So as a honest retired law enforcement officer and an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Marine Corps. I thought I would stay one step ahead of the impending passage of the much needed new laws which will deny the law abiding citizens ownership of those weapons best suited for protection and destroy my personal firearms. I know the government can protect me even though in some areas of the country response time for police cat take as must as 1/2 to 1 hour. So give up you guns to and sign up for some martial arts classes, that will be useful until a criminal is given a bloody nose and you can damy well bet that boxing and karate instruction will be outlawed also!!
  
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- Oldtimer2
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:29pm
  Guns?? What guns?? Oh NO, I don’t have any guns………
  
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- 702TruthSeeker
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:48pm
  my dog ate ‘em
  
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- CaliDefender
  Posted on March 19, 2013 at 2:07pm
  Yes, of course, anyone would be STUPID to admit possession of a firearm in any discussion that could be traced back to their home.
  
  Report this comment
THX-1138
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:32am
ROFLMAO. Right, gun sales are through the roof and there are fewer people with guns. A bridge in Brooklyn is looking for a new owner too…

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- Gonzo
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:46am
  I wouldn’t admit having a gun if asked. On the other hand, I can believe that gun ownership could have decreased in the white, green energy, 35 and under, anti gun crowd. Gun sales are up and I have bought more guns in the last four years, as many other gun owners have, but I already had guns. Therefore, You and I buying more guns doesn’t increase gun ownership.
  
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- PubliusPencilman
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:07am
  THX,
  
  Why would that be so hard for your to wrap your head around? There is nothing illogical about it.
  
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- kaydeebeau
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:02pm
  My answer is always no but I do have a piece of paper and a poptart shaped like a gun, does that count?
  
  I am comforted that according to the survey leftists are more unarmed than ever – should make for a quick end should the SHTF
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:06pm
  That IS the good news Kay.
  
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- OldVet
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:45pm
  I seemed to have lost all my guns in a poker game. Now I go to the dealers and let them call in a background check just for fun. When I am approved, I change my mind. No guns in my house, got it? Oh, I buy ammo and then take it back to the store so you don’t need to look in my house, no ammo in my house, got it? My neighbors are all doing the same thing. Gun free neighborhood, got it?
  
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- Stuffit
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:10pm
  Amen Brother! In Texas, not that I’m from there or nothin, hardly any guns left on the shelves to buy. I bought a 20 round box of Sig 357 just because they were on the shelf and paid 39.99 for hollow points. Hard to even find a 22 round and the gun ranges are starving to death.
  
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- isights
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:10pm
  GSS, NOPR, Gallup, and other polls all agree: ownership has been steadily declining since the 1970s.
  
  The broad trend, however, seems to be reversing. The latest NBC/WSJ poll indicates that the number of households reporting gun ownership rose a full percentage point in just one month, reaching 42% as of February, 2013.
  
  Polling data, NICS background check data, CDC data, and recent firearm sales figures all seem to confirm the increase.
  
  GUNFAQ: http://www.gunfaq.org/2013/03/four-decade-decline-in-gun-ownership/
  
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Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:31am
Now study the rate of home invasions in the U.S. during the same periods. Have they increased as gun ownership decreased?

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- happ77
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:27pm
  Good point.
  2 more points
  1) WHY does it matter if gun ownership homes
  have diminished ? I reread the 2nd amendment
  and I can’t find where it says it only applies if the
  majority of households own guns.
  2) Of course gun ownership in the south and
  west have gone down. Its because of all the libs
  moving from the states they’ve already ruined
  to the states they’ll ruin in the future.
  
  Report this comment
- happ77
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:00pm
  Point 3
  What happens to the figures when you
  add in the number of “households” that
  own illegal guns ?
  
  Report this comment
- RIDEMODELS
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 10:23pm
  Florida had a dramatic increase in Females with CCW, and I watched it happen….
  
  But to be perfectly clear…Nope no guns here…..I would rather catch a convict with my bare hands….I have been an MMA fighter for a few years…….its much more fun hand to hand if I have my choice…..Kind of ground and pound and one thing that I learned working in a night club, people inebriated and on drugs have no fighting skills……but sure I have no gun, just dont break in and you will never know if I told the truth…..Just because the lights are off does not mean that everyone may be asleep…Probably a good idea to just stay in your own hood.
  
  As long as Police do the jobs that they are paid to do, patrol and arrest the people that break the laws, then there should be no problems in theory.
  
  Report this comment
Penn
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:30am
This is either a BS report or a sign of how stupid the LSM are or how gullible the low information voters are.
Given the extraordinary powers the Federal government has taken from the people since 2001, would anyone in their right mind admit to owning a gun, or precious metals or extra food. We are near a time when owning a gun, or gold,or food will be like wearing a yellow star of David.

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- barber2
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:55am
  ENCIN: Yeah, cities are so much safer than those ” backwater” places ?! If only the common sense of a young Lefty could match his arrogance.
  
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- DeavonReye
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:12am
  Encinom, . . . there are plenty of NON-”redneck” citizens who own guns. I’m sure you were just speaking for effect . . . to be shocking. Right?
  
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- Stoic one
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:33am
  ENCINOM
  
  Would you please give me the correct procedure for self-defecation & urination when being assaulted? I want to get it right so as to cause the said perpetrator to leave.
  
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- DeavonReye
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 11:45am
  Encinom’s post is gone. Oh well.
  
  Report this comment
Xanderson
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:28am
Gee, now I wonder why school children are being asked to report on their parents’ “property” and why doctors are asking patients about gun ownership at routine well child check-ups? This is not new folks!
Americans with any brains at all are keeping quiet about what arms they have at home!!

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- DesertRose1960
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:33am
  Why would a doctor ask if there is a gun in the home during a wellness check? Because a gun in the home is more likely to lead to an accidental gun death for that child. Why would a doctor checking an adult patient for depression ask about guns in the house? Because a gun in the house is more likely to be used in a suicide. The doctors are trying to be careful. I read the May, 1997 Deparment of Justice study written by Cook and Jens yesterday. Even then, 15 years ago, about half the homes with handguns had them stored loaded in unlocked spaces, even though the owners had been taught differently in their gun safety courses. My father kept his rifle in his walk-in closet when I was kid; I think he changed when he heard that my brother had shown the rifle to some of his friends in the neighborhood when my parents were at work. When I was in college, he had a locking gun cabinet.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:48am
  It’s not a doctor’s place to determine my psychological state. A doctor’s job is to deal with physical illness, patch up booboos and perform surgeries. They are not licensed to practice psychology and have no qualification to ask *anything* of that nature in an official capacity.
  
  And it should be pointed out, nobody is required at any point or time to provide an answer to these questions. They can ask all they want, simply reply “none of your business”.
  
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- kaydeebeau
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:57pm
  SO basically Rose you are saying you were never trained to properly handle a firearm and that your parents determined you and your siblings were too irresponsilbe and stupid to learn? Which explains many things about many of your comments
  
  Report this comment
dbfox
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:27am
All you need to do is review gun sales and back ground checks over the last 4 years to know this report is bogus!

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- starman70
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:40am
  AMEN!
  
  1) If the “report” was published in the New York Times, it is automatically a fraud.
  
  2) The “report ” came from a far left wing group with the agenda of restricting or removing 2nd Amendment rights of every American.
  
  I wouldn’t believe anything the Lamestream media or any of the Times papers or their subsidiaries have to say, that is unless you are a pure bred Communist!
  
  The best use I have found for the N.Y. Times is emergency bathroom tissue. The only problem is the the printer’s ink leaves smudges.
  
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- Quiata
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:36am
  @STARMAN70 The media is hyper aware of the power of popularity and peer pressure. Creating and altering perceptions is their forte. The current cult-of-personality is a case in point.
  
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Al J Zira
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:26am
So if gun ownership has dropped so dramatically over the last 40 years, why are they telling us that deaths by guns has risen so dramatically? They shoot themselves in the foot with their own argument. 40 years ago you could buy a gun at a drug store but now we need gun control? Doesn’t make any sense unless you realize the left isn’t telling us the real problem: gangs. Oh what am I talking about? Obviously, I don’t understand the problem as well as the left.

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- Former_Road_Finisher
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:36am
  Yep, must be the “Saturday Night Special,” those cheap handguns the local “Hood Rats” started killing each other with, that started the Progressive movement to ban all handguns in the big decaying cities when Nixon was President.
  
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- starman70
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:42am
  In the 50s in New York City and other metro areas with strict gun control laws, gang members made their own pistols called “Zip Guns”. No matter what kind of laws the liberals try to introduce, the lawless gangs and cr iminals will always have access to guns. The lawless elements could care less about gun laws, after all they are criminals to begin with.
  
  Now with the advent of 3D printing technology and the fact that not only will this technology will become available to more and more people, soon the gangs will be stealing or hijacking the units from legitimate users and producing their own guns.
  
  When it comes to the criminal element, where there is a will, there will be a way.
  
  WHEN THE GOVERNMENT TAKES YOUR GUNS, ONLY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE OUTLAWS WILL HAVE GUNS!!!!
  
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DZ-015
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:26am
The key to these results is that this is a self-reported survey in the face of an expanding federal government which is hostile to the Bill of Rights. Who in their right minds wants to pin a target on themselves? I wouldn’t be surprised if their is a drop in CCW applications for the same reason.

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Rickfromillinois
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:26am
So if someone connected to the government contacted you about a “survey” and asked if you had a firearm in your house what would you say? If I gave them any answer at all it would either be “no” or “that’s none of your business”.

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stumpygrim
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:24am
So basically, you have roughly a 7% drop in the number of people who “admit” they own a gun.There is absolutly no way to take a poll, any poll,and have the outcome be withen 50% accurate,especially from a chitago school…….

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lookes2003
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:21am
I don’t think I personally know anyone that doesn’t have at least a .22 over here in Idaho. (Except me. Mine were all stolen!) I know people in other states that I didn’t think even wanted a firearm getting their CWP.
This story is BS propaganda or the government is seriously miscalculating.

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:21am
I Do not have guns. I just use a Pop-Tart, pointed finger,an inverted L(¬), and outline of the state of Idaho,or a My Little Pony Bubble shooter to defend my family. When things really hit the fan I can always just pee,vomit,poop,or tell the government agents kicking down my door and shooting my dog that I have herpes.
Guess I could just buy a shotgun and shoot it out the window now and then.

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- Xanderson
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:40am
  Joe Biden approves of your method!
  
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- tajloc
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:41am
  lov it
  Har har
  If wwe have an invasion from Canada maybe Japan will protect us…or France
  
  Report this comment
satotbs
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:17am
That’s correct! I don’t have any guns, none of my family has any guns, and none of my neighbors have any guns.
Nobody I know has any guns. Whew I’m glad that’s settled. Now we can all live in peace and without fear. All together now, Kumbaya My (insert personal or current fad word here), Kumbaya.

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- ColoradoBoots
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:21am
  Sold my gun, that I didn’t have anyway. Duh. Go ahead, ask again, this is fun.
  
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- circleDwagons
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:42am
  I do not know anyone who owns a gun, I wished they would stop talking about them. My kids did have pop tarts saturday, noone was hurt.
  
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- stumpy68
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:20am
  Lol yep sounds about right
  
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- Quiata
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:22am
  Guns? What guns? Where?
  
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drgntkd
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:16am
So as I read this I couldn’t help but think that the stats may be accurate. They failed to present all the facts in this. Step back in time with me:

Back in the 1970′s there was no background checks. Now with back ground check the STATES are catching more people that maybe shouldn’t possess a firearm.

Back in the 1970′s the 5 cost of a firearm to household income was much lower, meaning that more household could afford a firearm. Hunting was also more prevalent. It was easier to go hunting with less land restrictions. These 2 facts have also lead to a decline in the need for guns in the hime.

Divorce rate is up and we have more homes without a man in the house. I believe this has also lead to the decline.

Those who own firearms are not allowing others to know for fear they will be taken.

So when you look at all the facts then you can see how this report might be accurate without all the fact. The accurate analysis would be looking into society problems rather than the decline. We the people still need to protect ourselves and as the administration continues to try to take away our rights we will be left more and more helpless. The criminals will always have weapons and if we are disarmed then they win. Wake up and see what is on the horizon. Life is too short and we need to be in control of our own lives. The police are just a phone call away and that is the problem. As hard as they work they cannot stop the crime the can just investigate it.

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- 30mmgunpilot
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:29am
  I was also thinking that a lot more people are remaining single a lot longer than they used to. If each single person counts as a “house” hold, that’s a lot more houses.
  
  Seems to me there was a time that people used to have to own property to vote. That way, they had a vested interest in what happened to their country and their money (taxes.) Not as likely to “vote themselves the treasury”, so to speak. (That changed in about 1850.) I understand the need for the change, but there was a certain rationale to it.
  
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joeslick
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:15am
The NEW YORK TIMES reports on a study by the University of CHICAGO….why would anybody with half a mind believe that this “study” would be accurate. And I’m sure nobody owns guns anymore. That’s why you can’t find a box of bullets anywhere.

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- ColoradoBoots
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:22am
  Saw .223 for $1.00 per round at last gun show……
  
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- mgh999
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:58am
  $1.00 for a round of 0.223? Ouch! It’s cheaper to shoot 30-06. I mean, that is, if I had a 30-06 or any gun for that matter….as a matter of fact I don’t even let the kids have pastries…can’t be too careful.
  
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shogun459
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:12am
I suppose it never occured to the Commies that the more noise they make about stealing our rights and our guns, the less WE THE PEOPLE talk about what we do have.

Gun sales hit record numbers through out OBAMA’s reign.

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Azzy00
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:11am
So over the last 30 years children have been drilled with “Guns are bad, M’kay”. The culture war is almost over in the US, and we lost.

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satotbs
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:09am
That’s correct! I don’t have any guns, none of my family has any guns, none of my neighbors have any guns.
Nobody I know has any guns. Whew I’m glad that’s settled. Now we can all live in peace and without fear.

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Grandpa_Tx
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:08am
“According to a report in the New York Times, gun ownership in U.S. homes has allegedly declined dramatically over the past four decades.”

Everyone who believes this raise your hand.

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termyt
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:07am
I’ve little doubt we have a lower percentage than we have historically, but more importantly, pushing those numbers down further helps the narrative.

It will embolden the anti-rights crowd to dig deeper, but there will still be a heavy political price to go along with it.

Have them or not, most still agree we have a right to them. And all those that can read English ought to know they are right.

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- shogun459
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:19am
  60% or all adults under the age of 40 are funcional illiterates.
  National
  Education
  Association #
  
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- RIDEMODELS
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 11:06pm
  Amen to that…..Its every Americans right under the Constitution…
  
  Just like it was the Dimocrats who ran a campaign on the Right to Abort Life……Go kick Rocks you Backpedaling idiots.
  
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David-FL
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:05am
A Graph or Bar Chart would help…..

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Concerned Green Beret
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:04am
This survey is bogus. Americans are not advertising it anymore. Just like they are not registering their guns either. Just stupid. Gun purchases are at an all time high and these jackasses publish this study. More propaganda!!

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- mikem1969
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:14am
  You said it, and there is a reason for it. It’s called the gun grab that DC and states are trying to do. I would not answer that survey at all.
  
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- Wyerd_001
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:15am
  Plus they exclude the fact that there is a great increase in the number of house holds, mostly urban.
  
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- Former_Road_Finisher
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:31am
  Ditto. The only gun that I have, (officially), is the one I bought after freedom died November 7th. That is ONLY because I had to apply for a purchase permit, background check included, before I could purchase that gun. The official answer that I would give to any survey is None Of Obama’s Xxxxxxx Business.
  
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Sargeking
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:02am
Almost beyond belief, our Great Leader has become the greatest gun and ammo salesman in recorded history. That’s the real fear factor among the Libs and not this spurious, unfounded report on decreased gun ownership. When I read this article I almost spilled my coffee on the keyboard. Of course, rank pabulum puke is nothing new to the far Left. Fortunately people are no longer listening to their lines and never again. Try to find .22 ammo today. The stores are virtually sold out of it as well as many other calibers. What does the Left think people have been buying out ammo and guns for, just so they can have a nice collection of what once living a free society meant?

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:59am
The only people concerned with these numbers are the ones that want to take them away from Americans, because they ask the question, how hard would it be?

It’s none of your gosh darn golly gee business? It’s a civil right not to be asked questions by stupid reporters regarding personal property that is none of their business?

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PA_Iraq_Vet
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:58am
People are not admitting to owning Firearms due to fears of registration/ confiscation. For example, I own ZERO firearms. Also, recent sales trends tend to nullify this story. I would not use the New York Times to line a bird cage. They really, truely are fools.

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- 700P
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:16am
  Exactly my thoughts. This report is so much wishful thinking to help perpetuate Think Progress groupthink that it stands in contrast to my personal observations of every single time I’ve visited Academy there is generally some sort of spousal couple asking questions and handling different handguns. I would never admit to owning guns to ANYONE anymore nor would my wife and children. My 6 yo is currently in the “concerned about bad guys phase” and knows the test of who the “bad guys” are is whether they want to take guns away.
  
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