3 million Americans carry handgun every day, study finds

BOSTON — Nine million Americans carry a loaded handgun on themselves at least once a month, while three million take their firearm out with them daily, a new study finds.

Researchers at Northeastern University in Boston interviewed 1,444 sidearm owners, finding that nearly a quarter had carried their weapon fully loaded in the past 30 days.

Person holding a handgun
A new study finds that about three million Americans carry a loaded handgun every day, while nine million have done so at least once in the past month.

Those who decided to holster their weapon were more likely to be conservative males, aged 18 to 29, geographically located in the South.

Interestingly, one’s race, income, level of education, or veteran status weren’t significant indicators of whether they were likely to carry a handgun.

Unsurprisingly, states that had more lenient concealed carry laws saw more owners who brought their weapons with them in public.

“It was especially important to study handgun carrying because about 90 percent of all firearm homicides and nonfatal firearm crimes for which the type of firearm is known are committed with a handgun,” says Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, the study’s co-author, in a university news release.

The researchers note that concealed carry permits used to be regularly reviewed and approved by local law enforcement, which has become less and less the case.

In addition, a full fifth of gun purchases in the U.S. are now made without a background check, according to lead researcher Matthew Miller.

Miller also notes how the number of guns owned has skyrocketed by more than 70 million over the last two decades to about 265 million. About half of this stock is held by only three percent of the population.

While the researchers implore the federal government to commission more research on the consequences of open and concealed carry in public, they aren’t going to hold their breath.

“With pressure from the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun lobbyists, government agencies grant very little money to study guns and their impact on society,” Miller explains.

Further examining the potential dangers of firearms won’t be popular among certain gun owners and lobbying groups, but it might be necessary in the wake of some recent national tragedies.

“There is no credible evidence to suggest that allowing people to carry has any beneficial effect on crime and violence,” adds Miller. “And although some recent studies suggest there may be harmful effects, there is a lot more we need to know before we can reliably place in perspective what those harmful effects are.”

The study’s findings were published online Oct. 19 in the American Journal of Public Health.

Comments

  1. Only 1% are carrying?
    I am an engineer. 20% of the engineers and technicians I know carry a loaded handgun at all times.
    Probably dance choreographers don’t carry, but machinists do.

  2. Most crime may be done with a handgun, but certainly not by legal concealed carry holders. The article is utter leftist rubbish.

  3. Miller also notes how the number of guns owned has skyrocketed by more than 70 million over the last two decades to about 265 million. About half of this stock is held by only three percent of the population.

    This is based solely on self disclosure in direct questions, direct answer of gun ownership — to a complete stranger. The peer reviewed science on self disclosure on privacy related issues has proved over and over this results in 40 to 60% undercounts. Moreover, modern gun training very specifically and emphatically telling an owner of a fireare to NEVER tell a stranger means the severe undercount would be increasing for dedaces now.

    ALL indirect questions show a RISING number of people owning firearms. NRA approvals nationally: 58%: Number of people who know owning a firearm makes them and their families about 25% less likely to be violent crime victims:
    Pew: 58% (up from 44 % 15 years ago)
    Gallup: 63% (up from 39% 25 years ago)

    “With pressure from the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun lobbyists, government agencies grant very little money to study guns and their impact on society,” Miller explains.
    Further examining the potential dangers of firearms won’t be popular among certain gun owners and lobbying groups, but it might be necessary in the wake of some recent national tragedies.

    1: NRA is not a lobby. It is outspent 17:1 on poltical donations by Mike Bloombergs gun control lobbies alone — all of which combined have less than 600 paid members. NRA has 5.8 million members and is the largest civil rights organization in the US
    2: “National tragedies” Miller and other members of the gun control lobby never mentions that US gun murder rate has fallen 65% in the past 25 years despite MILLIONS spent by the CDC in universally erroneous studies that predicted increases in gun murder.
    3: “Potential dangers” owning a firearm makes a person with no prior crimes, and their family members more than 30% SAFER from criminal victimization.

  4. Concealed carry holders conceal their weapons – legally! They – I – would not volunteer to anyone that I carry. Survey’s such as this may be skewed to create wrong data, bad conclusions and more erroneous hype. Author, Daniel? Do you carry? Doubt that you will post in the affirmative.


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