Personal Defense Driving Gun Ownership More Than Ever Before

Results of a study published by Injury Journal in late May identified a decided shift in the reason more Americans are exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Self-defense and protection of loved ones is now the overwhelming motivation, a factor cited by only one out of every four gun owners as recently as 1999. The trend likely comes as no surprise to readers, although its relatively recent acceleration and heightened focus among some demographic groups are surprising. Here are a few of the results. 

In 1999, only 26 percent of firearm owners cited protection as the primary reason they had a gun. By 2013, the figure grew to 48 percent. It jumped to somewhere between 60 and 70 percent from 2017 and 2021, and in 2023 (the year researchers conducted surveys) it increased again to 79 percent.

The study estimates there are 81 million gun owners in the United States, and 65 million of those Americans have one for personal defense. The researchers found, “Women, black and Hispanic people were more likely to own firearms for protection than for other reasons.”

Asian and black women who purchased a gun did so almost exclusively for that purpose (98.8 percent). Among men, firearm ownership for protection was cited as the primary motivation in 88.4 percent of black respondents and 69.7 percent of white study participants.

Survey results did not change significantly among respondents who lived in a state with a stand your ground law. In those regions, however, owners carried outside the home more often.

The authors note, “This study finds that firearm ownership in the USA is now almost exclusively driven by a perceived need for protection, motivating new types of firearm owners, including women and racial minorities.” Readers, of course, already knew that fact and witness the diversity on the firing line every day and in NRA membership.