A recent Harvard study of the demographics of gun ownership in the United States yielded a fairly shocking discovery, namely the emergence of the Obama gun “Super Owner.” The study, entitled “The Stock and Flow of US Firearms: Results from the 2015 National Firearms Survey“, was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and found that just 14% of all gun owners, or 7.6mm adults and 3% of the total U.S. population, possessed 50% of all guns owned by civilians in the country. Moreover, with a total stock of 270mm civilian-owned guns in the U.S., that implies that these “super owners” possess an average of nearly 18 guns per person.
Gun owning respondents owned an average of 4.85 firearms (range: 1-140); the median gun owner reported owning approximately two guns. As can be seen in Figure 3, approximately half (48%) of gun owners report owning 1 or 2 guns, accounting for 14% of the total US gun stock, while those who own 10 or more guns (8% of all gun owners), own 39% of the gun stock. Put another way, one half of the gun stock (~130 million guns) is owned by approximately 86% of gun owners, while the other half is owned by 14% of gun owners (14% of gun owners equals 7.6 million adults, or 3% of the adult US population).
Another startling discovery in the data, though “oddly” not highlighted in the report, is that the surge in gun ownership per capita seemed to coincide with the start of the Obama presidency and growing rhetoric over new gun regulations. Per the chart below, over the past 20 years, gun ownership per U.S. adult hovered around 1 from 1993 through 2007 but then surged starting in 2008 as an Obama presidency became increasingly likely.
This trend is also reflected in annual guns sales which floated between 4-6mm units per year before surging in 2008.
And perhaps no one has benefited more than Smith and Wesson shareholders…
Meanwhile, the less surprising takeaway from the study was that conservative, veterans living in rural areas were the most likely people to own guns. Shocking.
Guess that, like with military intervention, new gun regulations don’t really work that well if they’re advertised well in advance.
The Stock and Flow of US Firearms: Results from the 2015 National Firearms Survey (PDF)
This is NOT a scientifically sound study, simply because it was based on a survey that most gun owners would probably not answer accurately, if they answered it at all.
The propaganda objective here is to convince Americans that only a small portion of gun owners possess most of the guns (“super” gun owners), and that they should be supportive of efforts to disarm them.
More propaganda to follow (if it’s not already out there) will claim mental illness accounts for someone owning multiple guns.
No one should ever surrender a firearm, and no Americans should ever support ANY confiscation or disarmament efforts. They should instead learn a little history regarding the fate of disarmed populations.
That’s pretty much what I was thinking. I’ve never been walking along, minding my own business, only to have somebody with a clipboard leap out of the shadows and start asking me questions. It’s never happened.
And if it did happen I’d tell em “f–k no, I don’t have time for your s–t.”
And if they could somehow force me to answer questions I would lie my a$$ off.
What’s your middle name?
Tanaka.
I know for a fact that this is complete bullsh^t
how? because no one asked me…
( to tell ya the truth i would have told them to go pound sand and I dont own any guns..jeeze aint nobody ever practice opsec any more?)
I certainly qualify as a “super owner,” but part of the reason I own more guns than I need is so I can lend them out to others if things get rough in this country.
Even so, what really makes a “super owner” isn’t the number of guns one owns, but the amount of serious practice and training one commits to. A fat guy waddling around with an AR-15 that he shoots maybe 300 rounds through each year is not going to be nearly as effective in combat as a man armed only with a handgun who shoots 100-200 rounds PER WEEK, holds himself to high standards of speed and accuracy, and keeps himself in good physical condition.
It’s not necessary to have a huge collection, but in each category (pistol, semi-auto rifle) it’s good to have at least one gun dedicated for practice and an identical one for SHTF use after it’s been proven to reliable. E.g., two good handguns (like the HK VP9) and two good ARs (Colt, Bravo Company, LMT, etc.).