Guess What Twice as Many Americans Are Saying About Guns Now as Compared to 10 Years Ago
“Having a gun in the house — safer or more dangerous?”
If you asked Americans that question 10 years ago, the majority would have answered, “More dangerous,” but in 2014, the tables have turned.
According to a Gallup poll released Friday, nearly two-thirds of Americans say that having a gun makes a home safer — almost twice the percentage that said guns made homes safer in the year 2000.
In 2000, a mere 35 percent of Gallup respondents said guns made a home safer, but in the newest poll, 63 percent of respondents said guns boosted home safety.
Republicans were more likely to say guns improved home safety than independents or Democrats — though Democrats were the only political group to have a majority say guns made a home less safe — and people in the Midwest and South were more pro-gun than those living on the coasts.
White men were among the most gun-positive groups, though the majority of women and non-white groups also claimed guns kept a home safe
Who actually owns guns? Slightly less than half of the country, with white men again topping the charts and women and non-whites reporting lower rates of gun ownership.