More gun owners say protection is the reason they own guns
Mar 14, 2013, 5:00 AM
Gun owners today claim protection is their main reason for owning guns.
USA Today reported that 48 percent of gun owners said protection is their main reason for owning guns, while 32 percent claimed to own guns for hunting purposes.
While the majority of gun owners today cite protection as their primary reason for owning guns, 39 percent of non-gun owners say that their primary reason for not owning guns is also for protection, due to the accidents that guns can cause.
The survey showed a dramatic switch in opinion since the last 14 years. In 1999, 26 of owners guns for protection purposes, while 49 percent claimed to own guns mainly for hunting.
With the recent mass shooting in Connecticut, people are on edge about gun laws. Many respondents said that stricter gun laws would prevent shootings while fewer said that it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
