[quarantaseih]

The vast majority of us are quite shy about our guns. The stats are obvious.

About half of households in the US have guns. Do half of cars have NRA stickers? A quarter? One in ten?

Gun owners are shy. Thats why we prefer concealed carry instead of open carry.

[olyjohn]

Not all gun owners are shy. I see lots and lots of gun stickers. Not just NRA, but "Glock Perfection" is another one that stands out. Lots of people with "Protected by Smith and Wesson" or whatever their preferred choice is. This is probably not the majority, but a LOT of people advertise that they have or like guns. So it would make me curious to know if people with stickers are more or less likely to get robbed for a gun. Likely we will never know, and everybody will continue to argue whether the sticker helps or hinders without any real info to back it up.

[quarantaseih]

They're not all shy.

[Akronymus]

> Gun owners are shy. Thats why we prefer concealed carry instead of open carry.

Concealed carry also has the benefit of a criminal not knowing who is armed or not and thus can't really assume that any one person is a soft target, which is a great deterrence factor.

[splintercell]

> About half of households in the US have guns

I was not able to find a good state on this one. Some stats are reporting a stat from 30 to 40% of ownership with data jumping up and down every alternate year, whereas others are porting 20-something percent ownership. About half of households in US having guns means gun control issue being totally dead.

[quarantaseih]

Good comment! I was hesitant to put a number. Thats why I chose "household". But its pretty close to the right figure (probably closer to the low to mid 40s).

No one knows how many guns there are in America (more than one per person though) and who owns them. We know its mostly men, with a significant, increasing, number of women. Minorities are also increasing their share of legal gun ownership.

About 20%-30% of the adult population owns a gun, but many women don't say they "own a gun" if their husbands own one - guns are, for many reasons, very much "personal" property. It's the husband's gun or the house's gun, not necessarily hers [1]. However, in my experience talking to other gun owners, the wives support or encourage their continued ownership. Hence "household" ownership estimated somewhere about a third to half.

(Its actually probably closer to the mid to low 40s, but varies regionally. Chicago has very little legal handgun ownership, Kennesaw GA has basically universal gun ownership.)

Furthermore a lot of Americans own a gun without considering themselves a "gun owner". The single shot .22lr they got for their 12th birthday. The Ruger 10/22 that was passed down. An emotional relic they cling to that is still very much a firearm. Then there is the "shy conservative" who will lie on a survey. This to say, there is a significant amount of people with guns who will answer "no" to a survey question about gun ownership.

I think the best way to gauge this, an to your point about gun control, is its electoral significance. Democrats aren't really affected at the pols for failing to deliver gun control, but Republicans are demolished if they waver a little bit (note every GOP senator who voted for bill is retiring or not up for election). I think this hints that gun ownership and tolerance is widespread among the GOP and independents.

[1] imagine 250 lb hubby has a double stacked 10mm and is married to a 90lb petite. The physics doesn't work. Even myself, Id love for my wife to come to the range one day, but Ill have to rent her a smaller pistol - the 92 has a very large grip even for me.

[hgsgm]

Republicans failed to deliver abortion bans for 50 years. "Failed to deliver" isn't a major driver of voting decisions, since the failure is usually due to an election in a different jurisdiction controlled by the other party.

[quarantaseih]

"Republicans failed to deliver abortion bans for 50 years. "

Indeed but pro-life voters voted for the GOP with their nose pinched, mostly aghast (their perspective) at the alternative (the Dems have long moved away from "safe, available and rare").

Anyway, gun control is far less popular than overturning Roe. At least until you slice "Roe" up (partial birth, first, second, third trimester). Gun control will have to happen through the administrative state

[hgsgm]

22% of (probably adults) own a gun.

40% of people (or adults, not sure) live in a household with a gun. Not all of those people consent to the gun's presence.

"percent of households" is probably in between.

Gun control issue is not dead, because the percentage varies regionally, and gun control can stop people from buying and using a gun immediately in a fit of passion.

[quarantaseih]

"Not all of those people consent to the gun's presence."

No, of course not. But most do.

Anyway, to my original post, a criminal entering a household has about an even chance to burgling an armed home. It varies regionally, so in Kennesaw the chance is nearly 100%, in Chicago it's nearly 0% (legally owned anyway).