Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVUp In Arms: Gallup Poll Shows Gun Ownership in U.S. Highest in Nearly 20 Years

Americans are taking advantage of their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

According to a recent Gallup poll, self-reported gun ownership is at its highest since 1993. Forty-seven percent of adults report they have a gun in their home or on their property. That statistic is up from 41 percent since last year's poll and is two to three points higher than the statistics recorded in 1993. 

J.R. Hill, who is retired from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and part-time private gun dealer, said two factors could contribute to the rise in gun ownership: President Barack Obama's election and increased interest in concealed carry.

"In my limited experience, it certainly seems like, to be brutally frank, following President Obama's election, there was almost a panic in terms of buying guns and ammunition," Hill said. "I guess a lot of people felt under his administration there would be more restrictive gun laws passed. That hasn't happened, but there is a concern in a lot of citizens' minds."

According to the poll, the increase in self-reported gun ownership "could reflect a change in Americans' comfort with publicly stating they have a gun as much as it reflects a real uptick in gun ownership." Republicans also are more likely to say they have a gun in their household than Democrats. Forty percent of Democrats say they have a gun, narrowing the partisan gap seen in recent years. 

West Virginia has one of the highest percentages of gun ownership in the nation. According to a 2001 study by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in North Carolina, 55.4 percent of West Virginians owned guns. The only states with higher percentages of gun ownership were Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and South Dakota.

The right to purchase and carry guns is a fundamental Constitutional right, Hill said. The second amendment guarantees the right to bear arms.

"It's a basic constitutional right," Hill said. "The Second Amendment says the citizens have a right to keep and bear arms."

Hill said gun laws are mostly uniform across the country, with the exception of a couple of states that have stricter gun control laws. To purchase guns, consumers have to submit to a background check that looks at the purchaser's criminal and mental history. Hill said most of the time, no problems are found and the purchase goes through.

"Every dealer that makes a sale has to go through this process," Hill said. 

While the rate of self-reported gun ownership has increased dramatically, the number of Americans who support a government ban on handguns is at a record low.

Another Gallup poll, also released Oct. 26, found that only 26 percent of Americans surveyed favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns. When Gallup first asked that question in 1959, 60 percent favored such a ban. However, since 1975 the majority of Americans have opposed a ban. Hill said this may be because gun control doesn't do much to deter crime.

"Most of the studies show that gun control doesn't do anything to curtail the rate of violent crimes," he said. "Generally speaking, in the states that have allowed concealed carry, the rate goes down."

Concealed carry is another reason why Hill thinks the rate of gun ownership has increased.

"The second important factor is probably the increased interest in concealed carry for personal protection," he said. "It seems more women are getting involved and interested in this than in the past."

According to the poll, 43 percent of women say there is a gun in their household. Twenty-three percent of women say they personally own a gun.  

To obtain a concealed weapons permit, purchasers are subject to the same background check and take a training class to prove they are proficient with firearms. The county sheriff then issues a concealed weapons permit. 

But when it comes down to it, anyone who can pass a background check can purchase a gun.

"It's relatively easy for a legitimate person to make a purchase," Hill said. 

The results of both polls were based on Gallup's annual crime poll, which was conducted Oct. 6-9.