In his latest commentary for NRA News, Billy Johnson takes apart the argument propagated by the New York Times and the gun prohibitionists that a so-called declining gun ownership rate in America is grounds for imposing more gun control. The New York Times is basing its argument that gun ownership has declined from 49% to 34% over the past 30 years on a survey conducted by the University of Chicago.
This decline in self-reported gun ownership comes in the face of all-time high gun sales. The University of Chicago’s 2012 General Social Survey results are contradicted by other surveys. As Billy points out, many gun owners are not going to tell a survey taker that they own guns and will lie about it if asked.
Even if the survey results accurately reflect the level of gun ownership in America it is irrelevant: constitutional rights do not come with usage requirements.
Was thinking about this yesterday. The gun-owning group most likely to have answered yes are non-prohibited possessors, in a permissive location, who trust the government. That being the case, the 40% of the population who admitted ownership are likely to fit a profile even the grabbers can't rationally impugn, non-criminal and non-"anti-government."
There are then three likely under-reported groups:
1) Non-prohibited possessors, in a permissive locale, who -don't- trust the government.
2) Non-prohibited possessors, in a non-permissive locale (gun ownership denied by fiat), who don't trust the government.
3) Prohibited possessors, in either type of locale.
I'd bet 1 and 2 are a significant chunk of the remaining 60%.