Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
59% of public K-12 teachers say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school.
Gun owners in the United States continue to cite protection far more than other factors, including hunting and sport shooting, as a major reason they own a gun. About half of Americans who don’t own a gun say they could never see themselves owning one (52%) while nearly as many could imagine themselves as gun owners in the future (47%).
Our latest politics data every month
All
Publications
Here’s a look back at 2023 through some of our most striking research findings.
Six-in-ten U.S. adults say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022.
More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the CDC.
In 2021, there were 2,590 gun deaths among U.S. children and teens under the age of 18, up from 1,732 in 2019.
Mothers are more likely than fathers to be extremely or very worried about a school shooting, and concerns also vary by race and ethnicity.
At least 110 representatives and senators in the current 117th Congress have publicly stated or otherwise confirmed that they own a gun.
While the economy remains the dominant issue in this fall’s midterm elections, the issue of abortion has increased markedly in importance. More voters continue to view their midterm vote as an expression of opposition to Joe Biden than support for him. But across both parties, more voters now say Biden is not much of a factor in their vote.
Republicans and Democrats differ sharply in views of the new gun law, its effectiveness and whether further gun legislation will be necessary. Roughly six-in-ten adults (63%) say they want to see Congress pass another round of legislation to address gun violence, compared with 35% who do not.
Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.
The U.S. murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 – the largest single-year increase in more than a century.
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center
