Key facts about Americans and guns
About six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) favor stricter gun laws. Another 26% say that U.S. gun laws are about right, while 15% favor less strict gun laws.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Gun Policy
About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year
59% of public K-12 teachers say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school.
For Most U.S. Gun Owners, Protection Is the Main Reason They Own a Gun
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%).
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Wide differences on most gun policies between gun owners and non-owners, but also some agreement
U.S. gun owners have long favored more permissive gun policies while adults who do not own guns have tended to favor more restrictive ones.
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Amid a Series of Mass Shootings in the U.S., Gun Policy Remains Deeply Divisive
While a few proposals continue to garner bipartisan support, partisan divisions on others – including a ban on assault-style weapons – have grown wider.
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Share of Americans who favor stricter gun laws has increased since 2017
Despite deep partisan divisions on the issue, there has been a modest rise in support for stricter gun laws in the United States since 2017.
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Gun Policy Remains Divisive, But Several Proposals Still Draw Bipartisan Support
The partisan divide that for years has defined public opinion about the nation’s gun policies remains firmly in place. Yet there continue to be several specific policy proposals that draw broad support from both Republicans and Democrats.
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Where the public stands on key issues that could come before the Supreme Court
Ahead of the Senate’s deliberations over Kavanaugh, here’s a look at where the public stands on some of the major legal, political and social issues that could come before the Supreme Court in the years ahead.
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Nearly two-thirds of U.S. secondary schools have sworn officers on site – but not all the time
The share of U.S. public secondary schools with sworn officers on site has increased in the past decade.
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A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concern
More than half of U.S. teens say they are worried about the possibility of a shooting happening at their school, with one-in-four saying they are very worried.
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What Google searches can tell us about Americans’ interest in guns
Read key findings from an analysis that looks into the public’s interest in guns as potential consumer products, rather than as a subject of general interest.
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The Generation Gap in American Politics
Generational differences have long been a factor in U.S. politics. These divisions are now as wide as they have been in decades, with the potential to shape politics well into the future.
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In 2017, Americans narrowly opposed allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns
Last year, more than half of U.S. adults said they would oppose allowing teachers and officials to carry guns in K-12 schools.
