Guns In America

The is a new gun bill winding its way through the U.S. House of Representatives. It is House Resolution 822, and it would force all states to accept the concealed-carry permits of all other states for out-of-state visitors --even if they have not met the licensing and training requirements of the state, and even if the person carrying the concealed weapon would be barred from possessing a gun in that state. This is a very bad bill, especially considering that some states require little more than the paying of a fee to get a concealed-carry permit and will license even people not living in that state.

This is not a Second Amendment issue over whether a person can own a gun or not. It is pretty much settled law that Americans with no criminal record or dangerous psychological problems have the right to own one or more firearms. The passage or defeat of HR 822 would not infringe on the right of anyone under the Second Amendment.

Instead, this concerns the right of every state to determine who can and who cannot carry a concealed (or hidden) gun in that state. And the crazy thing about this is that the supporters of this new gun law that would infringe on a state's right to make their own concealed-carry law are the same people who scream for state's rights in other areas. They obviously only care about state's rights when it comes to something they don't like. This is a bill that needs to be defeated, but it will probably pass because politicians are afraid of the gun lobbyists.



There is no doubt that gun ownership is more prevalent in this country than in any other country (I think I read somewhere that Yemen is second with a substantially smaller percentage). But did you ever wonder just how prevalent guns are in this country? If so, the Gallup Poll has some answers for you. According to a new survey done by Gallup (between October 6th and 9th of 1,005 nationwide adults with a 4 point margin of error) about 47% of all American households have at least one gun in them. Here is a demographic breakdown of households with guns:

Men...............52%
Women...............43%

18 to 34...............36%
35 to 54...............52%
55 and over...............33%

College graduate...............42%
Some college...............46%
No college...............51%

East...............36%
Midwest...............51%
South...............54%
West...............44%

Republican...............55%
Democrat...............41%

That's a pretty high percentage -- with nearly half of all households in the nation having at least one gun. And it looks like a majority of the population likes it that way. Gallup also asked some questions about possible gun laws, and found out the majority likes things just the way they are. Here are some of those results:

SHOULD THERE BE A BAN ON HANDGUNS (EXCEPT BY POLICE)?
Yes...............26%
No...............73%

SHOULD THERE BE A LAW MAKING IT ILLEGAL TO MANUFACTURE, POSSESS, OR SELL ASSAULT RIFLES?
Yes...............43%
No...............53%

SHOULD LAWS ON THE SALE OF FIREARMS BE MORE STRICT, LESS STRICT, OR KEPT THE SAME AS THEY ARE NOW?
More strict...............43%
Less strict...............11%
Same as they are now...............44%

SHOULD THE U.S. PAS NEW GUN LAWS OR ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS MORE STRICTLY?
Pass new laws...............35%
Enforce current laws...............60%

I don't know whether it's due to American's love for their guns or propaganda by the gun lobby, but anyone wishing for stricter gun laws in this country can just put those wishes away. It won't happen for a long time, if ever.