CNN Discovers, to its Horror, How Many New and Different People Have Been Buying Guns.
One in five US households bought a gun from March 2020 to March 2022, according to NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research institution. One in 20 Americans purchased a gun for the first time during that period.
“I’m not sure the chaos is over, and I feel that a lot of people have guns and that it would be good to have,” said Shelby, echoing many Americans anxious about the uncertain state of the country. “I’m a single female. I live on my own. Why not protect myself?”
In fact, gun ownership rates among women and African Americans were rising before the health crisis, said Dr. Matt Miller, a professor of health sciences and epidemiology at Northeastern University who conducted a study with Harvard researcher Deborah Azrael.
“Sometime between 2016 and 2019, the new gun owners were more likely to be female and Black than prior to that and, whether it’s in response to feeling as though things are going out of control, the country is really divided, that’s a tempting speculation to make,” said Miller, referring to changing demographics among gun owners.
The Northeastern and Harvard study found that nearly 3% of US adults, or 7.5 million people, bought guns for the first time from January 2019 to April 2021. About half of the new gun owners were female, 20% were Black, and 20% were Hispanic. Overall, gun owners were 63% male and 73% White.
“The face of gun ownership is changing somewhat and the people who are becoming new gun owners today are less likely to be male and more likely to be non-White, more likely to be somewhat younger than existing and long-standing gun owners,” Miller said. …
At Marinello’s gun shop and shooting range in Islip, Shelby and Jenn wrapped up their afternoon target practice. A friend and gun enthusiast served as their instructor.
“I have a Ruger and a Rossi – both rifles,” Shelby said. She bought her rifles during the pandemic at the recommendation of a family member.
Shelby said she’s filling out the paperwork for her handgun permit. She said the entire process could take from a year and a half to two years before she’s able to purchase a handgun.
“All of my friends now have licenses,” said Shelby, bursts of muffled gunfire in the background. “I’d like to hone my skills. I enjoy shooting. I’m a good shot.”
Her friend Jenn said she lives alone, so she wants a gun “probably for safety mostly, but I do enjoy coming to the range and shooting. I’ve been wanting to buy one for years.”
Jenn said she has sampled a number of handguns at the range. She liked a Smith & Wesson 9 mm but is still undecided.
“I just shot a few just now,” she said. “So trying to find a good feel, to figure out which one I do want to buy.”
She added, “I’m trying to be responsible… It’s actually good to be uncomfortable with a gun. If you’re ever comfortable with a gun, that’s not good.”
— , and in A Nation Rocked by Mass Shootings Goes on an Extended Gun-Buying Run