I call that real civil rights progress, folks. ;-)
Apparently, 393 million guns versus 326 million people (I wonder if that population number includes all those illegals we keep refusing to lock up or deport?). That shakes out to about 1.2 guns for every man, woman and child in the U.S., making it obvious that Americans really, really love their guns and probably more so these days than they love their cars. The U.S. also accounts for almost half of the one billion civilian-owned firearms globally.
"The report, which draws on official data, survey data and other measures for 230 countries, finds that global firearm ownership is heavily concentrated in the United States. In 2017, for instance, Americans made up 4 percent of the world’s population but owned about 46 percent of the entire global stock of 857 million civilian firearms.
With an estimated 120.5 guns for every 100 residents, the firearm ownership rate in the United States is twice that of the next-highest nation, Yemen, with just 52.8 guns per 100 residents. In raw number terms, the closest country to the United States is India, with 71.1 million firearms in circulation. These numbers do not include firearms owned by law enforcement agencies or militaries."
Those guns in the hands of the citizenry here in the U.S. aren't distributed evenly, however:
"If global gun ownership is concentrated in American hands, American gun ownership is concentrated even more narrowly in the country’s gun-owning households. As of 2017, Gallup found that 42 percent of American households reported owning guns. With an estimated 118 million households in the United States, per the U.S. Census, that would mean that the country’s 393 million guns are distributed among 50 million households. The implication is that the average gun-owning household owns nearly eight guns."
I like this part: Researchers conducting the survey ran into a bit of a problem in compiling their data. It seems that only about 12% of the world’s non-military small arms are registered. Now that just gives me a case of the sadz! ;-)
"The survey’s authors acknowledge the difficulty of accounting for every gun in the world: Patchy gun registration systems are in place in many countries (including the U.S., which only requires federal registration of certain kinds of weapons). Of all the guns owned by civilians, the survey estimates that only 12 percent were registered with governments.
Survey author Aaron Karp, senior consultant at the Small Arms Survey, told VICE News that because of the difficulty of counting all the gunsin the world, they relied on a variety of data sources. “The basic method is eclectic,” he said. “We take data where we can find it.”"
That tells me that even the Small Arms Survey cited in the WaPo article is a best-guess estimate. My guess is that civilian-specific firearms ownership in the U.S. actually exceeds 400 million guns. Among the nations, we are the living embodiment of the Way of the Gun, which should make any normal, red-blooded American feel good about themselves. ;-)
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
Apparently, 393 million guns versus 326 million people (I wonder if that population number includes all those illegals we keep refusing to lock up or deport?). That shakes out to about 1.2 guns for every man, woman and child in the U.S., making it obvious that Americans really, really love their guns and probably more so these days than they love their cars. The U.S. also accounts for almost half of the one billion civilian-owned firearms globally.
"The report, which draws on official data, survey data and other measures for 230 countries, finds that global firearm ownership is heavily concentrated in the United States. In 2017, for instance, Americans made up 4 percent of the world’s population but owned about 46 percent of the entire global stock of 857 million civilian firearms.
With an estimated 120.5 guns for every 100 residents, the firearm ownership rate in the United States is twice that of the next-highest nation, Yemen, with just 52.8 guns per 100 residents. In raw number terms, the closest country to the United States is India, with 71.1 million firearms in circulation. These numbers do not include firearms owned by law enforcement agencies or militaries."
Those guns in the hands of the citizenry here in the U.S. aren't distributed evenly, however:
"If global gun ownership is concentrated in American hands, American gun ownership is concentrated even more narrowly in the country’s gun-owning households. As of 2017, Gallup found that 42 percent of American households reported owning guns. With an estimated 118 million households in the United States, per the U.S. Census, that would mean that the country’s 393 million guns are distributed among 50 million households. The implication is that the average gun-owning household owns nearly eight guns."
I like this part: Researchers conducting the survey ran into a bit of a problem in compiling their data. It seems that only about 12% of the world’s non-military small arms are registered. Now that just gives me a case of the sadz! ;-)
"The survey’s authors acknowledge the difficulty of accounting for every gun in the world: Patchy gun registration systems are in place in many countries (including the U.S., which only requires federal registration of certain kinds of weapons). Of all the guns owned by civilians, the survey estimates that only 12 percent were registered with governments.
Survey author Aaron Karp, senior consultant at the Small Arms Survey, told VICE News that because of the difficulty of counting all the gunsin the world, they relied on a variety of data sources. “The basic method is eclectic,” he said. “We take data where we can find it.”"
That tells me that even the Small Arms Survey cited in the WaPo article is a best-guess estimate. My guess is that civilian-specific firearms ownership in the U.S. actually exceeds 400 million guns. Among the nations, we are the living embodiment of the Way of the Gun, which should make any normal, red-blooded American feel good about themselves. ;-)
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."